Information about when you may be asked to give evidence to support your Universal Credit claim and how to do it

You will be asked to provide evidence to confirm information you have given in support of your Universal Credit claim. This could be at the start of your claim or as a result of reporting a change in your circumstances during your claim.

An Adviser will contact you to tell you:

• what evidence you need to provide
• how to provide your evidence (this can be managed via your online journal if you are reporting a change of circumstances during your claim)
• the date the evidence is needed
• the evidence must be an original and not a photocopy

If you would like a letter showing the evidence you must provide, telephone 0800 328 5644 or textphone 0800 328 1344. This will be posted to your address. Because this may take several days, it could delay your Universal Credit decision. You will not be charged for asking for a paper copy.

You must provide evidence within the deadline given. If you do not provide evidence by the required date then you might not get the Universal Credit you are entitled to or your payments could stop.

If you don't have the right documents, you can still make a claim but you will need to explain why you can't provide the evidence needed. This may delay a decision about your claim. If your explanation is not accepted then you will have to get replacements or alternative evidence. The evidence list shows alternative evidence that can be accepted or an Adviser can tell you about this.

Once your evidence is received an Adviser will check the details on your Universal Credit account. If you send evidence by post it is verified and scanned by an Adviser and the original documents will then be returned to you.

When all your evidence has been verified and you have agreed and signed your Claimant Commitment you will get a Universal Credit Decision Letter. It will tell you what your payment will be and when you will get it.

Don't send in any evidence until you are asked to, even if you think it's going to be needed.