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SEIS and EIS advance assurance checklist

The 2026 SEIS and EIS company rules side by side, every document HMRC asks for, prompts for the risk to capital case, and what to do after the shares are issued.

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What it is

A printable checklist for preparing a SEIS or EIS advance assurance application, checked against GOV.UK on 11 September 2026.

Who it's for

Founders and finance leads preparing a raise with SEIS or EIS, and the advisers helping them.

What's inside

The company rules for both schemes side by side, the investor reliefs, the document list, prompts for the risk to capital case, common reasons applications stall, and the steps after the shares are issued.

Part 1: Which scheme

Rule	SEIS	EIS (from 6 April 2026)
Amount the company can raise	£250,000 in total	£10 million a year and £24 million in total for most companies; £20 million and £40 million for knowledge-intensive companies
Gross assets	No more than £350,000 when shares are issued	No more than £30 million before and £35 million after the issue
Staff	Fewer than 25 full-time equivalent	Fewer than 250; knowledge-intensive fewer than 500
Age	Trade not carried on for more than 3 years	Within 7 years of first commercial sale; knowledge-intensive 10 years
Spend the money	Within 3 years of the issue	Within 2 years of the investment, or of starting to trade if later
Order	Not available once you have had EIS or VCT money	Can follow SEIS
Investor income tax relief	50%, on up to £200,000 a year	30%, on up to £1 million a year, or £2 million if the excess goes into knowledge-intensive companies
Minimum holding	3 years	3 years

The higher EIS limits do not apply to companies registered in Northern Ireland that trade in goods or electricity.

Part 2: Company conditions

UK permanent establishment
Not listed on a recognised stock exchange, and no arrangements to list
Not controlled by another company (for SEIS, never since incorporation; for EIS, not controlled and not more than 50% owned by another company)
Any subsidiaries are qualifying subsidiaries
Carrying on, or preparing to carry on, a qualifying trade
Within the gross assets, staff and age limits for the scheme
Within the amount limits, counting all earlier SEIS, EIS, VCT and Social Investment Tax Relief money
Shares will be full risk ordinary shares, paid in full in cash when issued, with no preferential rights to dividends or assets
No arrangement to sell the shares, or to protect investors from risk
Money will not be used to buy another business, or shares, except in a qualifying 90% subsidiary

Part 3: Documents to send

Amount you plan to raise, exact, matching the plan
Business plan
Financial forecasts, including any follow-on funding you expect
Latest accounts, if available
Up to date memorandum and articles of association
Register of members as at the date you apply
Latest draft of every document you show investors: deck, information memorandum, subscription agreement, side letters
Names and addresses of prospective investors, on a first application for a direct raise
Your explanation of how you meet the risk to capital condition
Your explanation of how the money will be spent
If claiming knowledge-intensive status for EIS, the evidence for it

Part 4: The risk to capital case

HMRC must be satisfied that the company aims to grow and develop its trade long term, and that the investment genuinely puts the investor's capital at risk. Answer these in plain English:

What will the business look like in five years if the plan works?
How will this money grow the number of customers, staff and revenue?
What are the main risks, and why could investors lose money?
Why is this a trading business and not a way of protecting capital or holding assets?
Who runs it, and are they independent of the investors?

Part 5: Why applications stall

Investor names missing on a first application
A vague use of money, with no link to the forecasts
Share rights that give investors preference
A parent, studio or holding company that controls the business
Figures that do not match across the plan, forecasts and form
Asking for assurance on shares already issued

Part 6: Timing

Apply online once the amount and terms are settled
Allow time: HMRC aims to answer most SEIS applications within 15 working days and complex cases within 40
A reply can be an assurance, a rejection or a request for more information
Do not issue shares on terms different from those HMRC saw

Part 7: After the shares are issued

File the share allotment at Companies House
Update the register of members and the cap table
SEIS: file the SEIS1 compliance statement once the trade has run for 4 months or 70% of the money is spent
EIS: file the EIS1 compliance statement once the qualifying activity has run for 4 months, and within 2 years of that date or of the end of the tax year of issue, whichever is later
Send investors their certificates as soon as HMRC authorises them
Keep evidence of how the money was spent
Diary the 3-year holding period and avoid anything that could break the conditions during it

Licence

Free to use and adapt. Commercial use allowed. Do not resell it as your own. Please credit HAM Agency (ham.agency). This checklist is general information, not tax advice; take advice on your company's position.

Sources

Ham Agency Ltd. ham.agency. Last reviewed 11 September 2026.