Guide to GOV.UK Notify set up

GOV.UK Notify is a powerful tool that allows organisations to send notifications to their users via email, SMS, and other channels.

Our step by step guide will help you to set up Notify, but we advise that you refer to the official GOV.UK Notify documentation for detailed instructions and best practices.

Watch our step by step video guide on how to set up in BOPS

Step 1: Create an account

  1. Visit the GOV.UK Notify website and create an account by providing the necessary information. You’ll need a public sector email address and the name of the person who will manage the account.

  2. After creating an account, you will need to verify your identity. Follow the instructions provided to complete this process.

Step 2: Set up your service and templates

  1. Create a service: Select ‘add a new service’. Give the service a name and description. For example, ‘Southwark BOPS’.

  2. Invite team members: Navigate to the ‘Team members’ page to invite colleagues to Notify. Select ‘Invite a team member’ and enter their email address and the permissions you want them to have.

  3. Set up templates: Templates define the content and structure of the letters and emails you send. For BOPS, you’ll need create and customise templates for site notices, letters to neighbours and consultee emails.
    Follow our guide on how to set up templates in Notify.

  4. Add a reply-to email address: You need to provide an email address that applicant queries can be directed to. Navigate to the ‘Settings’ page. Under the ‘Email settings’ heading, select to ‘Manage’ the reply-to email addresses on your account. Select to ‘Add reply-to email address’ and enter the email address you want to use. This will create an ID code.

  5. Login to your BOPS admin account and navigate to the settings tab. Select to edit your profile. Paste this ID into the ‘Reply-to email address ID’ field and save.

Step 3: Set up GOV.UK Notify API key and link to your BOPS account

APIs allow different software systems to communicate and interact with each other. You need to link your GOV.UK Notify and BOPS accounts to make sure your emails and letters are sent correctly. To do this:

  1. Navigate to ‘API integration’ and select ‘API keys’.

  2. Select ‘Create an API key’. Select to create a Live type of key. Give it a name, for example ‘BOPS service key’.

  3. You will be shown an API key, which is a long code of numbers and letters. Select to ‘Copy API key to clipboard’. It is very important that you copy this code, because once you exit this page you cannot check it again.

  4. Login to your BOPS admin account and navigate to the settings tab. Select to edit your profile. Paste the API key into the ‘Notify API key’ field and save. You will not be able to see the key for security reasons.

Step 4: Test and send notifications

Before sending notifications to your users, it's important to test them. Use the provided testing environment to ensure that your notifications are formatted correctly and contain the intended information.

Once you're satisfied with the results, you can start sending notifications to your planning service users.