Identity verification became a legal requirement from 18 November 2025, with a 12-month transition period during which existing directors and PSCs must comply by the deadline applicable to their particular role. Directors already in post give their Companies House personal code at the company’s next confirmation statement. Directors appointed from now on verify before appointment. A person with significant control who is not a director reports in the first 14 days of their birth month. Verification is free through GOV.UK One Login, or an Authorised Corporate Service Provider can carry it out for you.
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 changed what Companies House is. It had been, in effect, a filing library that recorded what it was given. The Act gave the registrar powers to query, reject and remove information, and identity verification is the mechanism that makes those powers usable: it ties entries on the register to people whose identity has actually been checked.
The rule itself is widely known. The timing is less so, because there is no single national deadline. The date that binds you depends on which of four groups you fall into.
Who has to verify their identity?
You must verify if you are:
- a director of a UK company, or the equivalent of a director in another entity type;
- a person with significant control (PSC);
- a director of an overseas company registered in the UK;
- anyone registering as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider.
On PSCs it is worth checking rather than assuming. Holding more than 25% of shares or voting rights is the test people remember, but it is not the only one: the right to appoint or remove a majority of the board, and the exercise of significant influence or control, can also make someone a PSC. Where ownership runs through a trust, a partnership or a corporate shareholder, the analysis is not obvious from the share register alone. Companies House publishes separate guidance on identifying PSCs, and it repays reading before you conclude that nobody qualifies.
Verification attaches to the person, not the company. You verify once, whether you sit on one board or nine, and the same personal code is then used everywhere you are recorded. You must provide the same personal code separately for every company and every relevant role in which you are recorded.
When is your deadline?
Different roles have different compliance dates.
Directors already in post before 18 November 2025
You provide your personal code as part of your company’s next confirmation statement. Every company files one at least once every twelve months, so each company reaches this point at its own review date. A company with a March confirmation date reached it in March; a company with a December date reaches it in December. There is no separate national date to diarise — your confirmation statement is the deadline.
PSCs who are not directors
A different trigger, and the one most often missed: you must provide your personal code within the first 14 days of your birth month.
If you became a PSC after 18 November 2025, you can give your code when you are first added to the register, or within 14 days of being added.
People who are both a director and a PSC
You report twice, using the same code. Once as a director, through the confirmation statement. Once as a PSC, within a 14-day period starting the day after the company’s confirmation statement date.
New appointments and new companies
Verification happens up front. A new director must be verified before appointment, and a new company cannot be registered unless a personal code is supplied for each director as part of the registration filing.
Directors of overseas companies registered in the UK
An overseas company must confirm that all its directors have verified their identity by the anniversary of the registration of its UK establishment.
The two ways to verify
1. GOV.UK One Login — free
GOV.UK One Login asks a short set of questions and then routes you to whichever method fits your circumstances:
- using the GOV.UK One Login app with photo ID;
- answering security questions in a browser;
- entering your photo ID details online and then completing the check in person at a participating Post Office.
There is no charge for this route.
2. An Authorised Corporate Service Provider — paid
An ACSP is a firm — typically an accountant, solicitor, company formation agent or chartered secretary — that is registered with a UK Anti-Money Laundering supervisory body and has registered with Companies House to verify identities on other people’s behalf. You supply documents from an approved list, and the provider carries out the check and reports it.
One point matters particularly for internationally owned companies. Companies House confirms that where an ACSP verifies you, “you can do this from any country”. The provider itself must be UK AML-supervised, but you do not have to be in the UK to be verified by one.
What happens if you do not verify
Companies House is direct about this. If you are required to verify and you do not, you may be committing an offence, and you may face prosecution and a fine through the courts, or a financial penalty imposed by the registrar.
There are practical consequences too. Without a verified identity you cannot:
- be appointed as a new director of an existing company;
- register a new company or entity;
- register as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider.
There is also a knock-on effect worth planning around. A confirmation statement now requires a personal code for every director, together with a statement confirming that each of them has verified. If one director has not verified, the statement cannot be completed — which turns one individual’s outstanding task into a company-level filing failure. What follows from an unfiled confirmation statement is set out in our guide to a late confirmation statement.
What a personal code is, and how to look after it
When verification succeeds you are issued a Companies House personal code — a unique identifier tied to you as an individual. It is not a password and not a login. It is the reference your companies quote when they file.
