How to Get My P45 If It's Lost or Missing: A Complete UK Guide

Realising you can't find your P45 the night before you start a new job is stressful — without it, payroll may apply an emergency tax code, and your first payslip could be smaller than expected. It's one of the most common questions employees type into Google: "how do I get my P45?", usually followed by a slightly panicked search for a replacement form that, as you'll see below, simply doesn't exist. The good news is that while you can't literally get a replacement P45 from HMRC, there are a few straightforward ways to sort your tax position within days rather than weeks. This guide walks through exactly how to get your P45 situation back on track, whether you've misplaced the paper copy, never received one in the first place, changed jobs years ago, or just need the figures for a tax return. By the time you finish reading, you'll know precisely what to do next, who to contact, and which HMRC service to use if you need to get your P45 details another way.

What Is a P45 and Why You Need It

A P45 is the form your employer must give you when you leave a job, whether you resigned, were made redundant, or your contract simply ended. It's split into four parts: Part 1 goes to HMRC directly from your employer, Part 1A is for you to keep, and Parts 2 and 3 go to your next employer (or to Jobcentre Plus if you're claiming benefits). If your new employer doesn't have this information, they usually can't apply your correct, cumulative tax code straight away — which is why so many people search for how to get my P45 the moment they change jobs. Understanding what the form actually contains makes it much easier to understand why you can't simply get P45 reprinted on demand, and why the alternatives covered later in this guide exist in the first place.

What Information Appears on a P45

According to GOV.UK, a P45 tells your new employer:

• Your leaving date from the previous job
• Your total pay and tax paid from 6 April up to the date you left
• Your tax code at the point you left
• Your National Insurance number and other personal details

None of this is stored anywhere you can access it directly online in P45 form, which is the main reason so many people assume they can get P45 reissued through a government portal when, in reality, no such portal exists for this specific document.

Why Your New Employer Asks for It

Your new employer uses these figures to carry your tax position forward correctly, rather than starting you from scratch. Without a P45, HMRC's default position is that your employer may need to use a temporary tax code until your details are confirmed — which is exactly the scenario most people are trying to avoid when they say "I need to get my P45 before payday." In practice, this rarely causes a serious financial problem, but it can mean a slightly smaller first payslip while everything is confirmed, so it's worth trying to get P45 details sorted as early as possible after accepting a new role.

This is how the paper copy of a UK P45 looks:

Can You Get a Replacement P45?

This is the question almost everyone asks first — and the honest answer, confirmed directly on GOV.UK, is no. If you've lost your P45, or your employer says they sent one but it never arrived, you cannot get a replacement copy. That single fact changes the whole approach: instead of chasing a duplicate, the practical move is to fill in a Starter Checklist for your new employer while you work on retrieving the underlying figures elsewhere. It's a common misconception that you can get your P45 reissued the same way you might request a replacement bank card or a copy of a birth certificate — the process simply isn't set up to work that way.

Why HMRC Cannot Reissue a P45

HMRC doesn't create or store the physical P45 form — it's generated by your former employer's payroll software from the payroll data they hold. Because of this, HMRC has no document to hand back to you, and reissuing one from the employer's side could also cause a mismatch in their PAYE submissions if the employee's pay was later adjusted for holiday pay or a final bonus. That's why the standard advice, if you can't get P45 reissued, is to use the Starter Checklist instead. It's worth repeating this clearly because it saves a lot of wasted time: there is no HMRC helpline, online form, or Government Gateway service that lets you get your P45 recreated from scratch.

What Your Former Employer Can Do

Even though a fresh "replacement" isn't possible, many payroll teams can still resend a copy of the original P45 they already issued (for example, re-emailing the same PDF, or printing it again from their system) — this isn't a new P45, just a copy of the one you already have a right to. It's always worth asking your old employer's HR or payroll department directly before assuming nothing can be done, especially if you left relatively recently and their payroll records are still active. If you're still unsure how to get P45 copy from an employer who has since closed down or stopped trading, your Personal Tax Account (covered below) becomes the more reliable route.

How to Get My P45 Sorted: Step-by-Step

Because you can't get a formal replacement, "getting your P45 sorted" really means getting the correct tax code and figures to your new employer through the approved routes below. Follow these steps in order and most people find they can get P45 situation fully resolved within a few working days.

Step 1: Check Online Portals or Contact Your Previous Employer

Start here. Before picking up the phone, check whether your old employer used a self-service payroll or HR portal such as ADP, Workday, Sage Employee Online, or BrightPay. Many major employers automatically archive PDF copies of digital P45s on these portals for months after your employment ends, allowing you to self-download your document instantly. If you don't have portal access or the document isn't there, contact HR or payroll directly. If it was sent and lost in transit, ask whether they can resend a PDF copy of the original by email. If the company has since closed down or been acquired, try contacting the third-party payroll bureau they used, as records are often preserved off-site.

