Verifying your identity

As a regulated financial services company, M&G is responsible for verifying the identity of all new investors. There are also situations where we will need to verify the identity of existing investors.

Providing proof of your identity helps prevent financial crime such as money laundering, terrorist financing, and identity fraud; especially from criminals accessing the financial system using the stolen identities of innocent victims. Therefore this protects you as well as M&G.

All financial services firms within the UK follow guidance on the documentation and methods that are acceptable to verify the identity of its investors. Information about the documents we will accept and what to do if you don't have them are detailed below.

As a myM&G investor we will always try to verify your identity using an electronic verification system first. However, if this is not possible we will then ask you to provide two pieces of documentation:

• One to prove your personal identity such as a driving licence or passport, and;
• One to prove your address such as a utility bill or bank statement

Documents we will accept

At myM&G, we usually request a UK passport or driving licence and utility bill to check your identity and address. However, we understand that our investors may not have these documents or may be unwilling to send them to us in the post.

We've put together a list of documents that we can accept for verification purposes.

We require you to supply one document from each section below. Some documents appear in both sections. We'll need to see two separate forms of identity, so you can't use one document to cover both sections. Where address details are displayed this must reflect your current residential address.

We recommend that you don't send original documents through the post using a non-secure service as we can't accept liability for their safety en route to us.

We're happy to accept copies of documentation if they're certified by a professional person. See below for details of 'who can certify copy documents'.

We return all documentation to you using a recorded delivery service.

We understand that you may not have the documents we have requested. In this situation, we may be able to accept some of the following as evidence of your personal identity or address:

Under-18s only

• Birth certificate
• Adoption certificate
• Confirmation from your work/school/college/university of your full name, current address and details of your employment/student status
• National Insurance Card
• Student identification/matriculation card (from a recognised university or college) – This must be valid for the current academic year
• Student Loan Company/Local Education Authority award notice
• HMRC notifications of Child Tax Credit or Child Benefit, where you are named as the child in respect of which the benefit is paid
• Young Person's Identity Card (such as those accredited by the PASS scheme)

Residents in a nursing/residential home

If you live in a nursing home and can't provide any of the documents listed, we can accept a letter from the manager or warden of the nursing/residential home confirming permanent residence there. This also applies if you are a Financial Adviser to a customer who is resident in a nursing/residential home.

Usually, this would support a piece of documentation from the 'Personal identity evidence' section such as an original notification letter from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) confirming the right to a state pension.

If you are providing documents on behalf of an incapacitated investor then an original Court Order appointing a deputy may also be accepted. This must be in respect of an appointment by the Court of Protection and name both the investor and the appointed deputy.

Armed Forces

We accept copies of documents certified as a true copy by a senior ranking officer. For details see 'who can certify copy documents' below.

In addition, we can accept an original UK Armed Forces ID card, or an appropriately certified copy.

Other documents that myM&G may consider

Contact us if you don't have any of the documents listed above but can provide one of the following:

• Police warrant card (with photo identification)
• Vehicle Registration document
• Probate document
• Letter confirming your National Insurance Number (The National Insurance Card can't be accepted on its own)
• NHS Medical Card
• Letter from a GP addressed to you, and on headed note paper

Foreign documents

As a UK-registered company, we prefer to receive documentation translated into English. However, we may be able to accept your documentation if your name and address information is clear and we are able to recognise the bank or utility company that generated it.

In all other instances, you may provide an appropriately certified copy where the certifier also specifies the document they are certifying and ensures that your name and address is highlighted to us.

Who can certify copy documents

We can't accept photocopied documents unless they are correctly certified by an appropriate individual. See page 3 of our 'Verifying Your Identity Guide' for our full certification requirements, including the required certification wording.

This guide also provides the reasons why we may verify existing investors and provides answers to some of our frequently asked questions.