What documents do you need for a mortgage application?

When applying for a mortgage in the UK, you will need to submit supporting documents for your application. Lenders may request different documents however, we have pulled together some of the most likely documents that they will request.

Additionally, as well providing the supporting documents, you will need to ensure that they are submitted in the correct format (i.e. file types) – don’t worry, we run through this in more detail.

Documents for your mortgage application

Proof of Income

To submit a mortgage application, a lender will need to know information about your income so they will be able to see what you can afford. The supporting document that you will need to provide will depend on the type of income you receive.

PAYE Employment

Payslips – You will need to submit your latest 3 months of payslips and the payslip must include your name, employers name and the details of your pay. Some lenders may request more than 3 months’ worth of payslips.

Self employed:

Self Assessed Tax Return Forms (SA302) and tax year overviews – These forms can be requested from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and must represent the same period, no later than the last two years.

Other sources of income:

P60 and / or 3 months’ payslips – use these as evidence of bonuses, overtime and commission.
Most recent HMRC letter – this can be used as evidence of child benefits and working/child tax credits
Most recent Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) letter – use this as evidence of state pensions and state benefits
Letter from the local authority – this can be used as evidence of income from fostering (need to include how many children you are fostering and how long you have been fostering).
Pension payslip – evidence of a private pension or annuity

Proof of deposits

As part of the mortgage application, you will need to provide proof of deposit. The deposit can be formed in a number of different ways:

Savings
Gifted from relatives (gifted letter will need to be signed by the giftee as proof)
From the sale of another property

The size of the deposit will depend on how much you’re planning on borrowing but the minimum deposit you can put down is 5%*. However, the higher your deposit, the less you need to borrow and the smaller your monthly repayments will be and the potential to get better interest rates.

*5% deposits may not be available to everyone, depending on the lender’s criteria, product availability and personal information.

Proof of ID and address

One of the first pieces of paperwork that you need is proof of ID. The lender will need to know who you say you are and where you live.

Passport or driver’s licence – make sure you check the expiry date as you can’t use an expired form of ID.
Most recent utility bills – you will need to provide a copy of the whole bill, not just the summary page. Additionally, it should include your full name and address.
Bank statement or credit card bill – must be dated within the last 3 months

The documents that you are submitting will need to have the same information such as the spelling of your name and address.

Proof of expenses

Lenders will also need an idea of what your outgoings are so they can complete an affordability check – ensuring that you will be able to repay your mortgage each month.

The information that they will need for this will be bank statements. The bank statements will need to be a full statement with your correct name and address.

Usually, you will need to submit three months of bank statements but again, it varies between lenders. If there is income that is unusual or unclear, you may be asked about it and the information will only be shared with the lender.

These may not be all the documents a lender will request and documentation requests vary between lenders.

How should you send your documents?

ID, Paper Bank Statements or Paper Payslips

ID, Paper Bank Statements or Paper Payslips will need to be scanned over and when doing so, you will need to make sure all the information is clear, readable and all on the same page where possible.

It’s best to use a scanner to scan your documents across, if you have a scanner that is connected to your desktop or laptop, you can use that to scan your documents. Just ensure that when you do, that the full document is being scanned and nothing has been cropped out.

Using your Phone to Scan

If you don’t have a scanner, you can use your phone to scan documents using a number of free apps such as Adobe Scan, Cam Scanner, Scanner – Scan to PDF, Scanner App.

If you have an iPhone, you can go into your notes section and you will be able to scan your documents:

If you go to notes
Open a new note
press the camera icon, it will give you a few options.
Press ‘Scan Documents’ and your camera will open
Take a photo of your document
If your happy with the image, press Keep Scan in the bottom right or to try again, press Retake
It will then go back to the camera, you can continue to take photos of documents if you need to. Once you have finished taking photos of everything that you need, press ‘Save’ in the bottom right.
It will then have your scan document in your notes
Hold down on the scanned document and then press ‘Share’. From there, you can send it where you need it to go through your application of choice (e.g. via Gmail)
If you wish to save a copy for yourself, when you hold the document down, you can press Save to Files.

What is an acceptable scanned document?

Nothing is cut off
All the words and imagery are in focus
The document is signed if required
No fingers or objects covering any areas
There is no glare or shine on the document
Not too close or too far away

Downloading Bank Statements

You are able to download your bank statement directly from your bank’s online portal if you have access to it. If you’re unsure how to download your bank statement from your bank, our guide might be helpful for you.

Once you have downloaded the bank statements, they will be in a PDF file which you can send over to your mortgage broker or bank if you are arranging your mortgage directly with them.