In this section:

Register for PAYE Online

Using HMRC’s PAYE online service is a secure, convenient and efficient way of handling many of your PAYE tasks, such as sending forms to HMRC or receiving notices and reminders that HMRC sends to you.

This guide sets out how the service’s registration and activation processes work. You have to be registered in order to file any PAYE forms online – including the Employer Annual Return (form P35 and forms P14), which almost all employers are required to file online.

On this page:

Information you need to register
Give yourself at least a week
How the registration process works
Activating the PAYE online service
If you've already used another online service as an organisation
What happens after activation?
Dealing with lost PINS, passwords and ID numbers
More useful links

Information you need to register

When going through the registration process, HMRC will ask you for these two pieces of information, so make sure you have them to hand before starting:

your Employer PAYE reference
your Accounts Office reference

Both of these reference numbers can be found on your yellow PAYE payslip booklet (P30BC), or on the electronic PAYE reminders HMRC sends you each year.

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Give yourself at least a week

Going through the online registration process only takes a matter of minutes. But before you can start using the service, you'll need to wait for an Activation PIN that HMRC will send you by post (you may also see this referred to as an 'Activation code' on the Government Gateway website). This will arrive within seven days of your registration.

So don't leave registration until the last minute before a filing deadline, such as the 19 May deadline for filing your Employer Annual Return, which almost all employers are now required to file online.

Bear in mind also that your Activation PIN is only valid for 28 days. If you don't activate the service within that period, you'll have to request a new PIN and wait for it to arrive by post.

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How the registration process works

The following are the main stages in the registration process:

go to the online services homepage and click on the 'Register' button
click on 'Organisation', and select 'PAYE for Employers' on the next page
read and accept the terms and conditions of HMRC’s online services
enter your name and email address
create a password, making sure to keep it as you'll need it to use the service
you'll be given a User ID - keep it as you'll need it to use the service
enter your Employer PAYE reference and Accounts Office reference

And that's it. Now you must wait for two letters in the post. The first will include your User ID, and the second will contain the Activation PIN you need to access the service for the first time

View an online demonstration of the registration process

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Activating the PAYE online service

To log on to the PAYE online service, you simply enter your User ID and password.

The first time you log in you will also be asked to type in the Activation PIN that we posted to you. This must be done within 28 days of the letter containing the Activation PIN, or you'll have to request a new PIN from HMRC.

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If you've already used another online service as an organisation

In this case follow the link below and log in using your existing User ID and password, then follow the on-screen instructions to enrol for PAYE. You'll receive an Activation PIN in the post within seven working days. To activate the service, follow the instructions in the previous section, 'Activating the PAYE online service'.

Enrol for PAYE Online

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What happens after activation?

Once you have activated the PAYE online service, you will be able to use it to complete some of your key PAYE tasks. This includes filing your Employer Annual Return (P35 and P14s), which almost all employers must now file online.

Once you activate the PAYE online service, HMRC will automatically start using it to send you all the PAYE notices and reminders that apply to you. It’s important to check regularly to ensure that you receive and act on any notices HMRC has sent to you.

You can request that HMRC resumes sending paper versions of most of these notices, but form P35N and all reminders relating to your Employer Annual Return will continue to be sent online.

An overview of the PAYE online service

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Dealing with lost PINs, passwords and ID numbers

You'll find links on the HMRC online services homepage to step-by-step information explaining what to do if you lose any of these key pieces of information. Here is a summary:

If your Activation PIN expires, log in using your User ID and password, provide the information requested, and HMRC will send you a new PIN
If you lose your Activation PIN within its 28 day validity, log in using your User ID and password, click on 'Activate', and then click on 'Request a new PIN'
If you lose your User ID, HMRC will tell you it if you confirm your identity (by entering your email address, password, PAYE reference and Accounts Office reference). If you want to be informed of your user ID by email, you'll also have to provide your email address - otherwise it will be sent by post.
If you lose your password, HMRC can reset it and provide a replacement. You will have to confirm your identity by entering your email address, User ID, PAYE reference and Accounts Office reference. If you provide the email address you used when you first registered to use online services, HMRC can provide the replacement password by email - otherwise it will be sent by post.
If you lose both your User ID and password, you must contact HMRC’s Online Services Helpdesk. You can email helpdesk@ir-efile.gov.uk or contact Tel 0845 605 5999 (from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, seven days a week)

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