A UK VAT certificate, formally the certificate of registration (VAT 4), is HMRC's confirmation that a business has been registered for VAT. HMRC no longer posts one as a matter of routine: its manual says certificates "are not routinely issued and can be found in the VAT online account". To find yours, sign in to your business tax account, where the VAT service holds the certificate, which you can view and download again whenever you need it.
What the VAT certificate is
When HMRC accepts a VAT registration, it confirms the key details of that registration. HMRC's guidance says that after registering you will get "a 9-digit VAT registration number which you must include on all invoices you raise", information about when to submit your first VAT return and payment, and "confirmation of your registration date (known as your 'effective date of registration')". The certificate is the formal record of that registration, and it is the document banks, customers and online platforms usually mean when they ask for "proof of VAT registration".
The certificate is evidence, not the registration itself. HMRC's VAT registration manual says certificates "have no legal significance beyond advising traders that the Commissioners have acknowledged their notification of liability (or request to be registered) and have registered them", a point it bases on the 1978 tribunal case of Maidstone Sailing Club. Your obligations run from the effective date of registration, whether or not you have looked at the certificate.
Where to find your VAT certificate
- Your VAT online account. This is where HMRC now holds the certificate. HMRC says you "must sign up for a VAT online account as soon as you receive your VAT registration number". To sign up, select "Add a tax, duty or scheme now" in your business tax account, then "VAT and VAT Services";
- Your accountant or agent. If an agent registered the business, it may have downloaded a copy. HMRC says you "can still sign up for a VAT online account" yourself even if you use an agent, which is worth doing so you are not dependent on someone else for your own records;
- Your post. HMRC sends the VAT number, the effective date of registration and details of your first return by post. That letter is not the certificate, but it is the first place many businesses find their registration details; our guide to your company VAT number lists the other places to look.
There is no separate application for a replacement certificate. Because the certificate sits in the online account, you can view it and print or save it again. If you cannot get into the online account, the usual problem is access rather than the certificate itself, and the fix is to recover your Government Gateway sign-in or ask your agent for a copy.
Who asks to see it, and what they check
Banks and lenders, online marketplaces, payment providers, and larger customers adding you as a supplier may all ask for the certificate. They want two things from it: that the VAT number on your invoices really is yours, and the date from which you are registered.
Many will also check the number independently. HMRC's Check a UK VAT number service confirms "if a UK VAT registration number is valid" and "the name and address of the business the number is registered to". If your trading name or address has changed and HMRC's records have not caught up, that check will show a mismatch, which is why keeping registration details current matters more than the certificate itself. Our guide to the UK VAT checker explains what the service shows.
Keeping the details on the certificate correct
HMRC says you must tell it "within 30 days of any changes" to the name, trading name or main address of the business, the accountant or agent who deals with your VAT, and the members of a partnership. You "might need to pay a penalty" if you do not. Many of these changes can be made in the VAT online account itself, including your contact name and address, repayment bank details and return dates.
Some changes mean the registration cannot simply be updated. A change of legal entity, for example a sole trader's business moving into a new limited company, means either cancelling the registration or applying to transfer the VAT number to the new owner, and the new entity's certificate will then show its own details.
Waiting for the certificate: what to do in the meantime
The obligation to register is triggered by turnover, not by paperwork. A business must register "within 30 days of the end of the month" in which its taxable turnover for the last 12 months went over £90,000, and its effective date of registration is "the first day of the second month after".
Worked example
Using HMRC's own example, a business whose rolling 12-month taxable turnover first passes the threshold on 15 July, reaching £100,000, must register by 30 August, and its effective date of registration is 1 September. From 1 September it is accountable for VAT on its sales, even if the registration has not yet been processed. Until it has a VAT number, HMRC says it "cannot include VAT" on its invoices but can raise its prices to cover the VAT, and then reissue the invoices showing VAT once the number arrives. More on the threshold test is in our guide to the VAT threshold.
Not to be confused with the C79
Importers sometimes search for a "VAT certificate" when they need something else. The import VAT certificate, form C79, shows "how much VAT you've paid on imports" where import VAT was paid through a duty deferment account. C79s are published monthly in the Customs Declaration Service, usually by the 10th working day, and HMRC says you "can only access a statement for 6 months" from publication, so download each one. Businesses that use postponed VAT accounting get a postponed import VAT statement instead.
Primary sources: HMRC's VATREG03650: certificate of registration, HMRC's guidance on registering for VAT, Check a UK VAT number and import VAT certificates (C79).
If you are about to cross the threshold, our VAT registration team can handle the application, the online account set-up and your first return. Once you are registered, our VAT compliance service keeps your registration details, invoices and returns in order.