If you’re a director, a person with significant control (PSC), or an LLP member of a UK company, identity verification is no longer something on the horizon, it’s already the law. Since 18th November 2025, verifying your identity with Companies House has been a legal requirement, and most companies are now living through the transition period that follows. Here’s an overview of where things are today, and what you need to do if you haven’t sorted it yet.
Why this is happening
The requirement comes from the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which gave Companies House new powers to check who’s really behind the companies on its register. For years, anyone could register a company with almost no checks on their identity, a gap that made the UK register attractive to fraudsters and shell company operators. Identity verification closes that gap by confirming that directors, PSCs, and LLP members are who they say they are.
Who needs to verify, and when
New directors and PSCs – anyone appointed or incorporating a company from 18th November 2025 onwards must verify their identity before that appointment or incorporation goes through. There’s no transition period for new roles; verification now happens up front.
Existing directors and PSCs are in a 12-month transition window that runs to 18th November 2026. Where you land in that window depends on your company’s confirmation statement date:
- Directors need to verify before their company’s next confirmation statement is filed.
- PSCs who are also directors verify at the same point, but must submit their code separately within 14 days of the confirmation statement date.
- PSCs who are not directors have a different rule entirely, they must verify within the first 14 days of their birthday month.
LLP members are on the same timeline as directors, whether they’re new members joining now or existing members catching up through their confirmation statement.
In every case, the safest approach is not to wait for the deadline. Verifying early, well before your confirmation statement is due, means one less thing that can hold up a filing at the last minute.
What happens if you don’t verify
This isn’t a box-ticking exercise you can quietly skip. A company cannot file its confirmation statement if its directors and PSCs haven’t verified their identity, and an unverified PSC who continues to act in that capacity is committing a criminal offence. Companies also have obligations to take action against non-compliant PSCs. In short: leaving it too late doesn’t just risk an admin headache, it risks your filings and, in some cases, personal liability.
How verification actually works
Companies House has built verification around GOV.UK One Login. You’ll answer a few questions about the documents you have and the device you’re using, and the system will guide you to the right verification route, typically scanning a passport or driving licence and taking a photo of yourself via the GOV.UK app.
If you don’t have a suitable device or ID for the digital route, Companies House also offers in-branch verification through the Post Office. You enter your document details online first, then visit a branch where staff scan your ID and take your photo. Results usually come back within a day. This route works with UK and non-UK passports, UK and EU photocard driving licences, and national ID cards from EU countries, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein.
You can also verify through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), typically your accountant or company formation agent, if you’d rather have a professional handle it on your behalf.
Whichever route you use, verification is a one-off. Once you’ve completed it, you don’t need to do it again unless Companies House specifically asks you to.
What’s still coming
The current rules cover directors, PSCs, and LLP members. From no earlier than November 2026, Companies House plans to extend identity verification to anyone else who files information on the register, including individuals filing on behalf of a company and relevant officers of corporate PSCs and relevant legal entities (RLEs). If you file documents for a company you’re not a director of, keep an eye on this, the presenter restrictions will mean you’ll need to be verified yourself, or file through a registered ACSP.
The practical takeaway
If you’re a director or PSC and haven’t verified yet, check your company’s next confirmation statement date and don’t leave it until the week before. The process itself is usually quick, usually a matter of minutes if you have all your documents in order and to hand, but issues like an outdated date of birth on record, an overseas ID, or multiple directorships across several companies can turn a simple task into something that could take some time to resolve. With 6 to 7 million people expected to need verification by November 2026, waiting until the deadline crowds in is the one mistake worth avoiding.