Documents Required for Compliance

Documents you may be asked to upload during compliance onboarding

Most of the information you enter during onboarding is verified automatically. Occasionally a check cannot be completed, usually because a detail does not match a public record, and our payment processor will ask for a supporting document instead.

This page explains what is accepted for each one.

You do not need to upload anything in advance. Only upload what you are asked for.

Before you upload anything

A few rules apply to every document.

File format and size

• Accepted formats are PDF, JPEG, JPG and PNG. PDF is preferred.
• Upload one file per request, unless the document has a front and a back (see Photo ID below).
• Most documents can be up to 2 MB. Bank documents can be up to 4 MB. Registration documents can be up to 30 MB.

Quality

• Upload the original document, exactly as it was issued.
• Do not edit, enhance, retouch or crop it, and do not use AI tools or image editing software on it. Documents that look altered are rejected as a possible fraud risk, even when the change was innocent.
• The whole document must be readable, in focus, in full colour, and not cut off at the edges.

Names and dates

• Names must match what was entered during onboarding, exactly. A maiden name on a passport against a married name on the form will fail, as will a shortened first name.
• Almost every document must have been issued within the last 12 months, or be signed and dated by a legal representative of your school within the last 12 months. Proof of residential address is usually 3 months. Check the section for your document below.

Documents about your school

Registration document

Asked for when your school's name and registration number cannot be verified automatically.

In the UK this is normally a Certificate of Incorporation issued by Companies House.

It must:

• be issued by a public authority, government agency or judicial authority
• state your school's legal name and registration number
• be dated within the last 12 months, or be signed and dated by a legal representative within the last 12 months

A trading name or "doing business as" name cannot be used in place of the legal name.

Proof of address

Asked for when your school's registered address cannot be verified automatically.

It must:

• be issued by a reliable, independent source, such as the commercial register for the country your school is registered in
• be dated within the last 12 months, or contain a signature and a statement of affairs dated within the last 12 months

Proof of director

This applies to UK organisations only, and our payment processor is required to identify every director. You will need a supporting document for each one.

Either of the following is accepted:

An extract from a local trade registry, which must:

• be dated within the last 12 months
• name the director
• be signed and dated by a legal representative of your school within the last 12 months

An internal school document, which must either:

• be dated within the last 12 months, and contain a statement of affairs confirming the person is a director of your school

or:

• be signed and dated by a legal representative of your school within the last 12 months
• name the director
• contain the name, job title and signature of the legal representative who signed it

VAT document

Asked for when a VAT number cannot be verified automatically.

It must:

• be issued by a public authority, government agency or judicial authority
• state your school's legal name and VAT number
• state the country your school is registered in
• be dated within the last 12 months, or be signed and dated by a legal representative within the last 12 months

Proof of tax information

Asked for when a tax ID cannot be verified automatically. In the UK this is usually a document showing your Unique Taxpayer Reference.

The requirements are the same as for the VAT document above, with the tax ID number in place of the VAT number.

Note that a VAT number and a tax ID number are not always the same thing.

Proof of industry

Asked for when the industry recorded for your school cannot be verified automatically.

Any document that shows an industry code alongside your school's details is accepted. In the UK that means a SIC code. A registration document, VAT document or proof of tax information will usually satisfy this, so you may not need anything new.

Proof of ownership

Rarely needed for schools, because schools are not owned in the way a commercial business is. It is asked for only when a beneficial owner cannot be verified.

Where it is needed, our payment processor asks for a signed diagram of the ownership and control structure, showing every entity involved, the relationships between them, and the ownership percentages. The signature must include the name and job title of the person signing, and be dated within the last 6 months.

If this is requested, please contact us before preparing anything. It usually means something earlier in the form needs correcting, and that is a quicker fix.

Documents about a person

These relate to your authorised representative, or to any director or beneficial owner named during onboarding.

Photo ID

Asked for when a person's identity cannot be verified automatically.

Accepted documents are a passport (the photo page, showing the picture, details and machine-readable zone), a government-issued identity card, or a driving licence.

The document must:

• be current, not expired
• be the physical document, photographed or scanned
• be signed, if it has a signature field
• show all four corners and edges, in full colour and straight on

For an identity card or driving licence, upload the front and back as two separate files.

Not accepted:

• digital or app-based ID
• a screenshot, a photo of a screen, a photo of a printout, or a photo pasted into another document
• anything edited or enhanced, including with AI tools
• low quality or blurred images

Proof of national ID number

Asked for when a person's national ID number cannot be verified.

It must name the individual, show the number, and be issued by a reliable independent source such as a government agency or public authority. In the UK this is usually a document showing a National Insurance number or Unique Taxpayer Reference.

Proof of residential address

Asked for when a person's home address cannot be verified. This is their home address, not the school's.

It must show the individual's name, their full home address, and a date within the period below.

Dated within the last 3 months:

• bank statement
• utility bill for gas, water, electricity, landline internet or cable television (satellite television providers are not accepted)
• tax document
• payslip or employment contract, on company letterhead
• government correspondence, such as a benefits, pension or healthcare letter

Dated within the last 12 months:

• mortgage statement
• certificate of voter registration

Documents about your bank account

Proof of bank account

Asked for when your payout account cannot be verified automatically.

Any of the following is accepted:

• bank statement
• bank agreement
• official letter from your bank
• deposit slip or paying-in form
• a screenshot of your online banking
• a cheque

Every one of them must show:

• the account holder name, matching your school's legal name exactly
• the account number or IBAN
• a date of issuance within the last 12 months, with limited exceptions for cheques and some online banking screenshots
• clear evidence it came from a bank, such as the bank's logo, its name in its own typeface, or a BIC or SWIFT code

Deposit slips, bank letters and bank agreements must also carry a bank logo or letterhead, plus a bank stamp or signature.

Not accepted:

• photos of debit or credit cards
• anything printed by an ATM or card terminal
• documents produced by accounting or bookkeeping software
• anything with no clear sign it came from a bank
• documents where the name, account number or date is missing, obscured or unreadable

Why documents get rejected

Most rejections come down to one of five things:

1. The name on the document does not match the name entered on the form.
2. The document is more than 12 months old, or more than 3 months old for proof of residential address.
3. It has been edited, enhanced or cropped, including by a phone's automatic photo adjustments.
4. It is a copy of a copy, such as a screenshot or a photo of a printout.
5. Part of it is cut off, blurred or too dark to read.

If a document is rejected, you will be asked to upload a replacement. Nothing else you have already completed is lost.

Need a hand?

Use the "What does this mean?" help buttons inside the form for guidance on a specific field, or get in touch with the esenda team and we will talk it through with you.