How do I find my UTR number?
Sign in to your HMRC personal tax account or the HMRC app, or look at an old tax return or HMRC letter. If you registered recently, the UTR usually arrives by post around 15 days after you register, and longer if you live overseas. If you still cannot find it, contact HMRC through its Self Assessment contact page.
Figures checked against gov.uk on . General information, not tax advice.
Work through these places first
gov.uk lists the same sources for individuals and sole traders, and checking them in order is quicker than phoning HMRC.
- Your HMRC personal tax account.
- The HMRC app.
- Previous Self Assessment tax returns.
- Letters from HMRC, including a notice to file or a payment reminder.
A UTR is not a sign-in
People often think they have lost their UTR when they have really lost their HMRC sign-in details. The UTR is the reference that identifies your tax record once you are signed in; it is not the user ID or password that gets you there, and recovering one does not recover the other.
Limited companies
A limited company can request its Corporation Tax UTR online. HMRC posts it to the address registered with Companies House, so it is worth checking that address is current if a request seems slow.