Step 2: Complete a Starter Checklist

If your old employer can't help, or your new job is starting sooner than a copy can arrive, fill in HMRC's Starter Checklist and give it to your new employer. It asks about your employment history since 6 April so payroll can apply the closest correct tax code from your very first payday, rather than defaulting to the most cautious emergency setting. This is the single most useful thing to know if you're trying to get P45 equivalent sorted quickly, because the checklist is available instantly online and doesn't depend on anyone else responding to you.

• Use it if you're changing jobs and have no P45
• Use it if this is your first job, or an additional job
• Answer the employment-status questions carefully — this is what determines your starting tax code
• Submit it to your new employer, not to HMRC directly — they use it to set up your payroll record

Student Loans, Agencies, and Special Cases

A missing P45 impacts more than just your base Income Tax — it also affects student loan deductions, agency payroll setups, and end-of-year tax returns. Handling these scenarios properly ensures you don't overpay elsewhere.

Handling Student Loan Repayments Without a P45

Your P45 tells payroll whether you have active Student Loan or Postgraduate Loan deductions. If you don't have a P45, it is vital to complete the Student Loan section of the HMRC Starter Checklist accurately. You must select the correct plan type — Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4 (Scotland), Plan 5, or Postgraduate Loan — based on when and where you studied. Selecting the wrong plan or skipping this section can lead to payroll failing to deduct payments (creating an unexpected debt) or deducting loan repayments at an incorrect, higher threshold.

Agency Workers and Umbrella Companies

If you work via a recruitment agency or an umbrella company, you may switch end-clients frequently without actually changing your legal employer. A P45 is only issued when you formally close your account or terminate employment with the agency or umbrella provider itself. If you move between different umbrella companies or agencies without a P45, always request a Starter Checklist immediately from your new payroll provider to prevent being placed on a emergency tax code across short-term assignments.

Alternative Ways to Access Your Pay and Tax Details

If you need the figures from an old P45 for a reason other than starting a new job — for example, a mortgage application, a Self Assessment tax return, or checking you haven't overpaid tax — you don't need the form itself. HMRC lets you view and download your pay and tax details for the last five tax years directly, which is usually the fastest way to get P45 figures without contacting anyone at all.

Your Personal Tax Account

Your Personal Tax Account, accessible via Government Gateway sign-in, shows employment history, pay, and tax deducted for each of the last five tax years — effectively the same information a P45 would show, without needing to get P45 back from anyone. Once you're signed in, look for the "Pay As You Earn" section and select "view income tax and employment history" to see a full breakdown by employer and tax year. It's free to set up, and once verified, it remains the quickest self-service way to get P45 details for a job you left years ago.

Using Personal Tax Account Figures for Self Assessment (SA100)

If you are completing an annual Self Assessment tax return and cannot find your P45 from a previous job during that tax year, do not delay your filing. You do not need the physical P45 document to submit your SA100 return. Simply log into your Personal Tax Account, pull your taxable pay and total tax deducted for that specific employment, and enter those official figures into the employment pages of your tax return.

Check Your Income Tax Online Service

If the pay or tax figures on a P45 you already have look wrong, HMRC's "Check your Income Tax" online service lets you flag the discrepancy. HMRC will then contact the employer directly to confirm the correct details, rather than you having to chase an amended copy yourself. This service is separate from the Personal Tax Account, though both are accessed through the same Government Gateway login, and both can be a faster way to get P45 figures confirmed than waiting on a reply from an old employer.

Starting a New Job Without a P45

If payday arrives before you've managed to get your P45 details sorted in any of the ways above, don't panic — a Starter Checklist is a normal, accepted substitute and most people go through this at least once in their working life. Payroll teams process new starters without a P45 all the time, so there's no need to delay your start date while you continue trying to get P45 copy from anywhere else.

Emergency Tax Codes Explained

Without a P45 or completed Starter Checklist, some employers may apply an emergency, non-cumulative tax code (sometimes shown with "W1" or "M1" after it) as a precaution. This usually means slightly more tax is deducted temporarily than you'll owe over the full year, and it's almost always corrected automatically once your full details reach HMRC — so it's rarely worth spending weeks trying to get P45 sorted purely to avoid this short-term effect.

How to Fix an Incorrect Tax Code

Once your new employer has your P45 or Starter Checklist information, HMRC should automatically correct your tax code after your first payday. If it's still wrong after that, you can update it through your Personal Tax Account or by contacting HMRC directly — you don't need to keep trying to get P45 reissued for this; the correction happens through your tax code, not the form. Keep an eye on your first two or three payslips, as this is when most tax code errors become obvious and easiest to fix.

Frequently Asked Questions

Losing a P45 feels urgent, but it rarely causes lasting problems. Contact your previous employer first, use the Starter Checklist so your new employer can apply a sensible tax code from day one, and lean on your Personal Tax Account for the historical figures. Whichever route applies to you, you now know exactly how to get your P45 situation sorted with the least possible delay. For the official position straight from the source, see HMRC's own guidance: P45 Guidance.