Answers · UK 2025/26
When must a trust be registered with HMRC's Trust Registration Service?
Most UK express trusts must be registered within 90 days of creation (or by 1 September 2022 if created before 6 October 2020).
Full answer
The 5th Money Laundering Directive (5MLD) extended TRS registration requirements from 2022. Most express trusts (where the settlor has expressed an intention to create the trust) must register with HMRC's Trust Registration Service, whether or not they are liable to UK tax. Registration must be completed within 90 days of creation for trusts created after 1 September 2022. Trusts created before 6 October 2020 should have registered by 1 September 2022. Penalties for late registration range from £100 to £5,000 depending on the delay and whether it was deliberate. Certain trusts are exempt: some bare trusts for minors, trusts on pension funds, trusts of life policies, pilot trusts under £100 created before 26 June 2017.
This answer is informational only and does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. Figures are for the 2025/26 UK tax year. See our methodology and sources.