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I want to apply for protective registration

The Cifas office is closed to the public. If you require a Protective Registration please use the service below.

Protective Registration

Are you worried your personal details have been stolen? Have you noticed any unusual account activity? Or do you deal with an organisation that has recently lost or leaked sensitive data? You may be at risk of becoming a victim of identity fraud.

For £30 for two years, our Protective Registration service reduces that risk. 

Please note you can only apply for a Protective Registration using our online application form. We do not accept applications over the telephone. The payment card should be in your name and the billing address should match the current address used for your Protective Registration application. You will receive a seperate payment confirmation email from our payment provider.

We only offer Protective Registration for individuals - we do not offer Protective Registration for organisations. 

To apply, please complete the Protective Registration application form.

How does Protective Registration protect you?

When you request Protective Registration, we place a warning flag against your name and other personal details in our National Fraud Database. This tells any organisation that uses Cifas data to pay special attention when your details are used to apply for their products or services. Knowing you're at risk, they'll carry out extra checks to make sure it's really you applying, and not a fraudster using your details.

Cifas Protective Registration does not affect your credit score. It is a fraud prevention measure and not a form of insurance against losses caused by fraud.

Cifas Protective Registration is only for people whose identities are at heightened risk. The service works by prompting Cifas members to carry out extra checks to prove your identity to prevent further fraud. This can mean that genuine applications take slightly longer to process while checks are carried out. The Cifas Protective Registration will remain in place for 24 months, unless you request its removal. You will not receive an email notification when the registration is due to expire.

What does Protective Registration cover?

The service does not cover transactions, such as credit or debit card transactions, and so will not cause any delays with financial products that are up and running.

Where the risk of fraud is very low, some companies may accept the application without contacting you separately to ensure the application is from you. This will minimise delay while continuing to protect you from fraud. Please note that not all applications for products, finance and services will be checked; even with Protective Registration in place, you should continue to check your credit report regularly and may wish to consider a credit report monitoring alert.

Can I amend my Protective Registration?

You can update your personal details, such as a change of address, or request the registration’s removal at any time. Otherwise it will expire after the two-year period and the warning flag will be removed from your name and personal details.

Please note: each person at an address who wishes to have Protective Registration must apply separately. You must live at the address for which you apply for Protective Registration. However, if you own a property in the UK, which you are not residing at (for example, if you live abroad) and your details have been compromised, you can register the address in question.

Renewing Protective Registration 

If you wish to renew the registration, you will need to reapply. Please note, Protective Registration is most effective in the first few months of your loss of personal data. Fraudsters try to gain the maximum benefit from the data before the fraud is detected and the victim’s details protected. Continuing to use Protective Registration after the threat has diminished devalues the service, as more applications are subject to checks, and so those most at threat are harder to identify. 

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