A DPNI scheme can't be registered online, HMRC sets it up manually, and getting the application right first time is the difference between weeks and months. We handle the whole thing, then run the payroll every period.
See the full four step process, enquiry to first payday →
A DPNI (Direct Payment) scheme is a legitimate, HMRC-recognised way for a foreign company to employ someone in the UK without incorporating here. It's one of a few direct-payment routes (DPNI, DCNI or NI-only), and we confirm the right one for you with HMRC. You stay the real employer, and the UK tax and National Insurance get accounted for correctly. New to DPNI? Read the plain-English guide first →
Have a UK entity? You need a standard PAYE scheme instead. we run those too.
A short call. We check you actually need DPNI (not DCNI or standard PAYE) and confirm your employee's position, including pension duties.
DPNI schemes are set up manually by HMRC's specialist NIC & Employer Office. We prepare and submit the application correctly first time, the single biggest factor in how fast it goes.
HMRC issues the scheme references. We configure the payroll, payslips and (where duties apply) the auto-enrolment pension while we wait, so day one is ready.
Each payday: payslip, RTI submission to HMRC, employer NI calculated, and a one-page summary telling you exactly what to pay and where.
Two clocks run here: ours and HMRC's. Here's what each step typically takes, and whose hands it's in.
| Step | Typical time | Whose clock |
|---|---|---|
| We reply to your enquiry | Within 1 UK business day | Ours |
| Scheme confirmed + application prepared and submitted | 2 to 3 business days from receiving your details | Ours |
| HMRC opens the DPNI scheme and issues references | Typically 4 to 8 weeks, a manual process by a specialist HMRC team, occasionally longer | HMRC's |
| First payroll run after references arrive | Ready immediately, we configure everything while waiting | Ours |
Your employee can usually start work before the references arrive, pay can be processed and corrected once the scheme opens. We'll confirm the right approach for your start date on the first call.
One scheme covers one employee, each additional UK hire is its own scheme.
Indicative pricing. Setup is £500 with the early-onboarding discount if you go ahead within two weeks of your quote, and £750 otherwise. Your rate stays fixed for as long as you remain on the plan. No VAT is added to any fee, the price you see is the total. Final quote confirmed before any work starts.
Yes, it's HMRC's own mechanism for exactly this situation, not a workaround. DPNI schemes are documented in HMRC's PAYE Manual at PAYE20100 (and DCNI at PAYE20090). Check them yourself on GOV.UK. A specialist but completely standard arrangement.
Both are "direct payment" schemes. In broad terms, DPNI covers Income Tax and National Insurance together; a DCNI scheme applies where only National Insurance is operated at source. Which one fits depends on your company's exact position, confirming this is step one of our setup, so you never apply for the wrong scheme.
The standard online employer registration assumes a UK presence, so HMRC handles direct payment schemes manually through its specialist NIC & Employer Office. That's why applications by employers themselves often bounce back and forth for weeks, the form isn't built for your situation, and the right route is a correctly prepared manual application.
Our side moves in days: we reply within one UK business day and typically submit the application within 2 to 3 business days of having your details. HMRC's manual processing then typically takes 4 to 8 weeks (there's no official published timescale, this reflects what practitioners commonly see, and it can occasionally run longer). Your employee can usually start before the references arrive. See the timeline above, and we'll confirm the approach for your start date.
It depends on where you are based, and a DPNI scheme isn't a way to avoid UK NI; it's the correct way to account for it. The employee's own (primary) NI is always collected through the scheme. Whether employer's (secondary) NI applies depends on the employer: a non-EU employer (for example in the US) with no UK place of business often falls outside it, whereas an EU or EEA employer is generally liable for the employer's NI under the UK and EU social-security coordination rules, in which case it is set up as an NI-only scheme. A UK host or end-client can also bring employer's NI back in. Employer's NI, where it applies, is the employer's cost and is never taken from the employee's pay. We confirm exactly which contributions apply to your situation with HMRC, then tell you what to pay and where. Use our employer cost calculator to estimate the total cost of your UK hire.
UK auto-enrolment duties can still apply to a UK-based worker even with an overseas employer. We assess the position properly, and where duties apply we set up and run the pension alongside the payroll.
Yes. If a previous adviser set up the scheme, we take over the running of it, references stay the same, nothing is re-registered, and there's no charge for the handover itself.
One short call: we confirm DPNI is the right route, quote a fixed fee, and start the HMRC application. Replies within one UK business day.
Start my DPNI setupQuick enquiry, we reply within 1 UK business day