Types of documents we need
We’ll accept paperless documents, such as bank statements, utility bills or wage slips.
If you cannot provide any of the documents, contact us. We can discuss if there’s another way we can prove your identity and circumstances.
If you cannot get all the documents, still submit your claim. You’ll have up to a month to provide all the documents needed.
Proof of identity
Please provide any 2 of the following:
- birth certificate, marriage certificate, civil partnership certificate
- passport (current and valid) or national identity card
- NHS medical card
- award letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or the pension service
- full driving licence
- letter from solicitor, social worker, or probation officer confirming your identity
- Home Office acknowledgement letter (SAL 1 or 2)
- residence permit, Immigration and Nationality Directorate documents or application registration card
National Insurance number (NINO)
- National Insurance card
- P45 or P60 showing NINO
- payslips showing your NINO
- award letters from the DWP or pension service
If you’re employed
Please provide your most recent payslips. If:
- you’re paid weekly, you must provide payslips for 5 weeks in a row
- you’re paid every 2 weeks, you must provide 3 payslips in a row
- you’re paid monthly, you must provide 2 monthly payslips in a row
- you’ve just started work, you must provide whatever information is available to reflect your normal wages - such as your first payslip and contract of employment
We will also accept a certificate of earned income completed by your employer.
If you’re self-employed
Provide your full trading accounts for the last financial year
If you’ve been trading for less than a year, complete our self-employed earnings form. To get the form, call the Benefits Team on 020 8356 3399.
If you’ve just started work, give us a forecast of your expected income during the business’s first 3 months.
If you get pension payments
Provide your latest pension slip or pension statement or letter.
If you get benefits
Provide your benefit award letters, which show the amount of benefits that you receive. If you do not have these, let us know. We may be able to check your entitlement with the DWP.
If you have savings
You need to provide proof of all your savings. This includes:
- statement or passbook for the last 2 months for any bank, building society or post office account - these should not be more than 3 months old, and should show all transactions into and out of the account)
- premium bond certificates, national savings certificate, ISAs, stocks, shares and unit trusts
- proof of any interests or dividends received from investments and savings
- a letter from the bank or building society, which contains the same information as a statement
If you’re a renter
We need to see proof of rent. This could be your:
- tenancy agreement
- rent book
- letter from your landlord
- letter from your landlord agent
The proof of rent should contain:
- the full name and business address of any agent working on behalf of your landlord
- the full name and business address of your landlord
- the amount of rent you pay
- what’s included in your rent - for example; heating, lighting, cleaning, water rates, meals, personal care, general counselling and support
- how often you pay your rent - for example, every week, every month or every 4 weeks