Employment history from HMRC: how to get your record, online or on paper

How long it takes

Why people ask for it

The organisation asking for the record sets what it accepts. GOV.UK says you can find this information yourself or get a legal adviser or tax agent to do it for you.

In the pages and form Tax Letters read, GOV.UK describes the result as a record of your employment history and does not set out what it shows line by line.

Got a letter from HMRC? Paste it into the checker for a plain-English identification.

Your options

1. Sign in to your personal tax account or the HMRC app

   Once you have signed in, GOV.UK says you need to go to your Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Income Tax records to get your employment history. GOV.UK says you can use the HMRC app to check your Annual Tax Summary and employment history. GOV.UK says your personal tax account lets you check your income from work in the previous 5 years and how much Income Tax you paid in the previous 5 years.

2. Send the paper form to HMRC

   The form asks for your name, date of birth and National Insurance number, the years you need the employment history to cover, the full name of any employers you have worked for, and the years you worked for each employer. The form also asks for your current address and, only if you have moved home in the last 5 years, your previous address.

3. Apply through a legal adviser or tax agent

   If you apply through a legal adviser or tax agent, GOV.UK says you first need to give them written consent using the employment history consent form, and that they include your consent with your application.

4. Apply for someone who has died

   GOV.UK says you can apply for the employment history of someone who has died if you are legally entitled to claim damages on behalf of their estate, as part of a claim for personal injury or a fatal accident, or under the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme.

Whether a record is enough for a claim, a lender or a visa application is for the body that asked for it.

The online record and what it does not show

GOV.UK says you will be told when you sign in to your personal tax account if you need to prove your identity, which normally involves photo ID such as a passport or driving licence.

The account and the app are the route GOV.UK gives for recent years. For information they do not show, the GOV.UK page on subject access requests describes a separate route.

GOV.UK's subject access request page says you can access a lot of the information HMRC holds about you without making a request, including information for the current tax year and the last 5 years, in your personal tax account or the HMRC app.

The same page says a subject access request is for information that is not included in the personal tax account, the HMRC app or the Income Record Viewer.

The paper form

The two GOV.UK pages describe the paper form in different terms. The guide says it is for a record from any year. The form's own page says what it is for.

GOV.UK's page for the paper form says to use it to get confirmation of your employment history to make a claim for compensation, for example for an industrial injury, a personal injury, medical negligence or another cause.

The form says to telephone the helpline on 0300 200 3500 if you need help to fill it in.

GOV.UK's page for the form records that it was updated with a new return address on 9 October 2026.

Solicitors, tax agents and executors

GOV.UK says the employment history consent form lets HMRC exchange and disclose information with your solicitor.

GOV.UK says that to give consent you cannot save a partly completed form, so it suggests gathering all your information first, and you need to complete the form fully before it can be printed.

For a person who has died, GOV.UK says to fill in the request employment history about a deceased person form and send it to HMRC, with the address on the form. If a professional representative, such as a solicitor or coroner, gave you the form, you fill it in and return it to them.

GOV.UK pages to read

• GOV.UK: Get proof of employment historyHow to get a record of your employment history online or on paper, and who can ask for it.
• GOV.UK: Request your employment history from National Insurance recordsThe paper form for a record of your employment history.
• GOV.UK: Employment history consent formThe consent form that lets HMRC deal with your solicitor or tax agent.
• GOV.UK: Personal tax accountSign in to check your income from work and the Income Tax you paid in the previous 5 years.
• GOV.UK: National Insurance enquiriesHMRC's National Insurance enquiries page, including the line that covers employment histories.

If you do not hear back

HMRC's line for Class 1, 2 and 3 National Insurance enquiries, which covers employment histories, is 0300 200 3500, open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, and closed on bank holidays. GOV.UK says HMRC's digital assistant can help you find information about checking your contributions and getting your employment history, and that if it cannot help you can ask to transfer to an HMRC adviser if they are available. GOV.UK says to write to HMRC with all National Insurance queries at PT Operations North East England, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1AN, United Kingdom.

If you leave it

The record is something you ask for, so the date that matters comes from what you need it for, such as a compensation claim, a loan application or a visa renewal, and not from HMRC.

If you want to ask an adviser

• Which years does the record need to cover for the claim, loan or visa application, and can the online record cover them?
• Which route suits the purpose and the years needed: the personal tax account, the HMRC app or the paper form?
• If a solicitor or tax agent applies for me, what consent do they need from me?
• How should I check the record against my own payslips and contracts?