If you claim Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support you will need to provide certain documents to prove that you are eligible to receive these benefits.
You will need to provide original documents for proof of your identity. We don’t need to see these if you have shown us proof of your identity within the last three years or you receive Universal Credit, Income Support or Income Based Jobseeker's Allowance.
Proof of identity for yourself (and your partner if applicable)
Two original items from the following list:
- current passport
- photo card driving licence
- birth or marriage certificate
- NHS medical card
- UK residence permit
- bank or building society statements
- divorce or annulment papers
- police registration document
- National Insurance number card
- recent utility bill (gas, water or telephone)
Proof of National Insurance number for yourself (and partner if applicable)
- National Insurance number card
- P60s
- P45s
- payslips from your employer or private pension provider
- award letters from the Department of Work and Pensions or Jobcentre Plus
You can upload all other items of evidence we ask for to our website using the upload form below.
How to provide any other documents we ask for
When you make a claim or report a change online, after you submit your claim, you will be sent an email at the same time with a link to send us any documents we have asked for.
Don’t delay submitting your claim online.
Online
You can send all other documents we ask for via the online evidence form.
You have one calendar month from when we receive your claim to provide any supporting documents we have asked for. We can start to process your claim, but may not be able to pay you any benefit or support until we have all the necessary proof we have asked for.
One Stop Shops
If you are unable to upload evidence requested, face to face meetings are available by appointment only at the One Stop Shop. No drop-in appointments are available at this time.
The One Stop Shop team can be reached on 0151 606 2005. Operating hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Staff answering the phone will guide you through any issues that you may have and if the problem cannot be resolved over the phone, they will set up a face-to-face meeting for you.
Proof of money coming in
If you or your partner is working, we may ask you for:
- last five payslips if paid weekly
- last two payslips if paid monthly
We may need this information for any other adult who lives with you and is working.
Self-employed
If you are self-employed and the business is more than 12 months old and you have not claimed Universal Credit, we may ask to see a copy of your or your partner's profit and loss account or most recent business accounts for the last 12 months.
If you are self-employed and the business is less than 12 months old please complete the self-employed earnings form.
For any work or private pension payslips, training allowance, student bursaries, student loans, letter showing maintenance payments and any miscellaneous cash payments.
We may also ask you to provide evidence of any savings bank accounts, savings, investments and property. We may also ask for this information for any other adult who lives with you and has money coming in.
Proof of money you pay out
Bank statement showing any money being paid to a private pension company, letter from a registered child-minder or receipts which show how much you pay (these must include their registration number, the child’s name and the number of days childcare is required).
Proof of rent
If you are claiming Housing Benefit as a private tenant, we may need to see proof of the rent you pay. We also need to know if it includes money for services such as heating, lighting, hot water and water rates.
A copy of your tenancy agreement will usually be all we need if we ask you for it; or If you do not have a formal agreement, we will need to see a letter from your landlord or their agent, or a rent book.
The letter or rent book must be signed and dated by your landlord or their agent and show:
- your name and address
- the date the tenancy agreement started
- the total amount that you pay
- a breakdown of the amounts paid for services in your rent, for example, heating, hot water or lighting
- the name and address of your landlord or their agent