If you have been the victim of a mugging or burglary and personal identification documents have been stolen, there is a risk that they could be used fraudulently by the thief to obtain credit or other products and services in your name. For an annual administration fee of £20 CIFAS offers a service to protect your name and personal details from being misused in this way.

When you request 'Protective Registration', a CIFAS warning flag marked Protective Registration will then be placed on the CIFAS National Fraud Database against your name and personal details to indicate that you have been recorded at your own request for your protection.

CIFAS Member organisations dealing with requests for credit or other services from someone who has taken out CIFAS Protective Registration will be alerted to the need for caution.  CIFAS Members, when undertaking their routine checks against your personal name and details will see “CIFAS – DO NOT REJECT – VALIDATION REQUIRED”. As a result of this, CIFAS Members will undertake additional checks to ascertain that the applicant is genuine and not a fraudster trying to use your details to commit identity theft. .

If you believe that the identity of a deceased person could be used by a fraudster to obtain credit or other products and services, a CIFAS Protective Registration may be placed by a relative or executor against the deceased person’s name and personal details.

Once your application for Protective Registration has been processed, the entry will be placed on the database and you will receive confirmation. The data will remain on the database for a year from the date of the most recent fraudulent activity, but you can request the removal or extension of the Protective Registration by writing to the address below.

To make a CIFAS Protective Registration, click here to download the form. The form must be opened with Adobe Reader, which is free software that lets you view and print Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files. Please click the link to download the latest version of Adobe Reader. Once the form is complete, return it to the following address:

CIFAS Protective Registration
Capital House
E-State
Bankhead Crossway South
Edinburgh
EH11 4EP

Alternatively you can telephone the Order Line on 0330 100 0180 (8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday). Please only use this telephone number for ordering Protective Registration matters - the staff on that number cannot help with any other CIFAS-related queries.  Please also have your credit or debit card with you before you telephone.  Thank you.  For any other CIFAS queries, please click here.

Click here for answers to the most frequently asked questions about Protective Registration.

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