What Is a UTR Number? How to Find or Get Your Unique Taxpayer Reference

A UTR number, short for Unique Taxpayer Reference, is the 10-digit number HMRC gives you when you register for Self Assessment or set up a limited company. It identifies your tax record in the same way a National Insurance number identifies you for benefits and PAYE, and you need it to file a tax return, pay a tax bill or authorise an accountant. This guide covers where to find it, how to get one, and the difference between a personal and a company UTR.

Find or apply for your UTR on GOV.UK

These are the official HMRC pages. Each one opens on GOV.UK.

• Find a lost UTR: Find your UTR number explains every place it appears and how to contact HMRC if you cannot find it.
• Apply for a UTR as an individual or sole trader: Register for Self Assessment. HMRC posts your UTR around 15 days after you register, longer if you live abroad.
• Get your company's UTR: Ask for a copy of your Corporation Tax UTR. HMRC posts it to the company's address registered at Companies House.
• See it online straight away: sign in to your Personal Tax Account or the HMRC app, if you already have a UTR.

HMRC will not give your UTR over email, and genuine HMRC staff will not ask you to pay to receive one. Websites that charge a fee to "apply for a UTR" are only filling in the free GOV.UK form for you.

What a UTR number is

Every person or company in Self Assessment or Corporation Tax has one UTR for life. It is ten digits long, with no letters, and HMRC often prints it as two blocks of five. On payment references it is followed by the letter K, which is why bank statements sometimes show eleven characters.

You do not get a UTR automatically. Employees who only pay tax through PAYE never have one. It is issued when you register for Self Assessment, become a partner in a partnership, or incorporate a company.

Where to find your UTR

If you have had one before, it is on:

• The SA250 letter, headed "Welcome to Self Assessment", sent when you registered.
• Any Self Assessment statement, payment reminder or "notice to file" letter.
• Your previous tax return, on the front page, and on the SA302 tax calculation.
• The HMRC app, under Self Assessment, and your personal tax account online.
• Your accountant's records, if you have used one before.

For a company, the UTR is on the letter HMRC sends to the registered office within a few weeks of incorporation (form CT41G), on any Corporation Tax correspondence, and in the company's business tax account.

How to get a UTR number

A UTR is created when you register, so the question is really how to register:

• Self-employed sole trader. Register for Self Assessment and Class 2 National Insurance online on GOV.UK. This is the route HMRC used to call form CWF1.
• Not self-employed (for example a landlord, a high earner, or someone with untaxed investment income). Use form SA1 online.
• Partner in a partnership. Form SA401 for you, and SA400 for the partnership itself if it is new.
• Limited company. Nothing to do. Companies House tells HMRC, and HMRC posts the UTR to the registered office.

Our guide on registering for Self Assessment covers the deadlines and what happens afterwards.

How long a UTR takes to arrive

HMRC says the letter usually arrives around 15 days after you register, and longer if you live abroad. In practice it arrives in one to three weeks, and takes longer in September and October when registrations peak before the 5 October deadline. The UTR is only ever posted; HMRC will not read it out on the phone, although once you have the HMRC app set up you can see it there straight away.

If you are registering late and need to file by 31 January, do not wait for the letter to start gathering records. Register now, and call HMRC if nothing has arrived after three weeks.

Personal UTR vs company UTR

A director of a limited company can have two UTRs: a personal one for their own Self Assessment, and a company one for Corporation Tax. They look identical, which is why mix-ups are common. Use the company UTR for Corporation Tax payments, the CT600 return and anything from Companies House that mentions tax. Use your personal UTR for your own tax return, your personal tax bill and payments on account.

A partnership has a third kind: the partnership UTR, used on the partnership return (SA800), separate from each partner's own.

When you will be asked for it

• Filing a tax return or registering for online services.
• Paying a Self Assessment bill, where the reference is your UTR followed by K. See how to pay your tax bill.
• Authorising an accountant, either online or on form 64-8.
• Applying for a mortgage as a self-employed borrower, alongside your SA302.
• Registering as a subcontractor under the Construction Industry Scheme.
• Applying for certain grants, loans and licences that check tax status.

Keeping your UTR safe

A UTR is not secret in the way a password is, but with your name and address it is enough for a fraudster to file a false repayment claim in your name. Do not post it publicly, do not give it to anyone who calls claiming to be from HMRC, and be wary of "refund agents" who ask for it alongside your bank details. HMRC never asks for your UTR by text message.

What Cloudkeepers can do

If you are newly self-employed, we can register you, chase the UTR, set up the authorisation and prepare your first return so the deadline passes quietly. Our Self Assessment service page explains how that works, and the self-employed tax calculator gives you a first estimate of what to set aside.