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Acceptable Evidence for Organisations in support of an application for a Digital Certificate

This document defines the corroborating evidence that may be used to support an application for a digital certificate by organisations. Such corroboration is required to further support confidence in the authentication of the identity of the entity to be issued with a certificate, as well as to establish eligibility to hold such a certificate. Original documents or certified copies must be provided for verification, in addition to a photocopy of each document that may be retained by the authenticating body. At least one (1) piece of evidence must verify both the organisation’s current name and address. The term organisation is used here to include:

Registered Companies
Other corporate bodies
Partnerships
Government Departments
Other unincorporated bodies and associations

Note that a formal documented existing relationship with the RA may be used in lieu of / with other evidence if the RA already has strong confidence in the identity of the registrant organisation. Underlying identification checks must have been previously performed and it is essential to ensure that information used is up-to-date.

If such a formal documented existing relationship with the RA is not in existence, or if the necessary identification checks have not been previously performed to establish strong confidence in the identity of the registrant organisation, then documentary evidence must be supplied as indicated below.

Where copies of documentary evidence are supplied:

For Primary Registration Evidence - these may be certified by the Company Secretary or a Solicitor or Notary
For Secondary Evidence - these may be certified by an identified director of the organisation

In general, the following pieces of evidence are required:
(consistent with HMG's Minimum Requirements for the remote Verification of the Identity of Organisations - Level 2):

Explanatory Notes:
Numbers indicate how many items of evidence are required in each category

Type of Evidence	Allowable Permutations
Primary - Registration Evidence	1
Secondary Evidence		2
Third Party Corroboration		1

These may be verified by "back contact" with the appropriate Registrant organisation.

Primary - Registration Evidence	Validity Criteria
Official Organisation Registration	For example (Limited Company Registration, Listed Charity Registration, Partnership Deed, Law Society Registration, NHS Organisation Registration, etc.) Original documents or certified copies (certified by the Company Secretary or a Solicitor or Notary) must be provided for verification, in addition to a photocopy of each document that may be retained by the authenticating body. Must be current

Secondary Evidence (Dealings with Government/ Membership /Trade/Operational)	Validity Criteria
VAT Registration	Must be current.
Official Licences to operate, where applicable	Must be current
Bank Reference	On Bank letterheaded stationery and dated not earlier than one (1) month before application date
Contract or Customer/Supplier Reference Code	Must be used in conjunction with a contract or account that is currently active and where one of the contracting parties is the organisation to which the Registration Authority belongs. This should be used only if the RA already has strong confidence in the identity of the registrant organisation. Underlying identification checks based on the other criteria listed here must have been previously performed and it is essential to ensure that information used is up-to-date.
Published Collateral	Currently available material produced for public consumption in the course of business activities and that confirms the business address.
Government Transactions	Information supplied to government departments or other official bodies which are not publicly available (eg tax, VAT, PAYE returns etc). Transaction date must be no more than four (4) months before application date
Membership	Evidence of current membership of a known trade association, affiliation to recognised professional body, or other body
Trade/operational documents	Material generated by the organisation in the course of its activities, but which are not public knowledge (invoices, internal documents etc). Must be dated no more than four (4) months before application date.
Published Company Accounts	Published to cover most recent financial year

Third Party Corroboration	Validity Criteria
Government Departments and Agencies	(including Companies House). Corroboration must be current.
Local Authorities	Corroboration must be current.
Banks or other organisations regulated by the FSA	Corroboration must be current.
Credit reference agencies	Corroboration must be current.
Established “trustworthy” company or other body (such as a utility, NHS Trust, etc.)	With whom the registrant body has a professional relationship. Corroboration must be current.

All Third Party Trademark Rights Acknowledged.

This document is licensed for use only in conjunction with the use of Trustis Limited Trust Services.