12 month transition: Verify Companies House ID for UK directors & PSCs
Identity verification is now a legal requirement for company directors, people with significant control and anyone applying to become an Authorised Corporate Service Provider. You have two official routes: GOV.UK One Login, which is free, or a paid Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP).
Check your company’s confirmation statement date now to find your personal deadline and avoid a rejected filing.
TL;DR:
Verification deadlines align with your company’s confirmation statement date or your birth month, requiring earlier action to avoid rejected filings.
Both GOV.UK One Login and an authorised ACSP serve as legitimate routes, with the former suited for straightforward cases and the latter for overseas or complex documentation.
Expired biometric documents can still be accepted if cryptographic features can be validated, but foreign documents lacking chips are more prone to rejection.
Sharing your personal code with unverified or untrusted agents risks identity theft and must be handled securely, ideally through confirmed authorised ACSPs.
Failure to verify on time can lead to rejected filings, enforcement actions, and public record notes, emphasizing the importance of early, accurate compliance.
Table of Contents
When you need to verify: deadlines, windows and new appointments
Step-by-step: how to verify using an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP)
Penalties, enforcement and what happens if you do not verify
Privacy and data protection considerations during identity verification
How Keystone Financial Advisory can help with verification and confirmation statements
Who must verify their identity for Companies House
The requirement applies to a specific set of roles, and it helps to know exactly where you sit before you do anything else. Anyone acting as a company director, an equivalent officer, a person with significant control (PSC), or an individual applying to become an ACSP falls within scope of the verification requirements.
If you hold more than one qualifying role, you still only verify once. Your identity is confirmed a single time and linked to a personal code that you then use across every role and every company where it applies. This matters for directors who also hold significant control in the same business, and for anyone who sits on the board of more than one UK company.
Overseas directors are not exempt. A director based abroad must still complete verification through GOV.UK One Login or an ACSP, though the ACSP route often suits this group better because it avoids some of the practical friction with UK-specific ID documents.
Before you do anything else:
Confirm which roles you hold at the company (director, PSC, or both).
Check the email address Companies House holds for you and the company, since deadline reminders go there.
Review your company’s filing history to see when your confirmation statement is next due.
Ask fellow directors and PSCs whether they have already verified, since one unverified person can hold up a filing.
When you need to verify: deadlines, windows and new appointments
Timing depends on your role, and getting it wrong is one of the easiest ways to end up with a rejected filing. Directors typically verify in line with their company’s confirmation statement, while PSCs work to a separate 14-day window.
Directors: your verification is generally tied to the next confirmation statement your company files, so check that date in your company’s public record.
PSCs who are also directors: your 14-day window is often linked to the same confirmation statement date, according to Companies House guidance on PSC verification.
PSCs who are not directors: your window instead starts from the first day of your birth month, a detail that catches people out because it has nothing to do with the company’s own filing calendar.
New director appointments: verification is expected at the point of appointment, so build it into your onboarding process rather than leaving it until a statement is due.
New incorporations: anyone named as a director or PSC on a new company needs to verify as part of that process, not afterwards.
Companies House introduced mandatory identity verification from 18 November 2025, with a 12-month transition period during which existing directors and PSCs are expected to complete verification, as set out in Companies House’s preparation guidance. That transition window is generous, but it is not indefinite, and leaving it until the final weeks increases your chance of running into a document or identity mismatch you have no time left to fix.
To find your own window, check the confirmation statement date on your company’s page on the Companies House register, and separately check your date of birth against the PSC rule if that applies to you. Two examples make this concrete: a director whose confirmation statement is due in March 2026 should aim to verify well before that date, while a non-director PSC born in July should expect their 14-day window to begin on 1 July each relevant year.
Which route should you use: GOV.UK One Login or an ACSP?
Both routes lead to the same outcome: a verified identity and a personal code. The right choice depends on how comfortable you are with a self-service digital process and how urgently you need the job done.
