Identification Documents – NON-UK Customers

Overseas customers purchasing an address service, company formation or related service will be asked to provide identification documents for the people that are using the service. (e.g. all directors, shareholders, PSCs, members, partners, owners of the business etc.)

Non-UK residents need to provide a notarised copy of the following documents

Photo Identification – A copy of a passport or photo driving licence (with at least 6 months validity).

Address Identification – A copy of a utility bill, council tax letter or bank statement (issued in the last 3 months). We DO NOT accept mobile phone bills, tax statements or invoices. The document must confirm you are living at an address.

The notary public must confirm that they have checked the veracity of the documents and not simply make copies. It is essential that the address has been verified.

Registration Form – We need a signed copy of our registration form.

You need to send the notary certified documents to us by post or courier. We cannot accept copies by email. Our team will then contact the notary to confirm they checked and certified the documents.

If the documents are not in English you must also provide a translation of all documents after they have been notarised. If we are unable to interpret the documents from your translation we will not be able to accept them.

You can read more about MLR, why we need ID and what ID is required on our MLR FAQ pages.

Question Mark, why is ID required?
Signing client registration form

What documents do we need?

For most overseas customers (non-UK residents) the ID requirements are simple. We need notarised copies of proof of address and photo ID.

For any directors, shareholders, partners, business owners, members or person with significant control we need-

1)  PHOTO ID – Each person’s passport photo page or photo driving licence. This must be valid for at least 6 months.

2) ADDRESS PROOF – Utility bill, council tax bill or UK bank statement. This must not be older than 3 months. It must clearly show the person’s name and their home address (NOT a mobile phone bill).

3) A completed and signed copy of our client registration form. You can download the registration form here.

4) If we are forwarding mail to a third party address that is not your home address also please supply a utility bill for the address or additional proof that you use the address.

5) If the documents are not in English we will also require you to provide a translation after the documents have been notarised. If we unable to interpret the documents from your translation we will be unable to accept them.

Please post the notarised identification to us at our Coventry address.

SFS – Small Firms Services Ltd
Union House
111 New Union Street
Coventry
CV1 2NT
United Kingdom

For non UK based clients we are not able to verify documents online. That is why we require notarised copy identity documents to be posted to us. UK residents can read more about providing identification on our website.

What if customers do not provide ID?

The answer is simple! – No ID, no services.We cannot support any customer that refuses to provide identification on request. We are legally required to ‘know our client’ and face penalties if we have not conducted MLR checks.