Opening an account

Accounts we offer
Joint accounts
Investment Clubs, Charities & Trusts
Before you begin
After you apply
Anti-money laundering documents
Missing registration details

Accounts we offer

Bank of Scotland Share Dealing offers a range of nominee accounts:

• Share Dealing Account
• Bank of Scotland ShareBuilder
• Self-Select Stocks & Shares Individual Savings Account (ISA)
• Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP)

Under HM Revenue and Customs regulations individuals are allowed to subscribe to one Self-Select Stocks & Shares ISA in any one tax year. The annual allowance is £7,200 (£3,600 of which can be held in a Cash ISA). During the application process, you will be asked to declare that you will only subscribe to one Self-Select Stocks & Shares ISA per tax year.

If you choose to open a Bank of Scotland ShareBuilder or a Self-Select Stocks & Shares ISA we will automatically open a Share Dealing Account for you. Don’t worry, there are no inactivity or management fees on the Share Dealing Account so you don't have to use it. However, the Share Dealing Account does support a wider range of investments including international trading. See the 'Eligible Investments' section of our website for more information.

Joint accounts

We offer our Share Dealing Account and Bank of Scotland ShareBuilder as joint accounts. Currently you can only open sole accounts online therefore, if you wish to open a joint account, please contact us on  0845 606 1188. Once you have opened a joint account, all parties can register individually to use the online service.

Investment Clubs, Charities and Trusts

You can't register for an account on behalf of such an entity.

Before you begin

Before you begin the application process, be sure to have the following information to hand as it may be required:

• Your address details for the last three years
• Your National Insurance Number
• Your debit or switch card and the sort code and account number of the corresponding bank account

Please note that you must be 18 years of age or over and be resident in the UK, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, or if not resident, is performing duties as a crown employee serving overseas and paid out of the public revenue of the United Kingdom (typically a serving member of the armed forces, or a diplomat) or is married to, or in a civil partnership with, such a person.  You must inform us if you cease to be resident in the UK, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man.  For an ISA you must be resident and ordinarily resident in the UK, not including the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.

If you are applying for a Self-Select Stocks & Shares ISA or SIPP you will require your National Insurance number. If you do not have a National Insurance number or you have a temporary National Insurance number eg. TN 123456 A, please contact us on 0845 606 1188. Please note that if you provide us with an incorrect National Insurance Number we may be obliged to close your account which may incur an administration fee and a loss of tax benefits.

After you apply

If you are a new Bank of Scotland Share Dealing customer and have not previously registered for the online service, if you apply online and your application is successful you will be given a Share Dealing Personal Reference Number (PRN) and Account Number on screen together with an online username, which you will be able to change at a later date. If you are not given these details please see the section about 'Missing registration details' for more information. You may be asked to send us certain documents to satisfy anti-money laundering rules – please see the section about 'Anti-money laundering documents' for more information.

We will then send you a temporary password by 1st class post with full instructions on how to complete the final stage of registration. When your account is fully activated for the online service you will receive a 'Welcome' email. Please remember to send us any anti-money laundering documents, if requested, to ensure your account becomes fully activated. To go on and access your share dealing account using the online service, please see the section about 'Accessing your account'.

If you have previously registered a Bank of Scotland account for the online service and you open an account with Bank of Scotland Share Dealing, if your account application is successful and you were not asked to provide us with additional documentation, a member of our Customer Services Team will fully activate your account within 2 working days. Please remember to send us any anti-money laundering documents, if requested, to ensure your account becomes fully activated. When your account is fully activated for the online service you will receive a 'Welcome' email and you should be able to see your Share Dealing PRN on the 'My accounts' screen. If your Share Dealing PRN does not appear on the 'My accounts' screen please try the steps in the 'Add Share Dealing to 'My accounts'' section. To go on and access your share dealing account using the Online Service, please see the section about 'Accessing your account'

If you apply over the telephone, we'll send you an application pack through the post containing your Personal Reference Number (PRN) and a pre-filled application form which you must sign and return to us. You may be asked to send us certain documents to satisfy anti-money laundering rules – please see the section about 'Anti-money laundering documents' for more information. We'll also send you a Personal Identification Number (PIN) separately which you will need to access your account by telephone. Once we've received your signed application form and any supporting documents (if required), you'll be ready to trade over the telephone.

Anti-money laundering documents

During the registration process, if we can't verify your identity electronically, we may also need copies of certain documents to satisfy anti-money laundering rules. If you have been asked to provide us with additional identification you must send us the following documents:

1 document from List A OR
2 documents from List B OR
1 document from List B AND 1 document from List C

List A:

• Valid Passport (UK, EU or Equivalent Jurisdiction)
• Valid photo-card driving licence (UK, EU or Equivalent Jurisdiction)
• Valid travel document issued to an asylum seeker by the British or Irish Home Office
• National Identity Card (non UK nationals)
• Firearms certificate or shotgun licence
• Identity card issued by the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland

List B:

• Valid (old style) full UK driving licence
• Benefit book or original notification from the relevant benefits agency (Dept of Work and Pensions/Job Centre Plus, The Pensions Service) confirming the right to a state or local authority funded benefit)
• Recent evidence of entitlement to an educational or other grant from a local authority of government body
• Most recent Inland Revenue tax notification e.g. tax assessment, statement of account, notice of coding (we will not accept P45's or P60's)
• Current local authority tax demand letter or statement
• Current local council rent card
• Current local council tenancy agreement

List C:

• Current bank, credit card or mortgage statement (not printed from the internet)
• Recent utility bill (not printed from the internet)

Please note that we can only accept original documents which must bear both your full forename (NOT initial), surname and current address.

If you would prefer not to send in original documents, you can take them to your local Halifax/Bank of Scotland branch who can copy, certify them and send the documents directly to us. Please send any documents to the following address, quoting your Account Code

Bank of Scotland Share Dealing
Lovell Park Road
Leeds
LS1 1NS

Missing registration details

When you apply online for a share dealing account if your application is successful you will be given a Share Dealing Personal Reference Number (PRN) and Account Number on screen together with an online username. If you are not given these details on the final registration screen, your application will have been referred to a member of our Customer Services Team for manual processing. Depending on the nature of the referral this can take 7 working days and we may need to contact you.

When your application has been processed, you will receive an email containing your Share Dealing PRN, Account Number and online username. We will then send you a temporary password by 1st class post with full instructions on how to complete the final stage of registration. When your account is fully activated for the online service you will receive a 'Welcome' email. Please remember to send us any anti-money laundering documents, if requested, to ensure your account becomes fully activated.