You need a photo ID, either a passport or a driving licence, and a copy of a recent utility bill. If your passport or licence has expired, or you only have a provisional licence, call us on 0800 2545585 before booking. When you book online, you verify the photo ID by taking a selfie, and our identity check matches the document to you. The booking also asks for your name, address, email and mobile number, the name, address and phone number of an emergency contact, the replacement value of what you're storing, and payment details for your first four weeks. If you're booking for a business, the person booking goes through the same photo ID check; call us on 0800 2545585 before you book to ask whether we'll need anything about the company as well.
What the booking asks for
| What | Details | Why we ask |
|---|---|---|
| Photo ID | A passport or driving licence | Checked by our fraud protection system, Stripe Identity |
| A selfie | Taken during online booking | To confirm the photo ID is yours |
| A recent utility bill | A copy, as your second form of ID | Our booking guidance says you "will need to supply" one alongside the photo ID |
| Contact details | Your name, address and email | Formal notices about your agreement go to the postal address you've given us |
| Mobile number | A number you'll have with you | Smart entry is set up by a text to your phone before you move in |
| Emergency contact | Their name, address and phone number | A second person we can contact; our terms let us discuss any missed payments with them (clause 28) |
| Replacement value | The total value of what you're storing | Everything stored must be covered, by our contents protection or your own policy |
| Payment details | For your first four weeks and ongoing payments | Payments are taken through Stripe |
Give an emergency contact's details only with their agreement. Our terms have you confirm that they've consented to you passing their details to us (clause 36).
The short version of this list is on our how do I book my unit? page.
How the check works
The identity check runs online, through a fraud protection system called Stripe Identity. You photograph your passport or driving licence, take a selfie, and the system matches the two. Once your details and payment are in, we email you the storage agreement to sign digitally, followed by instructions for getting into the site.
If you don't have your ID to hand, the check fails, or you have a question before you sign, choose "Reserve a Unit" instead. A member of our team will contact you during office hours and take it from there. A failed check isn't the end of the booking; it moves it to a person.
When your situation doesn't fit the form
Your bills are in another name, or at your old address
This comes up mid-move, and for anyone living with family, lodging or sharing a house where the bills aren't in their name. Our booking guidance says you "will need to supply" a copy of a recent utility bill. We don't publish alternatives, so if you only have something else, such as a bank statement or a council tax letter, ask us whether it will do. Call us on 0800 2545585 before you book, not on moving day, so there's time to sort it.
If you're between homes or staying with a friend, think about which address you give us. Formal notices about your agreement go to the address you've given us (clauses 8 and 39), so give one where post reliably reaches you, and tell us in writing within 48 hours when it changes.
You haven't got a passport or driving licence to hand
Use Reserve a Unit, or call us, rather than trying the online check without one.
You don't have a smartphone
Your mobile number is still part of the booking. Smart entry normally runs from your phone, but if yours isn't a smartphone, tell us and we can supply a fob instead.
You're an executor or administrator
Expect to be asked for photo ID for whoever holds the account, and proof of your role: the grant of probate if there was a will, or letters of administration if there wasn't. GOV.UK says the grant usually arrives within 12 weeks of applying. If it hasn't come through and the house has to be cleared, ask your solicitor what you can show in the meantime, and tell us when you enquire. If the estate won't need probate, ring us on 0800 2545585 before anyone visits the unit and ask what we'll accept in place of a grant. Have the death certificate ready. Our published pages don't list the alternatives.
You're booking for a student
If you book in your name, you're the customer named on the agreement, so the ID and the details are yours. Our guide for parents booking student storage covers the rest.
If someone else needs to sign for you, that's a separate question: see can someone else sign the storage agreement for me?
Booking for a business
Whoever books verifies their own photo ID with a selfie, as above, and the storage agreement is emailed to them to sign. If you're booking for a limited company or other business, ask us before you book whether the agreement can be in the company's name and who will be responsible for the fees.
The recent utility bill our booking guidance asks for sits alongside the booker's own photo ID as a second form of ID, and the guidance doesn't say whether a company bill will do. If you're booking for a company, ask us which bill to supply.
Some operators ask businesses for company documents, such as proof the company is registered and a letter of authority for the person signing, so ask us what we need before you gather anything.
If you'll need invoices for the business, see do you provide VAT invoices for business storage?
A related point: a storage unit can't be your company's registered office. Our page on using a storage unit as a business address explains what you can and can't do.
After you move in
The ID question doesn't end at booking. Our terms let us ask for proof of identity from you, or from anyone else at the site, at any time, and we can refuse entry to someone who can't produce satisfactory proof (clause 14). Only you, and people you authorise or bring with you, may access your unit. So if you send a friend, a removals crew or a colleague, make sure they carry photo ID.
Keep your details current too. If your address, phone number or email changes, or your emergency contact's do, our terms say you must tell us in writing within 48 hours (clause 28). It matters because formal notices about your agreement, including any about unpaid fees, go to the postal address you last gave us in writing (clause 8). An old address means you might not see them.
Ready to book
Have your passport or driving licence, a recent utility bill and your phone to hand, then get a price online. If your documents don't fit neatly, or you're booking for a company, call us first on 0800 2545585.
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