Document certification
If you need your documents certified as part of the pension transfer process, our guide can help
What is a certified document?
A certified document is a photocopy that has been verified by an authorised person that it's a true copy of the original document, which they have seen. It must be certified with very specific wording. For the pension transfer process, you'll usually be asked to provide a copy of one of the following:
- passport
- driving licence (with photocard)
- bank statement
- council tax or utility bill
- mortgage statement or rental agreement
- birth or marriage certificate
Due to Crown copyright regulations, the Post Office don't certify birth, marriage or death certificates. Your pension provider will be able to send you a list of documents that they accept. They should also confirm how old the document should be - for example, they may only accept utility bills that are less than three months old or will not accept passports that have expired.
Why you might be asked for certified documentation
You might be asked to provide certified documents if the name provided on your transfer form doesn't match the name on your proof of identity. This might be because your old pension is in your maiden name. Or you might have moved house since the pension scheme started. These are all part of the standard anti-money laundering checks pension companies carry out.
Who can certify a document?
Your provider will have a list of Approved Certifiers. You may know someone who can certify your documents for you - as long as they are not related to you, living at the same address as you or in a relationship with you.
Here are a few examples of people who can usually certify documents:
- Bank or Building Society official
- Dentist or doctor
- HR professional
- Teacher or lecturer
- Police Officer
- Post Office official
- Solicitor
Otherwise, you can take them to your bank or building society, your local Post Office, or a solicitor to certify. They'll probably charge you a fee for this service.
What does a certified doc look like?
The person certifying the document should include the following on the copy of the original document:
- 'Certified to be a true copy of the original seen by me'
- their signature and the date
- their name, occupation, address and telephone number
The certification must be next to the copied document and not on the back.
What happens after you’ve sent it to your provider?
This will depend on whether you have sent the original document or a certified copy of your document to your provider. If you've sent the original document, your provider will usually return this to you through recorded delivery within an agreed period of time. You should check with your provider on their next steps though.
Need help?
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Contact us
Please call us on 0345 070 8686 and have your L&G policy number ready.
If you don’t know it, your National Insurance number will work too.
For transfer-in queries, let us know so we can direct you to the right team.
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