In order to assess your application for housing benefit and/or council tax support we need you to provide proof of things like ID, income, capital etc. We've listed the documents we can and can't accept below. You must provide original documents, not photocopies, scans, photographs or emails. It's your responsibility to provide all this information and evidence that we need in order to process your claim and keep it accurate. However, we appreciate that sometimes you may not be able to produce original documents if they're not available to you, for instance you may bank online and don't have printed statements. If you're unable to provide original documents you should let us know why. In exceptional circumstances we'll decide whether we're able to accept alternative evidence and will tell you what this is.
The list below isn't exhaustive; we may ask for any evidence we deem necessary in order to allow us to accurately assess your claim.
- Payment of benefit may be suspended until the information we need has been provided
- Your claim may be closed down if you fail to provide the information we require within the given time limits.
Please note that if you're in receipt of:
- Income-based jobseeker's allowance, or
- Income-related employment and support allowance, or
- Guaranteed pension credit, or
- Income support
...you're not required to provide evidence of your capital. We'd still require evidence of income for any non-dependents living in your home.
Identity
We can accept:
- UK passport
- UK residence permit
- Home Office registration card (people entering the UK from abroad)
- Birth certificate
- Death certificate
- Marriage certificate
- Adoption certificate
- Divorce, annulment, separation document
- Life assurance policy
- Driving licence in photo card or paper format
- Payslip
- P60
- P45
- Certificate of employment in HM Forces
- Building industry sub-contractors certificate
- Letter from Inland Revenue / solicitor / social worker / probation officer
- Bank statement
- Building society passbook
- Utilities bill (or other household bill)
- Medical card with NHS number
- Tenancy agreement / rent book
- Bus pass, railcard, travel card, season ticket
- Store charge card
- Membership card of trade union, club
- Passports from other countries
We don't accept:
- National insurance number card
- Bank / credit card
- E111 (medical card)
National insurance number
We can accept:
- National insurance number card
- A letter from the DWP/HMRC
- Payslip
- P60
- P45
We don't accept:
- Bank statements and/or building society passbooks
Residency and rent
We can accept:
- An in-date tenancy agreement (must be signed by tenants and landlords)
- An out-of-date tenancy agreement (will need a letter from the landlord to confirm the tenancy agreement remains unchanged and in force)
- A letter from a landlord or a landlord's agent (confirming term, conditions and rent)
- Your rent book
- A Shropshire Council confirmation of tenancy form
We don't accept:
- Bank statements and/or building society passbooks
Employed earnings
We can accept:
We don't accept:
- Bank statements and/or building society passbooks
- P60s
Self-employed earnings
We can accept:
We don't accept:
- Unaudited accounts
- Bundles of invoices and receipts
Income from benefits, tax credits, universal credit
We can accept:
- A notification letter from DWP or HMRC
- Current bank statements or building society passbooks showing regular, identifiable payments
Please note: following the introduction of the 'two-child cap', to establish if your claim is eligible for two or more children a notification letter from HMRC must be provided, showing how many children child tax credit has been awarded for.
Occupational and/or private pensions
We can accept:
- Advice slip from provider
- Notification letter from provider
- Current bank statement or building society passbook showing regular, identifiable payments
Nil income
We need:
- A statement of fact declaring 'Nil income', explaining how you're meeting your living costs, and bank statements and/or building society passbooks showing no income received
Income from investments
We can accept:
- Advice/dividends slip, showing gross and net income and the period of payment
- Policy/agreement, showing the terms of the investment and payments due
We don't accept:
- Bank statements and/or building society passbooks
Capital
We can accept:
- Current bank statement (must cover a minimum of two months, longer may be requested)
- Updated building society passbook (must cover a minimum of two months, longer may be requested)
- Premium bonds
- Stocks and shares certificates
- Computer prints (internet banking only)
- Bond certificates
- Investment policy/agreement documents