What is a company UTR?
A company UTR is a 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference that HMRC issues to a company for Corporation Tax. It is sometimes just called the “tax reference”. Every limited company has one, whether it trades or not, and it is separate from any personal UTR a director has for Self Assessment.
The UTR is needed to:
- file the CT600 Company Tax Return;
- pay corporation tax, as the payment reference;
- tell HMRC the company is dormant or has started trading;
- deal with HMRC about the company by phone or letter.
Where do you find it?
HMRC sets up a Corporation Tax record automatically when Companies House accepts a new company. According to HMRC’s manual entry COM40070 (updated 3 July 2025), it issues form CT41G the next day, giving the UTR and explaining the company’s duty to tell HMRC when it becomes active.
After that, the UTR appears on:
| Where | Notes |
|---|---|
| The CT41G letter | Posted to the registered office after incorporation |
| HMRC’s business tax account | Once the company is added to it |
| HMRC letters | Including any notice to deliver a Company Tax Return |
| Previous CT600s | If the company has filed before |
GOV.UK’s Find your UTR number page says a new company’s UTR usually arrives by post around 15 days after registration.
How do you request a copy?
Use HMRC’s online service, Ask for a copy of your Corporation Tax UTR. It needs:
- the company registration number;
- the registered company name, exactly as on the register.
The copy is posted to the registered office address held at Companies House, not to any other address. If the registered office is an agent’s address the company no longer uses, update it at Companies House first, or the letter will go to the old address.
The service isn’t available for companies that have been dissolved or struck off, or for companies incorporated very recently, whose UTR “should arrive soon”.
How long does it take?
Post times vary, so allow at least a couple of weeks. That matters near the CT600 deadline: a return can’t be filed without the UTR, and HMRC’s late filing penalty now starts at £200 for returns due from 1 April 2026. The corporation tax deadlines guide sets out those dates.
How do you keep it safe?
The UTR isn’t secret in the way a password is, but it identifies the company to HMRC and should be kept with the company’s records. Software that stores it should encrypt it. FileMyLtd, for example, encrypts the UTR before saving it and shows only its last two digits afterwards, as described on its security page.
What the searches suggest
UK searches for “request company utr” run at about 590 a month, against about 140 for “find company utr” (DataForSEO, November 2026). More people search for requesting a new copy than for finding the existing one, which fits the usual pattern: the CT41G letter arrives in the company’s first weeks and is filed away long before the first Company Tax Return is due.
Sources
- Find your UTR number (GOV.UK), updated 30 September 2026. Checked 6 November 2026.
- Ask for a copy of your Corporation Tax UTR (HMRC online service), updated no date shown, checked 6 November 2026. Checked 6 November 2026.
- COM40070 New company records, CT41G (HMRC manual), updated 3 July 2025. Checked 6 November 2026.
Search figures are 12-month UK averages from DataForSEO (Google Ads data), pulled 6 November 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and it will be corrected.