Treat it as sensitive. Store it securely and share it only with the company itself and whoever files on its behalf, in the same way you would handle any other identifier that can be used to act in your name on a public register.
The habit worth forming is to collect codes before they are needed. Whoever files the confirmation statement needs a code for every director, and chasing one of them for it in the last few days before a filing date is a predictable way to file late.
What else changed on the confirmation statement
Identity verification arrived alongside two quieter requirements:
- every company must maintain a registered email address — it is not published on the public register, but Companies House will use it;
- every confirmation statement must include a lawful purpose statement, confirming that the company’s intended future activities are lawful.
Filing the statement costs £50 online, or £110 on paper using form CS01.
A short checklist for directors
- Find your company’s confirmation statement date on the public register.
- List every director and every PSC, including anyone appointed or added mid-year.
- Check who already holds a personal code, and collect the codes somewhere secure.
- For anyone without a code, choose a route: GOV.UK One Login, or an ACSP.
- Diarise PSC birth-month windows separately from the confirmation statement date. They are different obligations with different dates.
- Start early. Verification is a person-by-person process, and the constraint is usually an individual’s availability rather than Companies House.
How Brooks Lawford can help
We act for owner-managed businesses, established UK companies and internationally owned entities from our office in Canary Wharf. Our company secretarial service maintains statutory registers, tracks your filing calendar and prepares and files your confirmation statement, including the personal codes and confirmations now required. It pairs with our registered office and address service and, for new entities, our company formation and start-up support.
Where a company has non-UK directors or shareholders, the PSC analysis and the coordination across time zones are usually the harder part. That sits within our international and cross-border service.
Not sure who still needs to verify, or when your next filing date falls? We can review your Companies House record and filing timetable, identify what is still outstanding, and give you a written action list before the next filing date. Contact Brooks Lawford to arrange a Companies House compliance review.
Frequently asked questions
How do I verify my ID for Companies House?
There are two routes. You can verify yourself, free of charge, through GOV.UK One Login — using the app with photo ID, by answering security questions online, or by starting online and finishing in person at a participating Post Office. Alternatively, an Authorised Corporate Service Provider such as an accountant or solicitor can verify you for a fee, and Companies House confirms you can do this from any country.
What documents do I need to verify my identity with Companies House?
It depends on the route. GOV.UK One Login directs you to a method based on your answers to a short set of questions, and the photo ID accepted varies by method. If an Authorised Corporate Service Provider verifies you, you supply documents from an approved list that the provider will give you. The accepted documents are set by Companies House and can change, so check the current GOV.UK guidance or ask your provider before you start.
Why is Companies House asking me to verify my identity?
Because the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 made it a legal requirement. Identity verification became mandatory on 18 November 2025 and applies to directors, people with significant control, directors of overseas companies registered in the UK, and anyone registering as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider. The aim is to tie entries on the register to people whose identity has been checked.
What happens if a director does not verify their ID?
They may be committing an offence, and can face prosecution and a court fine, or a financial penalty imposed by the registrar. They also cannot be appointed as a director of another company or register a new one. There is a company-level effect too: a confirmation statement requires a personal code for every director, so one unverified director can stop the company filing.
What is a Companies House personal code?
It is the unique identifier you are issued once your identity has been verified. You give it to each company you are an officer of, and the company quotes it when filing. You verify once and use the same code everywhere you are recorded, so store it securely and share it only with the company and whoever files on its behalf.
Can I verify my identity if I live outside the UK?
Yes. Depending on the identity documents available to you, you may be able to verify directly through GOV.UK One Login. Alternatively, an ACSP can verify your identity while you are in any country. The provider must be registered with a UK Anti-Money Laundering supervisory body and registered with Companies House as an ACSP.
When exactly is my deadline?
It depends which group you are in. A director already in post before 18 November 2025 gives their code at the company’s next confirmation statement, so the date follows the company’s own review period. A PSC who is not a director reports within the first 14 days of their birth month. Someone who is both reports twice. A new director is verified before appointment, and a new company supplies a code for each director at registration.
Sources and currency
This article draws on Companies House and GOV.UK guidance: Verifying your identity for Companies House, When you need to verify your identity for Companies House, and Confirmation statement guidance. Last reviewed against that guidance in September 2026.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Companies House requirements and fees change, and the correct action depends on your company’s circumstances and its current status on the register. Check the latest Companies House guidance, or take professional advice, before acting.
