Take the instruction
Add the seller. Certaby screens them against the UK, UN, EU and US sanctions lists, checks whether they are a politically exposed person, and flags serious adverse news. You record the ID document you saw.
£1.39 a personFor UK estate agents · every sale in scope
Certaby screens every buyer and seller, keeps their ID and source of funds records with the checks, and watches everyone until completion, with one signed record for the whole sale.
£2.78a sale with one buyer and one seller
every required check, no subscription
every required check, no subscription
UK, UN, EU and US sanctions lists, refreshed dailyNo subscription neededUK-hosted
Registered with HMRC
24,000+
estate agency branches are registered for money-laundering supervision.
Source: Property Industry Eye, HMRC data (opens in a new tab)The most common penalty
Not registered
Most money-laundering penalties HMRC publishes are for trading before registering, not for a missed check.
Source: HMRC, published penalties (opens in a new tab)In scope
Every sale
is covered by the money-laundering rules, whatever the price. Buyer and seller alike.
Source: MLR 2017, regulation 4(3) (opens in a new tab)From instruction to completion
One sale. One file. Built as the sale moves.
Open a Property sale in Certaby and add people as they arrive. Each person is checked once; adding someone later charges only for them.
Accept an offer
Once an offer is accepted, the buyer is your customer too. Add them, and anyone paying for them, to the same sale: only the new people are charged. A company buyer gets the company and owners check, with every director and owner screened.
From £4.38 a companyKnow where the money comes from
A short risk and source of funds record for each customer. Where enhanced checks apply, for a PEP or someone living in a high-risk country, Certaby says so and keeps the evidence you upload.
No chargeWatch everyone until completion
Everyone in the sale is screened against the sanctions lists every day, and you are emailed if a new match appears. The first 6 weeks are included; after that, 10p a person a week.
6 weeks includedComplete with one certificate
One signed certificate for the whole sale, with a link anyone can use to check it is genuine, including HMRC. Records are kept for at least five years, as the regulations require.
IncludedBefore your next listing
Are you registered with HMRC?
Most of the money-laundering penalties HMRC publishes are not for a missed check. They are for trading before registering.
Is your agency registered for money-laundering supervision?
Pick an answer to see what to do next.
Your answer shapes the next step.
What a sale includes
Every check the regulations ask for, ticked for you.
The checks the law requires are selected when you open a sale. Each one names the rule behind it, so you can explain it to a client or an inspector.
Sanctions screening
The UK, UN, EU and US (OFAC) lists, refreshed daily. Date of birth and nationality sharpen matches.
UK financial sanctions: estate agents report a match to OFSIPEP and adverse media
Whether someone is a politically exposed person, a family member or close associate of one, and serious negative news.
MLR 2017 reg 35ID record
You check the passport or licence; Certaby records what you saw, and when. Digital ID through a government-registered provider is on the way.
MLR 2017 reg 28Risk and source of funds
Purpose, where the money comes from, and a risk rating. Enhanced checks are flagged and your evidence is kept with the file.
MLR 2017 regs 28 and 33Company and owners
For a company buyer or seller: the Companies House record, every director and owner, and the ownership chain, all screened. Each director and owner is checked for PEP too, 40p a person.
MLR 2017 reg 28Monitoring to completion
Daily re-screening of everyone in the sale, with an email if a new match appears, until you mark it complete.
MLR 2017 reg 28(11); then 10p a person a weekHigh-risk country flag
Someone living in a country on the FATF call for action list triggers enhanced checks, and Certaby tells you.
MLR 2017 reg 33; HM Treasury's advisory noticeProperty risk pack
The EPC and MEES verdict, the flood zone at the postcode and local crime. Useful context for a listing.
Not an anti-money laundering checkPrices
Price your next sale.
Pay per check from a credit balance, no subscription. You see the price before anything runs, and a sale you add people to later only charges for the new people.
This sale
5 sales like this a month: £13.90 pay as you go. At this size, pay as you go is the cheaper choice.
Certificate of checksProperty sale · 21 Elm Grove, Leeds · Example
| Sam Taylor, seller | No match |
| Priya Shah, buyer | No match |
| Elm Street Homes Ltd, 3 directors and owners | No match |
| PEP and adverse media | None found |
| Risk and source of funds | Recorded, 3 of 3 |
| Monitoring | Daily to completion |
certaby.com/verify/3f9a7c21e04bGenuine
The record
When HMRC asks, send a link.
Every sale ends with one signed certificate. Anyone with the link can confirm it is genuine and unchanged.
- Which sources were checked, and the date of each check
- Each person's result, ID record and source of funds
- Re-issued when you record a step, so it stays current
- Kept for at least five years
Plainly
What Certaby does, and what stays with you.
Certaby does
- Screens every buyer, seller and company owner, and watches them daily until completion
- Keeps each customer's risk and source of funds record, with your evidence
- Issues one signed certificate for each sale that anyone can verify
- Writes your firm's AML policies and risk assessment, on the Agency and Busy memberships
Stays with you
- Registering with HMRC and appointing a nominated officer
- Looking at each person's ID document (until digital ID arrives)
- Deciding the risk, and reporting a suspicion to the NCA or a sanctions match to OFSI
For busier agencies
A membership, if you sell every week.
A set number of sales and people each month, with the required checks, the property pack and monitoring extensions covered. Cancel any time.
Starter
£24 a month
- 5 lets or sales a month
- Up to 15 people or companies
- Required checks and the property pack covered
Agency
£65 a month
- 15 lets or sales a month
- Up to 45 people or companies
- Required checks and the property pack covered
- Your AML policies and risk assessment, written for you
Busy
£199 a month
- 50 lets or sales a month
- Up to 150 people or companies
- Required checks and the property pack covered
- Your AML policies and risk assessment, written for you
Or pay as you go: credit from £5, no subscription.
Questions
What agents ask us.
Yes. Once the seller accepts an offer, the money-laundering regulations treat the buyer as your customer too (regulation 4(3)), so each buyer and each seller needs their checks. Add anyone else paying for the purchase to the same sale, so their part is on file.
£1.39 a person for the sanctions, PEP and adverse media checks; the ID and risk records and the first 6 weeks of monitoring have no charge. A sale with one buyer and one seller is £2.78. A company buying or selling adds £4.38, plus 40p for each director and owner. The property risk pack is optional at £1.29. You see the exact price before anything runs.
Not yet. Today you look at the passport or driving licence and Certaby records it with the date. Digital ID checks through a government-registered provider are on the way, priced per person.
Extend the watch from the sale, 10p a person a week. Members pay nothing for extensions.
Yes. Each certificate has a link that shows it is genuine and unchanged. You can send it to an inspector, a conveyancer or a lender.
No. Top up credit from £5 and pay per check, or choose a monthly membership you can cancel at any time.
At least five years, as the regulations require. Checks run, and records are kept, in the UK.
Your next sale, checked and signed in minutes.
Sign up, add credit from £5, open a Property sale. The required checks are already ticked.
Sources
- HMRC: registration guide for estate agency businesses (opens in a new tab)
- HMRC: businesses that have not complied with the money laundering regulations (opens in a new tab)
- Property Industry Eye: 24,003 estate agency branches registered with HMRC (HMRC data) (opens in a new tab)
- The Money Laundering Regulations 2017, regulation 4(3): the buyer is a customer too (opens in a new tab)
- The Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (opens in a new tab)
- OFSI: UK financial sanctions general guidance (opens in a new tab)