GOV.UK One Login is free, government-run, and suits directors with a valid UK or biometric passport and straightforward personal details.
An ACSP is a paid, professionally supervised agent (often an accountant or solicitor) who can verify you as part of wider compliance support.
Self-service via One Login tends to be faster for straightforward cases but offers no help if your documents or details cause a rejection.
An ACSP typically suits overseas directors, people with older or non-standard documents, or anyone who wants their accountant to handle it alongside other filings.
Filing implications differ too: if an ACSP verifies you, they can also help file your confirmation statement and manage where your personal code is used.
Pro Tip: Never share your personal code with someone you have not confirmed is a registered ACSP, since the code is proof of your verified identity and should be treated with the same care as a passport number.
Directors who want a fast, no-cost route with a straightforward UK passport or driving licence usually gravitate to GOV.UK One Login. Those juggling company formation, bookkeeping and multiple filings often prefer to let an ACSP handle verification as one part of a broader compliance relationship, which avoids the need to separately track and store a personal code across several services.
Step-by-step: how to verify using GOV.UK One Login
The GOV.UK One Login route is free and designed to be completed without professional help, though a handful of pitfalls trip people up regularly.
Go to GOV.UK and create a One Login account, or sign in if you already have one.
Use a unique email address for your account. Companies House guidance is explicit that you can verify your identity using the GOV.UK One Login service, and a shared or previously used email is one of the most common causes of a stalled application.
Choose your verification method: scanning a biometric passport or photocard driving licence using the smartphone app, answering security questions, visiting a Post Office in person, or using a bank-data route where offered.
Follow the prompts to photograph or scan your document, and complete a facial-matching step if the app-based route is available to you.
Wait for confirmation. Most straightforward applications are approved quickly, but Companies House notes that expired biometric documents can sometimes still be used where ID validation technology (IDVT) can validate their cryptographic features, as explained in the Companies House identity verification standard guidance.
One in ten applications reportedly stall on document or detail mismatches rather than outright rejection. Common pitfalls include an expired document that IDVT cannot validate, an email address already tied to another One Login account, and personal details, such as a maiden name or a changed address, that do not exactly match what is held on an official record.
If your verification fails, do not simply retry the same document. Check that your name, date of birth and address match exactly across the document and your Companies House record, and consider switching to a different accepted document type or the in-person Post Office option if the app-based scan keeps failing.
Step-by-step: how to verify using an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP)
An ACSP is not just any agent. To act in this capacity, a firm must register with Companies House and be supervised by a UK anti-money-laundering (AML) body, and it must follow a defined identity verification standard, retaining evidence for seven years, as set out in the Companies House identity verification standard.
Working with an ACSP typically looks like this:
You provide the same categories of document you would use for GOV.UK One Login, usually a passport or driving licence plus proof of address.
The ACSP charges a fee for the service, which varies by provider and is often bundled with wider accountancy or company secretarial work.
Once verified, you receive your Companies House personal code from the ACSP or directly from Companies House, depending on how the provider has structured the process.
The ACSP can then use or reference that code when filing your confirmation statement or PSC details on your behalf.
Before handing over any documents, confirm the provider’s status on the Companies House register of authorised agents. If a firm claiming to be an ACSP cannot be found there, do not proceed, and report the discrepancy to Companies House rather than assuming it is an oversight.
What documents Companies House accepts
Companies House organises acceptable evidence into two groups, and knowing the difference before you start saves a wasted attempt.
Group A covers photographic identity documents: a biometric passport, a photocard driving licence, or a biometric residence permit (BRP) are the main examples.
Group B covers supporting documents used alongside, or instead of, Group A items when photographic ID alone is not available or sufficient.
Group B documents typically include things like a birth certificate or other government-issued evidence of identity, used to corroborate details rather than stand alone.
