Glossary Item Box

Government Gateway 2.2.0 (MR-01) ISV Developer Help (Doc Version 06/03/08) | Send comments on this topic.

# Registration

# What is Registration?

A user must be registered with the Gateway before they can enrol in and submit business transactions to services via the Gateway. Registration provides the user with an authentication type, either a User ID/password or a digital certificate, which they can use across all services supported by Gateway.

A user can either register as a Principal or an Agent.

A principal is someone who can directly use services (submits business transactions/forms) in their own right, either as an Individual (citizen) or as part of an Organisation (company or business - i.e employees). If the user registers with the Gateway as an Organisation, then a new principal organisation is created. They are the only user in the organisation, but they can then create further users (and assistants).

An agent (also called an intermediary) acts on behalf of principals, for example an accountant (or accountancy company) who submits tax assessment forms to the Inland Revenue Self Assessment service on behalf of their clients (Individuals or Organisations). If the user registers with the Gateway as an Agent, then a new agent organisation is created. They are the only user in the agent organisation, but they can then create further users (and assistants).

This section covers Registering Principals and Agents, Selecting an Authentication Type and De-registering Principals and Agents for an Individual or the first (initial) user within a principal or an agent organisation. For more information about creating additional users (and assistants) within a principal and agent organisation see Organisations, Users and Assistants.

© Crown Copyright 2008. All rights reserved