Website of the UK government

Types of service

The Gateway has over 100 enabled services from over 50 government offices. If you are online to claim Child Tax Credit, pay a parking fine or check your pension entitlement, it’s likely that you are using the Gateway. Sometimes you may not even know you are using it – departments often use their own branding.

There are three main groups of online service that you can register for:

Online services for individuals
These offer personal online services such as:

• Self Assessment Online
• Child Benefit online
• State Pension Forecast online
• Applying for a provisional licence
• There are around 80 online services for individuals.

Online services for organisations
These offer business online services, like:

• Corporation Tax Online
• VAT online
• PAYE online
• There are around 35 online services for organisations.

Online services for agents
This service allows agents, for example your accountant, to submit forms on behalf of individuals or organisations.

How registration works

In order to sign up (‘enrol’) for an online service you first need to register as an individual, organisation or agent. This involves giving personal details that enable the Government Gateway to verify you’re who you say you are, as well as a password chosen by you.

Most individuals register using a user ID and password. (You can also use a ‘digital certificate’. To find out about this method, read the later section: Registering with a digital certificate.)

Do you always register on the Government Gateway site?
Not always. Sometimes you’ll register from the website of the online service you want to enrol for – and you won’t even realise you’re doing it. In other cases the website whose service you want to enrol for will ask you to register on the Government Gateway site first and provide a link. Whichever website you register from, the information you receive back is generated from the Government Gateway.

Information you receive once you’ve registered
As soon as you’ve registered, you’ll see a user ID which on your screen. (You’ll also receive a copy in the post.) You use this with your chosen password to enrol for your first service.

Thereafter you use your user ID and password to enrol for any future online services in the same area (individuals, organisations, agents). You won’t need to register in that area again.

Activating an online service for the first time

Some online services are activated immediately. For others you can only start using the service once the Government Gateway has sent you an ‘Activation PIN’ (personal identification number) through the post.

If the service you want to use requires an Activation PIN you’ll get an email from the Government Gateway when you enrol, telling you they’re sending one with the next seven days, and instructions on what to do. You need a separate Activation PIN for each service that requires a PIN. Once you’ve activated the service you can dispose of the PIN as you won’t need it again. Remember, you need to activate the service before the PIN expires.

Why do you need to wait for an Activation PIN?
The Activation PIN is designed to protect you by ensuring complete security of the government’s online services. Because it’s sent to your home address (already held on the government’s files) the government can be sure that only you can activate the account.

Registering with a digital certificate

Some online services require registration with a digital certificate. These are electronic documents used to verify your identity on the Government Gateway. They also contain software to enable documents, electronic files or other messages to be digitally signed.

For further information

To find out more about the Government Gateway, and different ways of registering, follow the link below.

• More about the Government Gateway (opens new window)