Get a PDU1 certificate or a National Insurance contributions statement

Question

Accepted Answer

Use this form to apply for a PDU1 certificate to support an unemployment benefit claim in:

You can also use this form to get a paper statement of your National Insurance contributions for your own records.

Before you start

You can only apply for a PDU1 certificate if you’re already living outside the UK or plan to move within the next 2 weeks.

If you apply for a PDU1 certificate, you’ll be asked for:

a document showing the reason you left your previous employment in the last 3 years, for example, a letter terminating your contract
evidence of your earnings from your most recent job, for example, a final payslip, P60 or P45

You’ll also need to know the dates you were a resident in the UK and periods of self employment or UK employment in the last 3 years, including:

If you were claiming Jobseekers Allowance or Universal Credit, you’ll need to know the date of your last claim period.

It can take up to 6 weeks to process your application and post your PDU1 certificate or National Insurance contributions statement.

You’ll need to sign in to apply, using one of the following:

a Government Gateway user ID and password (if you do not have one, you can create one when you first try to sign in)
an email address

If you do not have a UK postcode, you’ll need to know your National Insurance number to sign in for the first time.

You can save your progress and come back to it later.

If you cannot apply online, contact the National Insurance general enquiries helpline and ask for a paper version of the certificate application form.