Expiry rules are more flexible than many directors expect. Companies House guidance notes that an expired biometric document can, in some cases, still be accepted where IDVT is able to validate its cryptographic features, meaning the chip in a passport or driving licence can still confirm authenticity even after the printed expiry date has passed. This does not mean every expired document will pass, and foreign documents that lack a comparable cryptographic chip are more likely to be rejected outright.
Pro Tip: Photograph or scan your document in good natural light against a plain background. Poor image quality is one of the most avoidable reasons an otherwise valid document gets rejected.
What to do with your Companies House personal code
Once you are verified, Companies House issues an 11-character personal code, and this is the piece of information you will reuse across filings, as explained in Companies House’s guidance for PSCs. Store it securely, since it functions as proof of your verified identity.
For directors, the personal code is entered when the company files its confirmation statement. All directors named on that statement need to be verified, or the filing will be rejected outright.
For PSCs, you provide your code through the “Provide identity verification details for a PSC” service on GOV.UK, within your applicable 14-day window.
If your details do not match Companies House records (a changed name, an old address, or a discrepancy in your date of birth), update your company’s records first, since verification checks against what Companies House already holds.
If you are close to missing your window because of an unresolved mismatch, you may be able to request a short extension. Contact Companies House directly to explain the issue rather than letting the window lapse silently.
Keep a record of when and how you verified, and where your code has been shared (for example, with an accountant or ACSP), so you can answer any query quickly if a filing is queried later.
A rejected confirmation statement because one director’s code is missing is entirely avoidable with a five-minute check before submission. For a wider look at what a rejected or late filing can cost, see our guide to Companies House late filing penalties.
Penalties, enforcement and what happens if you do not verify
Companies House has published its approach to non-compliance, and the consequences are not merely administrative. Continuing to act as a director or PSC after your deadline without completing verification can amount to an offence, potentially leading to a financial penalty or prosecution. In serious cases, this can extend to further sanctions against the individuals involved.
The immediate, everyday risk is more mundane but still costly:
A confirmation statement will be rejected if a named director has not verified their identity.
Rejected filings create delays that can cascade into missed deadlines for other statutory obligations.
Non-compliance can be reflected in notes on the public register, visible to anyone checking your company.
If you find yourself facing enforcement action or a rejected filing, contact Companies House directly to understand what is outstanding, and keep a written record of the steps you have taken to resolve it. Acting early and documenting your efforts is the clearest way to demonstrate good faith if a penalty is later reviewed.
Practical checklist and troubleshooting from Keystone
Based on the queries we handle for founders and small business owners, most verification problems come down to a handful of avoidable issues.
Gather your document (passport or driving licence) and confirm it is not expired before you start.
Use a genuinely unique email address for GOV.UK One Login, not one already linked to another account.
Double-check your registered name, address and date of birth match exactly across your document and Companies House’s records.
Note your confirmation statement date and, if you are a non-director PSC, your birth month, so you know your personal deadline.
Pro Tip: Keep a simple record of when you verified, your personal code, and which filings you have used it for. It takes two minutes and saves a scramble later.
The most common mismatches we see involve a maiden name still on file, an old address that has not been updated, or a document that has expired without the holder realising IDVT cannot validate it. Update your Companies House record first, then retry. For businesses preparing for other compliance changes at the same time, our guide on Companies House going software-only covers what else to have ready. If your situation involves overseas documents, a disputed identity, or you are unsure whether an agent is a genuine ACSP, that is the point to bring in an accountant rather than push through alone.
Privacy and data protection considerations during identity verification
Handing over a passport scan or driving licence photo naturally raises questions about where that data goes and how long it is kept. Under the Companies House identity verification standard, ACSPs are required to retain verification evidence for seven years, a retention period set to support audit and enforcement rather than ongoing marketing use, as detailed in Companies House’s standard for identity verification.
GOV.UK One Login is run by the government and is built to a public-sector standard for handling identity documents, with the biometric matching and document scanning steps designed to confirm identity rather than to build a marketing profile. If you choose the ACSP route instead, you are trusting a private firm with sensitive documents, which is exactly why confirming that firm’s authorised status matters before you send anything.
