Get a Personal Public Service (PPS) Number

If you have recently arrived in Ireland from Ukraine under the EU Temporary Protection Directive, you should not apply online for a Personal Public Service (PPS) Number. Instead, you should call to one of our department’s PPS Number Allocation Centres. The department has put in place special arrangements to deal with your PPS Number application and help with any income support needs.

Find your PPS Number Allocation Centre.

A Personal Public Service (PPS) Number helps you access social welfare benefits, public services and information in Ireland.

A PPS Number is always 7 numbers followed by either one or two letters.

You can find a list of Specified bodies that use PPS Numbers here.

To get a PPS Number, you must provide evidence of:

• your identity
• why you need a PPS Number
• your address

Evidence of your identity:

If you are an Irish citizen born in the Republic of Ireland, you will need:

• your birth certificate
• AND photographic ID, such as your passport or driving licence

If you are an Irish citizen by naturalisation or Foreign Birth Registration, you will need:

• your current passport or Certificate of Naturalisation OR your Foreign Birth Registration certificate
• AND your Irish or UK driving licence or Irish learner driving permit

If you are an Irish citizen born in Northern Ireland or a UK citizen, you will need:

• your current passport OR your birth certificate showing your mother’s birth surname
• AND your current driving licence

If you are an EU/EEA citizen (other than Irish and UK), you will need:

• your current passport or national identity card

If you are a Non-EU/EEA citizen, you will need:

• your current passport

The following are not accepted as evidence of your identity:

• baptismal certificate
• employment identity cards or personal letters
• expired documents (for Irish and UK citizens, passports expired within the last 12 months may be accepted)

Evidence of why you need a PPS Number:

If you are applying for a PPS Number to work in Ireland, you must have a signed offer of employment from your employer confirming when your job is due to start or when it started. This letter should be on company headed paper with the employer’s contact details and employer/company registered number. You do not need a PPS Number to look for work or for an employer to make an offer of employment.

Some other examples of why you may need a PPS Number are:

• to apply for a social welfare payment
• to access medical services
• to apply for or exchange a driver’s licence
• to access other public services
• to register for a course in a school or college

Evidence of your address:

You need to show evidence of your address to get a PPS Number.

The document must show your name and address and not be older than 3 months.

You can use any of the following documents to do this:

• household utility bill
• an official letter or document
• a financial statement
• property lease or tenancy agreement
• confirmation of address by a third party such as a hotel or hostel administrator or manager, school principal or property owner*
• If you are staying with friends or relatives, an original household bill plus a note from the bill holder confirming that you live at the bill address is acceptable. This note can be written on the bill itself.

If you are aged 18 years or older and living in Ireland, you can apply for a PPS Number for yourself and your child online at MyWelfare.

If you live outside of Ireland, you can apply online at MyWelfare, by post or by email (please see “Applying for a PPS Number if you are living outside Ireland” for what is needed for online/postal applications).

To apply online, you will need a basic or verified MyGovID account. If you do not have one you can set one up here.

Children born in the Republic of Ireland are given a PPS Number when their birth is registered with the General Register Office (GRO). This means you do not need to apply for a PPS Number for a child born in the state. When a birth is not registered within 180 days of the birth, a parent or guardian must apply for a PPS Number.

PPS Numbers for children who are living, but not born in the Republic of Ireland, must be applied for by the parent or guardian. One of the parents or guardians of the child must have a PPS Number themselves before making an application for the child.

To apply for a PPS Number for a child you will need to provide:

• evidence of your relationship to the child, for example a birth/adoption certificate or court documents naming the parent/guardian and child
• evidence of your own identity, for example a passport or driver’s licence.

If you are living outside Ireland and need a PPS Number to interact with a state agency in Ireland such as the Office of the Revenue Commissioners or other government departments, you need to complete an application form for a PPS Number (REG1) and also provide:

• evidence of your address
• evidence of your identity
• evidence of why you need a PPS Number
• a consent form signed by you if the PPS Number is to be given to a third party representative, for example, a solicitor or accountant
• a completed questionnaire

Third Party applications (for example made by a solicitor, accountant, or employer on behalf of the person who needs a PPS Number) can be sent by email or post.

Completed forms should be emailed to CIS@welfare.ie or posted to;

Application Forms

If you have any queries about your PPS Number application, please contact your local PPS Number allocation centre.