How to Find Your Company or Personal UTR Number

A Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) is a 10-digit HMRC tax reference. A limited company has its own Corporation Tax UTR. A director who files Self Assessment has a separate personal UTR: they are not interchangeable.

Which reference do you need?

A company registration number, Government Gateway user ID, National Insurance number or VAT number is not a substitute for a UTR. A Corporation Tax payment reference is longer than the UTR and must match the period being paid.

Find a company UTR

Check HMRC correspondence addressed to the company, such as a notice to deliver a Company Tax Return or payment reminder. Previous returns and the company's HMRC online records may also help. Verify that the company name matches, especially if you manage more than one company.

If you still cannot find it, follow the official UTR recovery guidance and use HMRC's online Corporation Tax UTR request. HMRC sends it to the business address registered with Companies House. Check that address and arrange access to its post before requesting it.

The UTR is not published on the Companies House public register. Unfiled cannot recover it from a public company search, and a company-number lookup cannot reveal it.

Find your personal UTR

Check your Personal Tax Account, the HMRC app, previous Self Assessment returns, notices to file or payment reminders. If you cannot find it online or in your documents, contact HMRC using the contact route linked from its UTR guidance.

If you have never registered for Self Assessment, first check whether registration is required. Do not repeatedly register merely because you have forgotten an existing reference. HMRC normally posts a UTR around 15 days after registration, with longer delivery possible overseas; check current response times rather than relying on a filing-day request.

A director with two references

For example, a director filing both a company CT600 and a personal return uses the company UTR for the CT600 and the personal UTR for Self Assessment. Salary and dividend information in a personal return does not make the company's UTR the right reference for that return.

If an accountant previously filed for you, ask which taxpayer and tax service their reference belongs to. Keep the company and personal documents separate.

If a reference is rejected

• Check for typing errors and confirm there are 10 digits, including any leading zero.
• Confirm whether the form expects a UTR, a payment reference or a Companies House code.
• Check the legal entity and the tax service, rather than trying another company's number.
• For HMRC account access problems, use the Government Gateway recovery guide.

Keep UTRs and filing codes out of public posts and support screenshots. Only provide them through the appropriate secure filing or support process.

Use the reference in your filing

Once the company UTR is confirmed, continue with the CT600 preparation checklist. For a personal return, see Self Assessment.

Review your company details in Unfiled. Enter the reference for the selected company; it must agree with the HMRC record.

Official source

Reviewed 30 September 2026: HMRC: find your UTR number.