Estate agents, conveyancers and lenders all have a legal duty under HMRC’s regulatory requirements and Money Laundering Regulation to confirm who we are and where the money is coming from when purchasing a property.
Know Your Customer (KYC) are the official standards we work to in order to verify our customers. This involves verifying the identity and address of new and existing clients of all those involved in the property transaction as well as carrying out anti-money-laundering checks (AML).
Home Legal Direct carry out your ID Checks in a safe and secure way
Home Legal Direct carry out your identity and anti-money laundering checks using Identity Checker. This is a safe, secure and efficient online portal which allows us to vet your documents and provide identity authorisation to your conveyancer. The system uses face biometrics to check the authenticity of your photo against your photo ID with artificial and human intelligence running in the background to verify the information you have submitted. As on online system, it lowers the risk of fraud or identity theft as it stops the need for physically handing over or emailing information to your conveyancer.
What do I need to do?
Once you have instructed with us, we will send you a unique secure link with the customer’s name to allow you to log into the secure portal. You are required to upload a selfie and your ID documents. The portal will guide you through the steps.
A verification report is provided with the results of the checks. Assuming your checks are accepted, the verification report will be sent to your conveyancer meaning their due diligence is complete for this aspect of the conveyancing process. If there are any issues, then a member of our team will be happy to discuss this with you.
What type of ID evidence do I need to provide?
There are two checks which need to be carried out. These are proof of name and proof of address. Here’s a summary of what you need to submit.
1. A photograph of yourself
This can be done in the form of a selfie taken on your mobile phone. It needs to be a clear head and shoulders picture taken in the same way as a passport photo.
2. Proof of name with photographic evidence
We accept any one from the following forms of identification:
| Passport | Current, valid and signed |
| Driving Licence | Current and valid UK or EEA photocard driving licence. Provisional driving licences are not accepted |
| National Identity Card | With photograph |
| Photographic Registration Card (CIS4) | For those self-employed in the construction industry |
3. Proof of address
The accepted forms of identification we use for proof or address are any one of the following:
| Utility Bill | Issued within the last 3 months Gas, electric, landline phone bill, satellite television Mobile phone bills are not accepted |
| Driving Licence | This can only be used for proof of address if not used as evidence for proof of name |
| Bank or Building Society Statement | To cover the last 3 months We do not accept a credit card statement |
| Council Tax Bill | Issued by the Local Authority for the current council tax year |
| Mortgage Statement | From a recognised lender issued for the last full year |
Making the process work for you
The information you provide to us needs to be clear, accurate and in date. We want to provide our customers with a safe and efficient service as hold ups in the conveyancing process can become frustrating and even costly. With this in mind, here’s a summary of what you need to consider when providing your information:
- Provide a high-quality photo or scan of the appropriate document
- Ensure your ID details match the details on your application
- Make sure your address is your home address. We do not accept a PO address or an office or workplace address
- Ensure the date of issue is within the permitted time frames on the relevant document
- The company name should be visible on all official bill statements
We are here to help
If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to guide you through the process and answer any questions you may have.