Online identity and address verification

How to certify your documents

Please ask a professional person (from the below list) to sign, date and witness the document(s) to certify them using the following wording:

"I (full name of certifier) confirm that this is a true copy of the original document which I have seen and the photo is a true likeness of [your name]"

OR for documents without a photo

"I (full name of certifier) confirm this is a true copy of the original document, which I have seen"

All certified photocopies must include the information on the front of the documentation, as detailed below:

• certifier's signature and printed full name
• certifier's profession and position within their organisation (and registration number if applicable)
• certifier's home address (if signed in a personal capacity) phone number and email address
• certifier's work address (if signed in a professional capacity) on letter headed paper or stamped with their work phone number and email address

Acceptable certifiers for certified photocopy documents:

• General Practitioner(GP)
• Pharmacist
• Dentist
• Optician
• Nurse
• Solicitor
• Barrister
• Chartered legal executive
• Chartered Accountant
• Independent financial advisor approved by the Financial Conduct Authority

We cannot accept any document(s) certified by you, a family member or someone not listed as an approved certifier. The certifier should be an active/practising member of their profession. We may contact the person certifying for further verification if required.

Acceptable documents for identity and address verification via online submission

For identity verification, please provide one document from below list:

Document	Requirements / Comments
Valid Full UK photocard driving licence.	Fully certified photocopy Photocard provisional licence is acceptable Paper provisional driving licence is not acceptable
Valid UK or Non-UK passport.	Fully certified photocopy
National Identity Card - Acceptable for EEA and Swiss national only (excluding Romanian and Greek national identity cards).	Fully certified photocopy

For address verification, please provide one document from below list:

Document	Requirements / Comments
Valid Full UK photocard driving licence.	Fully certified photocopy. Photocard provisional licence is acceptable. Paper provisional driving licence is not acceptable.
UK bank/building society credit card statement.	This must be a fully certified photocopy of the original document and dated within the last 4 months (M&S Bank statements are not acceptable). This cannot be printed from the internet.
UK Mortgage statement.	This must be a fully certified photocopy of the original document dated within the last 12 months. This cannot be printed from the internet.
Utility bill e.g. gas, electricity, phone, satellite or cable supplier.	This must be a fully certified photocopy of the original document issued within the last 4 months (a mobile phone bill is not acceptable).
Council Tax or water rates bill.	This must be a fully certified photocopy of the original document issued within the last 13 months and valid for the current billing period (Reminder and demand letters should be dated within the last 4 months).
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) tax notification, acceptable examples: PAYE coding notice HMRC notification of working family tax credit, children's tax credit, disabled person's tax credit, tax calculation	This must be a fully certified photocopy of the original document issued within the last 4 months. P60s and P45s are not acceptable.
Benefits Agency letter confirming your right to benefits from the following departments: Benefits Agency Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) including JobCentre Plus Child Benefit office Veterans Agency	This must be a fully certified photocopy of the original document issued within the last 4 months.

Sending documents from outside the UK

The process can be completed using our online form or via the post.

What ID documents are accepted if I'm outside the UK?

Provide one of the following documents, either by posting a certified copy, or uploading a certified copy of the original documents online:

• your current passport or travel document (copies of passports should include all pages that contain signatures, the passport number and any extension dates where applicable)
• your current national identity card (EEA or Swiss nationals only, excluding Romanian and Greek national identity cards)

What proof of address documents are accepted if I'm outside the UK?

You'll need one of the following:

• a utility bill dated within the last 4 months
• a bank statement dated within the last 4 months

Statements from the HSBC Group outside of the UK are acceptable.

Certifying non-UK documents

We can only accept non-UK documents if certified by an independent authority.

You'll need to do one of the following:

• if you're resident in a country or region of equivalent jurisdiction to the UK, contact your local bank and ask them to certify your documents. If you're not sure if this applies to you, please contact us to discuss this further.
• contact the UK Embassy or Consulate where a certification service is provided
• contact a lawyer, solicitor or barrister in your country/region of residence listed on the  Legal 500 or on this  UK Government list of lawyers abroad.

For copies of documents which include a photo of you:

I [full name of certifier] confirm that this is an accurate copy of the original [type of document] and the photo is a true likeness of the named person.

For copies of documents without a photo of you (proof of address):

I [full name of certifier] confirm this is an original [type of document], in the name of [applicant's name] issued by [issuing institution] on [date of issue].

For original proof of address documents to be uploaded online:

I [full name of certifier] confirm this is an original [type of document], in name of [applicants name] issued by [issuing institution] on [date of issue].

Your certifier should also write:

• their signature and full name
• their occupation, company (or professional) address and phone number
• their professional registration number (if they have one)
• the date