Proof of identity

Important information

Proving your identity

You will need to prove your identity if:

• You are claiming benefit
  
• You are starting work and need a National Insurance (NI) number.

There are other ways to proving your identity including showing your:

• Birth certificate
  
• Valid passport or
  
• Life or marriage or adoption certificates
  
• Civil partnership certificate.

Visit www.gro.gov.uk for advice about ordering a copy of a birth, marriage or death certificate.

When you need to prove your identity you should take as many papers as possible to the interview.

If you have a National Insurance number you should take it with you to any meeting or interview at a Jobcentre Plus office.

If you do not have a National Insurance number and want to:
Start work or make voluntary class 3 contributions you should call 0845 600 0643 (8.00 am - 6.00 pm Monday to Friday). If you need an NI number and you haven’t already got one, we will ask you to come to an interview.

We use this interview to check your identity and, if appropriate a National Insurance number will be allocated however, this will be several weeks after your interview.

If you need a National Insurance number to make a claim to benefit this will be done as part of the claim process. You should call 0800 055 6688 (8am - 6pm Monday to Friday) to make a claim to benefit. A textphone service is available if you have a speech or hearing impairment 0800 023 4888.’

You can read more about National Insurance numbers and the application process on the NI number section of the DWP website.

Your National Insurance number is not proof of your identity.