Resume rules in the United Kingdom
What employers in the United Kingdom expect on a Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Resume, what the law lets them ask for, and where the two disagree.
Call it a CV for the United Kingdom or a resume for the United Kingdom: it's the same document. Employers there usually want it written in English.
This is research, not legal advice. Employment and data protection law changes, state and provincial rules matter in federal countries, and practice varies by industry and seniority. Each entry shows when it was looked up and how confident we are. Where nothing reliable was published it says Not found rather than a guess.
Law and practice, side by side
The label on the right is what local hiring expects. The two lines under it are the law and the habit, which often disagree.
Photo: Avoid
Avoid; including photo can inadvertently enable age or appearance discrimination
What the law says: No legal requirement; Equality Act 2010 restricts discrimination based on age, race, gender, disability, etc.
Date of birth: Avoid
Avoid; age omission standard practice to prevent age-based screening
What the law says: No legal requirement; Equality Act 2010 restricts age discrimination
Marital status: Avoid
Avoid; not expected or relevant
What the law says: No legal requirement
Sex or gender: Avoid
Avoid; not typically included
What the law says: No requirement to state; Equality Act 2010 prohibits gender discrimination
Nationality: Uncommon
Uncommon; work visa requirements may be mentioned if applicable
What the law says: No requirement to declare on CV; immigration status may be noted for visa sponsorship purposes
National ID number: Not found
Not included
What the law says: No requirement (UK has no national ID card); National Insurance number not required on CV
The rest of the entry
- Local name of the document
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Resume
- Language to submit in
- English
- Typical length
- 2-3 pages, sometimes up to 5 pages for extensive experience
- Address detail expected
- City/town or full postcode sector; full street address uncommon
- Signature and date
- Not required; modern digital CVs rarely include signature
- Officially prescribed form
- None; however, many employers specify desired format (often PDF)
- Religion, ethnicity or caste
- No requirement; Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination
- Health, disability or pregnancy
- No requirement; Equality Act 2010 allows reasonable adjustment requests but not mandatory disclosure
- Other customary attachments
- References standard (usually 2-3 professional references provided separately or on request); educational qualifications listed
- Employer may not ask for
- Age, marital/family status, sexual orientation, religion, race, ethnicity, disability status, health information, union membership, criminal record (except where relevant to role per Rehabilitation of Offenders Act)
- Named statutes
- Equality Act 2010 (c. 15); Data Protection Act 2018 (c. 12); UK GDPR (retained EU GDPR post-Brexit)
- Data protection regime
- UK GDPR (retained from EU GDPR); Data Protection Act 2018; UK adequacy decision with EU
- Anti-discrimination statutes
- Equality Act 2010 (covering age, disability, gender, race, religion/belief, sexual orientation, pregnancy/maternity, marriage/civil partnership)
- Local language source
- English only
Where this came from
Looked up 2026-08-15. Independently checked 2026-08-15. High confidence. Result of that check: Confirmed.
Notes: Strong emphasis on avoiding discrimination cues in CV. Age and photo omission is best practice. No national ID number exists. References are separate from CV body. Lengthy CVs acceptable unlike continental Europe; 2-3 pages typical.
Researched with AI assistants working from a written checklist, then independently checked. How we researched this