Why your solicitor asks for ID and where the money came from
The identification requests are not the firm being difficult, and they are not optional for them either. They are the part of the process most often mistaken for bureaucracy.
Identity, and then money
Two separate checks are happening. The first establishes who you are, usually from a passport or driving licence and a recent utility bill or bank statement. The second, which people find more intrusive, establishes where the purchase money came from and how it was accumulated.
A firm cannot complete a purchase without satisfying both. It is a regulatory obligation on the firm rather than a preference, and the consequences of getting it wrong fall on the firm personally.
What tends to slow this down
A gifted deposit
The person giving it has to be identified too, and normally has to confirm in writing that it is a gift rather than a loan. Start this early; it is the most common cause of delay in the whole process.
Money that moved recently
A large deposit into an account shortly before the purchase needs explaining. Bank statements covering the period before the money arrived are usually what is asked for.
Funds from abroad
Additional evidence is normally required, and it takes longer. Tell your conveyancer at the outset rather than at the point of transfer.
Cryptocurrency or the sale of an asset
Traceable evidence of the sale and of the funds arriving is generally needed. Assume it will take longer than the rest of the file.
The safety point, which is the real one
Conveyancing fraud works by intercepting the moment large sums move. Confirm bank details with your firm by telephone, using a number you already had, and treat any email telling you account details have changed as false until you have confirmed otherwise by voice.
This site asks for none of these details and never will. Neither will any legitimate directory.
Written as general information for England and Wales, not as advice on an individual matter. Where a lender’s own requirement applies, it sits in Part 2 of the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook, which lenders amend without notice.