Treat your Companies House personal code with the same caution as a bank detail. It links directly to your verified identity, and sharing it carelessly, over an unsecured email or with an unverified third party, creates a route for someone else to misuse your identity in a company filing. If you are working with an accountant or ACSP, ask how they store your documents and code, and for how long, before you hand anything over.
A note from Shoaib at Keystone
Directors ask us more questions about identity verification than almost anything else at the moment, mostly because the two-route system feels unfamiliar even to people who are otherwise confident with company filings.
My honest observation, having helped clients through this: the process itself is not difficult, but the deadlines are easy to miss because they are personal to your role rather than tied to a single company-wide date. Verify earlier than you think you need to, especially if you are a PSC working to a birth-month window rather than a confirmation statement date.
If you are sharing your personal code with an accountant or agent, do it through a secure channel, not a casual email, and confirm they are genuinely authorised first. Use the checklist above, and if anything about your documents or your record looks off, speak to your accountant before your deadline rather than after.
— Shoaib
How Keystone Financial Advisory can help with verification and confirmation statements
Chasing down ID documents, checking a birth-month window against a confirmation statement date, and making sure every director’s code is on file before you file: it adds up to more admin than most founders want to own on top of running a business. Verification can be folded into company set up and confirmation statement services to reduce the workload for business owners.
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Company set up and confirmation statement filing, including checking which directors and PSCs still need to verify.
Document checks before submission, to reduce the chance of a rejection on a technicality.
Guidance on linking personal codes correctly across your confirmation statement and PSC filings.
Service | What it covers |
Formation support and ongoing confirmation statement filing, including verification checks | |
Flexible Accounting Services That Grow With You | Monthly accounting support, priced at £99 to £199 per month |
Day-to-day bookkeeping | Bookkeeping support alongside compliance filings. |
A rejected confirmation statement costs time you likely do not have to spare, and getting it right the first time is largely a matter of checking the right details in the right order. If you would rather hand that checking over to someone who does it daily, get in touch through our services page to talk through your confirmation statement and verification status.
Authoritative pages and legislation to consult
For the exact wording of any rule mentioned here, go to the primary source rather than a summary.
Verify your identity for Companies House, the main GOV.UK guidance on routes and acceptable ID.
How to meet the Companies House identity verification standard, for ACSP requirements and IDVT detail.
Companies House’s approach to non-compliance, for enforcement and penalties.
Companies House blog on PSC identity verification, for personal codes and PSC timing.
Debt Recovery Hub’s overview of the two verification routes, for a plain-English summary.
Sources
FAQ
How do I verify my ID for Companies House?
You verify through GOV.UK One Login, which is free and uses a biometric passport, driving licence, or Post Office visit, or through a registered Authorised Corporate Service Provider, which charges a fee. Once verified, you receive a personal code to use on future filings.
Why is Companies House asking for ID verification?
Companies House introduced mandatory identity verification to reduce fraud and anonymous company ownership, describing it as central to becoming a more trusted guardian of corporate transparency. It became a legal requirement for directors, PSCs and ACSPs from 18 November 2025.
Who can verify identity in the UK for Companies House purposes?
Any UK director, person with significant control, or individual applying to be an ACSP can verify through GOV.UK One Login directly, or through a firm that is itself registered and supervised as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider. Always check an agent’s status on the official register before sharing documents.
What happens if I do not complete identity verification?
Continuing to act as a director or PSC without completing verification by your deadline can amount to an offence, with financial penalties or prosecution possible in serious cases. In practical terms, your company’s confirmation statement is also likely to be rejected until verification is complete.
Can I use an accountant to handle Companies House ID verification for me?
Yes, provided the accountant or agent is registered as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider and supervised by a UK anti-money-laundering body. Keystone Financial Advisory supports clients with company set up and confirmation statement filing, including checking verification status before submission.
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