TRSM91020 - How to: contents: register a trust: contents: getting the trust’s reference number

Following registration, the trust will be allocated a 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR), or a 15-character Unique Reference Number (URN) depending on whether the trust is taxable or non-taxable.

Taxable trusts

If the trust is liable to tax and hasn’t been registered with an existing UTR, the lead trustee will receive a UTR in the post within 15 working days. It may take longer if the lead trustee’s address is outside the UK.

Please note that HMRC will only send confirmation of the trust’s UTR to the lead trustee, even if an agent registered the trust.

If the lead trustee doesn’t receive confirmation of the trust’s UTR after 15 working days, the trustee or agent will need to contact HMRC quoting the trust’s 15-character declaration reference. This reference can be found at the top of the declared copy of the trust’s registration document that may have been saved or printed when the trust was registered online.

A UTR will not be issued to the lead trustee if the trustee or agent entered the trust’s existing UTR during registration.  

Non-taxable trusts

A trust that isn’t liable to tax will be allocated a Unique Reference Number (URN) following registration. If the trust was registered online by a trustee, the URN will only be available to view online. HMRC will not send confirmation of the trust’s URN to the lead trustee by post.

To view the trust’s URN online after registering the trust, the trustee will need to sign out of the service, then sign back in again using the trust’s Government Gateway user ID and password.

If an agent has registered the trust on behalf of a trustee, HMRC will send the URN to the lead trustee by post within 15 working days. It may take longer if the lead trustee’s address is outside the UK.