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It is important that you provide all the documents needed to prove your income and identity as this will help us to deal with your claim more quickly. The documents you supply must be originals as we cannot accept copies.

If you bring your completed form to the Revenues Information Desk or one of the Council's district offices with all the information needed (including original documents proving your income and proof of your identity), a decision will be made on your claim within 14 days.

Proof of Identity

You need to provide proof of both your and your partner's identity and National Insurance Numbers. Please send or bring in least two of the following for you and your partner (if you have one):

• Original birth certificate
• Current Driving Licence
• Wage slips from your current Employer
• Passport
• Credit Card
• Divorce or annulment papers
• Benefit Entitlement Letter
• Gas, electric or water rate bill
• Life Assurance Policy
• Letter from a Solicitor, Doctor, Social Worker, Probation Officer or the HM Revenue & Customs
• NHS Medical card
• Marriage Certificate
• Bank Statement (dated within the last four weeks)
• HM Forces Certificate of Employment
• EC or EBA National Identity Card
• Home Office Acknowledgement Letter

Proof of Income

If you are employed, you need to provide five wage slips in a row if you are paid weekly, three wage slips in a row if paid every two weeks and two wage slips in a row if you are paid every month. If you do not have wage slips available, you can ask your Employer to provide a letter on official Company paper. The letter must include the following information to help us deal with your claim:

• name and address of your Employer
• your income before deductions in the year so far
• the amount of income tax deducted
• occupational pension or personal pension payments
• details of your pay before and after any deductions, and any other deductions for a five week period
• how you are paid - for example, by cheque, cash or into your bank account
• the number of hours you have worked and the period of time the pay covers
• your income before any deductions for the pay period
• the amount of National Insurance contributions which have been deducted

There is also an earnings certificate on the application form which your employer can complete.

If you or your partner are self-employed please see the question "Can I still get benefit if I am self-employed?"

If you get any state benefits, we will need to see your benefit book or a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions or the HM Revenue & Customs showing the amount you get.

Any documents or books you provide to support your claim must be the originals.

We also need to see proof of your savings and investments if you have any. We will need to see two full months' of your most recent bank statements for all your accounts plus statements, passbooks or certificates showing all your savings and investments and how they are invested.

Please don't delay sending your form back to us if you do not have all the items of proof needed. Send or bring in your form to ourselves and let us know that you have more information to send us later. Please do not send valuable items through the post.

If you are housebound and have no one who can help you please call us on 01623 457400 to see if we can visit you.

It is important that you get all the benefit you are entitled to and we can only work out your benefit using the proof you give us. Because benefit is paid out of public funds, we have to check all the information given to us as it is important that we do not pay any benefit which you are not entitled to.