Documents to support your application
Please note: if you want to come back to upload documents at a later date, please either copy the list of uploads needed, or save your application before submitting to be able to log in and view it.
We’ve made it easier for you to provide us with proofs required to process applications and change of circumstances.
You can now upload the evidence we need online, safely and securely, for the following submissions:
- Housing Benefit application
- Housing Benefit overpayment recovery
- Council Tax Reduction application
- telling us about a change of circumstance (benefits-related only)
- Discretionary Housing Payment
- Council Tax Exceptional Hardship
- Council Tax
- business rates
Please note that the maximum document size you can upload is 2MB. If you have any file(s) larger than this, visit our electronic document guidance page for advice on how to reduce the size.
It will help if you can tell us the Council Tax or business rates account number so that we can match it to your documents. This should be on your latest Council Tax bill.
You should not use the Council Tax or business rates upload options when uploading documents or evidence for Council Tax Reduction. Please select 'Proof of benefits (Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction)' in the ‘Why are you uploading documents’.
You must complete the online application for housing benefit/council tax reduction or complete the online change of circumstances form before uploading your supporting evidence.
You must bring the original proof of your/partners identity into the customer service centre.
What you need
It will help if you can tell us the benefit reference number from your submission so that we can match it to your documents. This will be in the email confirmation you received after clicking submit.
The proofs you need to supply are included in the evidence checklist which is at the end of the online application form or the change of circumstances form. Please refer to that before starting the upload process.
It will speed up the process if you have these documents prepared before you start. Read the types of document we can accept for guidance.
Document uploads
We can accept any combination of documents you have downloaded, scanned or photographed, but each single upload must be no larger than 2MB. For more information, read about electronic documents.Please note: you must complete the upload process and submit your documents in one session. If you close the form before clicking submit, your documents will not be saved and you will have to repeat the process.
Upload documents hereYou must bring the original proof of your/partners identity into the customer service centre.
File types accepted:
- PDF (.pdf)
- Word (.doc, .docx)
- Excel (.xls, .xlsx, xlt)
- images (.jpg, .jpeg, .tif, .png)
How long will it take?
You will receive an automatic confirmation email that your documentation has been sent. Keep the reference number in this email safe in case you need to contact us about your submission.
Personal data
Your documents will be stored in a secure online environment and cannot be accessed by anyone other than the department(s) that needs to view them. We won’t use your information for any other purpose, or share with any third parties.
Find out about the Data Protection Act and our privacy statement here.