Proving your identity

  • If you've been contacted by our Retail Fraud department and need to visit your local branch with identification, here’s a list of acceptable ID to take with you (these must be originals, not photocopies).

    Acceptable identification:

    • A letter from our Retail Fraud department (if you’ve received one)
    • Plus proof of your Bank of Scotland account e.g. a debit card, passbook, statement
    • Plus 1 form of identification from the table below.
    table of acceptable identification

    For customers over 18 years of age

    For customers under 18 years of age

    For customers over 18 years of age

    • Current UK photo card driving licence (full or provisional), or old paper form licence if still in date (full only)
    • Current European driving licence
    • Current full signed passport
    • Current blue disabled drivers pass
    • Current EU Member State identity card
    • Northern Ireland electoral identity card
    • Most recent utility bill or certificate from a utilities supplier confirming pre-payment agreement including rates (excludes mobile telephone phone bills).

    For customers under 18 years of age

    Any form of identification listed for customers over 18 years of age, or:

    • Birth certificate
    • Medical card (full card).

    We are committed to helping people who have difficulty accessing banking. If because of your circumstances you do not have any of the items listed above we may still be able to help you open an account. Please contact your local Branch for assistance.

We need you to prove your identity if you are a new customer opening a new account with us. Existing customers may also need to prove their identity when opening additional accounts.

What can you use to prove your identity?

Applying for a current account?

Using our Mobile Banking App to apply is safe and secure, in most cases you will only need one of the following:
 

  • A UK or Non-UK passport
  • A current UK photo driving licence.
     

Providing your identity for other online applications & in branch

In most cases you will only need to produce one of the following:
 

  • A current UK photo driving licence
  • Passport from the United Kingdom
     

If you are an existing customer, you can use your existing bank card with Chip & Pin to verify your identity.

If you cannot provide one of the items above, you will need to bring two documents. One document from each of the following lists instead:

Proof of identity

Proof of address

Proof of identity

  • Current EU/EEA passport, photo driving licence or identity card. (Accepted for online product opening)  
  • All other current signed passports. (Accepted for online product opening)   
  • HMRC Tax Notification.
  • Young Scots Card.
  • Blue disabled drivers pass. (Accepted for online product opening)  
  • Benefits entitlement letter. (Accepted for online product opening)  
  • UK Armed Forces ID Card.
  • Home Office Immigration Status Document accompanied by proof of right to reside.
  • Home Office Application Registration Card.
  • Northern Ireland Voters Card.

Proof of address

  • Current EU/EEA photo driving licence. (Accepted for online product opening) 
  • Benefits entitlement letter. (Accepted for online product opening) 
  • HMRC Tax Notification.
  • Local authority tax bill for the current year. (Accepted for online product opening) 
  • Utility bill (such as gas or landline phone bill) dated within the last six months. (Accepted for online product opening) 
  • Bank, building society or UK credit union statement. (Accepted for online product opening) 
  • UK, EU/EEA mortgage statement. (Accepted for online product opening) 
  • Current UK provisional driver's licence. (Accepted for online product opening) 
  • UK credit card statement. (Accepted for online product opening) 
  • Tenancy agreement issued by a solicitor, housing association, local council or reputable letting agency.

We are committed to helping people who have difficulty accessing banking. If because of your circumstances you do not have any of the items listed above we may still be able to help you open an account. Please contact your local Branch for assistance.

 

Important note regarding acceptable documents:

  • Where you need to provide two separate documents, the same one can't be used twice, even if it appears on both lists. The documents must be from different companies.
  • All documents must be the most recent ones. We don't accept expired documents.
  • Documents used for proof of address should show your full name and current address.
  • We accept statements printed from Internet Banking.
  • We reserve the right to obtain additional identification and address verification documents if required.

Additional information about your identity: