First steps to register as self-employed

How and when to register
Arranging to pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions
More useful links

How and when to register

When you become self-employed you must register for Income Tax and National Insurance purposes with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). There are three ways that you can register:

online using the email links below (recommended for most)
phone - by calling the Newly Self-employed Helpline (details below)
post - by downloading and completing form CWF1 below

If you are self-employed in a partnership, each of the partners must register separately.

Your National Insurance number

In order to register you will need your National Insurance number. If you don’t have one please call Jobcentre Plus on 0845 6000 643. You will need to attend an Evidence of Identity interview at a Jobcentre Plus or Social Security office.

When to register

You should tell us as soon as you start working for yourself (you can’t register in advance). If you delay registering, you may have to pay an initial penalty. You’ll also have to pay further penalties if payments become due and have not been met.

Information you will need to provide

You will need to provide the information listed below.

Make sure you have all of this to hand if registering online as you cannot save the details and return at a later date once you start to complete the online form:

name
address
National Insurance number
date of birth
contact telephone number
contact email address
the date your self-employment commenced
the nature of your business
your business address
your business telephone number
Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) if you were previously within Self Assessment
the business's UTR if you are joining an existing partnership
where relevant, the full name(s) and date(s) of birth of your business partner(s)

Where to find your National Insurance number and UTR

Your National Insurance number is made up of nine letters and numbers in the following format: DQ123456A. You can find it on your National Insurance card, letters from Social Security, documents sent to you from HMRC, on your pay slips, P45s or P60s.

If you’ve completed a tax return previously, you will find your UTR quoted on previously issued Self Assessment correspondence, for example your Self Assessment tax return. It’s made up of ten digits, for example 12345 67890. Please use the business UTR if joining an existing partnership.

Registering online

This is the quickest and most convenient way to register (although this can’t be used if you’re a partner in a limited liability partnership – see below). Note that when you submit your online application to HMRC it is secure, but the reply to you is not. As a result the email reply will not contain confidential information. If HMRC needs to send you any such information they will contact you by letter or telephone.

Please also note that for security reasons, you will be timed out after 15 minutes. Therefore please have all information to hand before you start.

(A sole trader business is one that is owned and run by one person.)

All business partners must register separately.

If you’re a partner in a Limited Liability Partnership you can only register by post - see below.

Registering by telephone

In most cases you can also register as self-employed by calling the Newly Self-employed Helpline on 0845 915 4515. Lines are open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm Monday to Friday and 8.00 am to 4.00 pm Saturday and Sunday (closed Bank Holidays). You’ll still need all of the information mentioned above to hand.

Note that you can’t use this method if you are a partner in Limited Liability Partnership. You’ll need to register by post - see below.

Registering by post

If you prefer to register by post please download and complete the form CWF1 Becoming self-employed and being registered for National Insurance contributions and/or tax. Or you can call the Newly Self-employed Helpline and ask them to send you one.

If you’re a partner in Limited Liability Partnership you must register by post.

Go to form CWF1 Becoming self-employed and being registered for National Insurance contributions and/or tax

Arranging to pay your Class 2 National Insurance contributions

As well as registering as self-employed you’ll need to arrange to pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions, unless you expect your earnings to be very low (see the later sub-section if this applies to you).

The most convenient way to pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions is by Direct Debit.

Paying by Direct Debit has many advantages:

It is easy to set up - just fill in the application form and send it to us. You will need a suitable account at a bank or building society.
It runs automatically - once set up, your Direct Debit will run automatically.
It helps your budgeting - for people in business good cash flow and budgeting are essential. Direct Debit means that you have to plan for only one month’s payment in arrears.
It gives you peace of mind - payments are made on time, every time - there is no risk of losing benefit because you forgot to pay.

Go to form CA5601 Application to pay Class 2 contributions by Direct Debit

If you are unable to pay by Direct Debit, quarterly bills will be issued in January, April, July and October.

Check current National Insurance rates

Applying to be excepted from paying Class 2 National Insurance if your earnings will be low

If you expect your income from the business to be low for the tax year you may not have to pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions. To find out more please download form CF10 Self-employed people with small earnings.

Go to form CF10 Self-employed people with small earnings