Tax Share Code: How to Generate One, Uses, and Validity

If you’re searching for a “tax share code,” you almost certainly want the UK immigration share code: a nine-character code you generate on GOV.UK to prove your immigration status to an employer, a landlord, or another organisation that needs to check it.¹ There is a separate thing called a tax check code, but it only applies if you’re renewing a taxi, private hire, or scrap metal licence, so unless that’s you, the share code below is what you need.²

A share code is temporary. It lasts 90 days from the moment you create it, can be used as many times as needed within that window, and unlocks a real-time view of your status on a government portal rather than requiring you to hand over your passport or residence card.¹

What You Use a Share Code For

Three situations account for almost all share code use.

The first is a Right to Work check. Employers in the UK have to confirm you can legally work for them before you start, and a share code is the standard way to prove it.³

The second is a Right to Rent check in England. Before a landlord rents to you, they have to confirm every adult occupant has the right to live in the UK. You can use a share code, or you can show original immigration documents instead, and a landlord isn’t allowed to reject your application because you chose documents over a code.⁴

The third is any other organisation that asks you to prove your status. For those situations you use the general “view your eVisa and get a share code” service rather than the work or rent versions.¹

Who Can Get One

The share code system is built for people who aren’t British or Irish citizens but hold permission to be in the UK. British and Irish citizens generally prove their right to work or rent using their passport instead.

You can generate a share code if you have any of the following:

A UKVI account, which is the account used to view your eVisa and manage your status online.
A Biometric Residence Permit. Most BRPs expired at the end of 2024, but you can still use the BRP number to access the service for 18 months after the expiry date printed on the card.
A digital certificate of entitlement, if you’re a British, Irish, or Commonwealth citizen using one to prove right of abode.

One exception: if your certificate of entitlement is a vignette sticker in your passport rather than a digital one, you can’t generate a share code from it. You’d need to apply for a digital certificate first, or prove your status using original documents.³

How to Generate a Share Code

Start on GOV.UK and pick the service that matches your reason for needing the code:

“Prove your right to work” if it’s for an employer.
“Prove your right to rent” if it’s for a landlord in England.
“View your eVisa and get a share code” for anything else.

Each code is tied to the service you used to create it. A Right to Work code won’t work on the Right to Rent portal, so if you need both around the same time, generate one of each.

To sign in, you’ll need one of the following: your passport or national identity card, your biometric residence card (valid or expired), your expired BRP, or your UKVI customer number. You’ll also need access to the mobile number or email address linked to your UKVI account, because the system sends a verification code before letting you continue.¹

Once you’re in, the service produces a nine-character alphanumeric code. The format looks like “SB9 3NG ZKE.”⁵ You give this code and your date of birth to whoever needs to check your status. You don’t need to show them your eVisa itself.

Your National Insurance number isn’t needed to generate the code. You’ll normally give an employer your NI number when you actually start work, but it plays no role in the share code process.³

What the Employer or Landlord Does With It

They go to their own GOV.UK checking service, enter the code and your date of birth, and see a summary of your status: what kind of work you’re allowed to do, and how long your permission lasts. There are three checking services on their side too, split the same way as yours: one for employers, one for landlords, and a general one for other organisations.⁶

How Long a Code Lasts

Ninety days, from the moment you create it.¹ Within that window the same code can be checked as many times as needed. If nobody uses it before 90 days pass, it stops working and you generate a new one. There’s no cap on how many codes you can create in total, so applying to several jobs or flats at once is fine.

If Something Goes Wrong

A few problems come up regularly:

Locked out of your UKVI account because you’ve lost access to the linked phone number or email. Use the account recovery help on the eVisa support page before trying to generate a code.
Wrong details on your eVisa, such as an incorrect date of birth or outdated status. Report the error through GOV.UK first. A code tied to bad data will fail when someone checks it.
A change of name, nationality, or appearance since you set up the account. Update your UKVI account before generating the code.
Can’t view your eVisa at all. Check that you actually finished setting up your UKVI account; if you received a BRP but never created one, that step comes first.

If the online service still won’t work for you, you can prove your right to work or rent using your original immigration documents instead. The share code is convenient, not compulsory.³

1
GOV.UK. View Your eVisa and Get a Share Code to Prove Your Immigration Status
2
GOV.UK. Complete a Tax Check for a Taxi, Private Hire or Scrap Metal Licence
3
GOV.UK. Prove Your Right to Work to an Employer: Get a Share Code Online
4
GOV.UK. Prove Your Right to Rent in England
5
Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements. What Is a Share Code?
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GOV.UK. Check Someone’s Immigration Status