This article was last updated on 7 April 2025
As part of its commitment to deter the use of corporate entities for illegal purposes, Companies House is introducing new identity verification requirements for directors, people with significant control (PSCs) and persons filing documents on behalf of companies. Individuals will soon be able to verify their identities voluntarily – doing so early will allow them to get ahead of mandatory verification and avoid situations down the line where, for example, a director is unable to act or a Companies House filing cannot be made. Once identity verification is mandatory, it will be an offence for a director to act without having had their identity verified.
When will ID verification be introduced?
New directors and PSCs: Companies House plans to introduce compulsory ID verification for new directors and PSCs by Autumn 2025. Since only a natural person's identity can be verified, where a "Relevant Legal Entity" (RLE) qualifies as a PSC of a company, the identity of a relevant officer of the RLE will need to be verified.
Existing directors and PSCs: from Autumn 2025, a 12-month transition period will begin, during which existing PSCs and directors will need to verify their identities.
Voluntary verification: from 8 April 2025, individuals will be able to verify their identities voluntarily for all Companies House purposes. We recommend that anyone who is an existing director or PSC of a UK company takes the opportunity to verify their identity sooner rather than later.
Those filing documents: by Spring 2026, any individual filing a document at Companies House will also need to have had their identity verified (unless they are an employee or officer of an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) – see further below).
How can an individual's identity be verified?
An individual's identity can be verified either directly with Companies House (see below) or indirectly by the delivery of a verification statement to Companies House by an ACSP.
How does direct verification with Companies House work?
Companies House provides three options for direct verification with the Registrar. Set out below are the types of evidence that can be used for each of the three routes (these are specified in the Registrar’s (Identity Verification by the Registrar) Rules 2025).
For anyone who has a passport with a biometric chip, Option 1 (the GOV.UK One Login ID Check app) is likely to be the easiest way to verify their identity. Government guidance on using the app is available here: Guidance: Using the GOV.UK ID Check app. In particular, the applicant will need to have access to a smartphone with a working camera.
Option 2 (the GOV.UK One Login web service) will only be appropriate for those with certain UK forms of ID. Option 3 (the face-to-face service) requires the person to provide a UK home address and to be able to attend a Post Office in person.
- Option 1: Using the GOV.UK One Login ID Check app: passport with biometric chip, not expired; UK photocard driving licence, full or provisional; UK biometric residence permit, up to 18 months expired; UK biometric residence card; UK Frontier Worker permit.
- Option 2: Using the GOV.UK One Login web service: UK passport, up to six months expired; UK photocard driving licence, full or provisional; UK bank account supported by a UK National Insurance number.
- Option 3: Using the GOV.UK One Login face-to-face service: passport with a biometric chip, up to 18 months expired; passport without biometric chip (certain supported countries only), up to 18 months expired; UK and EU photocard driving licence, full or provisional; UK biometric residence permit, up to 18 months expired; National Identity photocard from an EEA country, standardised chipped biometric cards only.
In addition to the pieces of evidence above, an applicant will need to provide contact information (a suitable email address not previously used for the purpose) and personal information (home address and previous addresses if resident for less than 12 months).
Once an individual's identity has been verified, they will receive a unique identifier known as a Companies House personal code; this is personal to the individual and should be kept safe. For example, from Autumn 2025, it will be needed in order for the individual to be appointed a director.
Verification indirectly through an ACSP
An alternative way of verifying an individual's identity is the delivery of a verification statement to Companies House by an ACSP confirming that the individual's identity has been verified. This route may be appropriate where an individual is unable to comply with any of the three ways of verifying directly with Companies House set out above.
To become an ACSP, agents must be supervised within the UK by one of the relevant Anti-Money Laundering supervisory bodies, such as HMRC or the Financial Conduct Authority. Company secretarial providers, accountancy firms and law firms, for example, may become ACSPs. In practice, they will need to do so to be able to continue to make filings at Companies House on behalf of their clients (whether or not those filings relate to PSCs or directors).
As with the Companies House direct verification routes described above, once an ACSP has verified an individual's identity to Companies House, the individual will be issued with a Companies House personal code.
Will the requirements extend to LLPs?
Yes, members of Limited Liability Partnerships will also need to have their identities verified.
What will be the implications of not being verified?
When ID verification becomes compulsory, an individual who acts as a director without having had their identity verified will commit an offence, although technically this will not affect the validity of their appointment as a director or their actions while unverified. There will also be an obligation on the company to ensure that an individual does not act as a director unless their identity is verified; contravention will be an offence subject to a fine. PSCs who do not comply with their new ID verification obligations will also commit an offence.
Next steps
Although ID verification will not be compulsory until the Autumn, it makes sense to verify voluntarily early on, particularly given that each individual's identity only needs to be verified once for all Companies House purposes. We will be able to provide further guidance on how the Government service is working once it is up and running.