Since 18 November 2025, identity verification has been a legal requirement for company directors and people with significant control. If you are a director and you have not done it yet, this is a short job with a hard consequence for ignoring it.
Why this exists
It comes from the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act. For most of its history Companies House accepted whatever names it was given, which made the register a convenient place to hide. Verification ties a real, checked identity to every person on it.
Who has to verify
- All company directors, including directors of dormant companies and one-person companies.
- People with significant control — broadly anyone holding more than 25% of shares or voting rights, or otherwise exercising significant influence.
- Anyone filing on a company's behalf, in due course.
- LLP members, under equivalent rules.
Being both a director and a PSC does not mean verifying twice. You verify once as a person and use the same code in both capacities.
When you have to provide it
The deadline depends on your situation:
| Situation | When |
|---|---|
| New director appointed now | Must be verified before or at appointment |
| Existing director | Provide your personal code with your company's next confirmation statement |
| PSC who is also a director | Within 14 days of the confirmation statement date |
| PSC who is not a director | During the first 14 days of your birth month |
| New PSC | On registering, or within 14 days |
In practice, for most small companies the trigger is the confirmation statement. If yours falls in the next few months and you have not verified, do it now — the filing cannot be completed without the code.
How to verify
Two routes, and both end with the same thing.
Directly with Companies House, using GOV.UK One Login. You will need photo ID — a passport, UK photo driving licence or biometric residence permit. Most people complete it in under ten minutes using the app to scan the document and their face. It is free.
Through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider — an accountant, solicitor or formation agent registered with Companies House for this purpose. They carry out the identity checks and confirm them. There is usually a fee, and it is the sensible route if you cannot complete the digital check yourself.
Verification produces a Companies House personal code. It belongs to you, not to any company, and you use the same one for every company you are involved with, for life. Store it somewhere you will find it again — it is needed at every appointment and confirmation statement.
What happens if you don't
Failing to verify when required is a criminal offence. In practice the more immediate consequences are administrative and awkward: filings get rejected, the confirmation statement cannot be completed, the register shows the company as non-compliant, and Companies House can impose financial penalties. Acting as a director without verifying is itself an offence.
None of that is a good look when a bank, an investor or a large customer runs a check on the company.
What to do this week
- Find your photo ID and verify through GOV.UK One Login — ten minutes, no cost.
- Save your personal code somewhere permanent, with your UTR and company number.
- Check your company's confirmation statement date and make sure every director and PSC has verified before it.
- If anyone involved cannot complete the digital check, arrange verification through an authorised provider now rather than in the fortnight before the deadline.
If you would rather not deal with it, this is exactly the kind of thing we handle for clients alongside the confirmation statement — as a piece of routine housekeeping rather than a scramble.
Let us handle the filings
We take care of confirmation statements, identity verification and Companies House deadlines for our clients, alongside the year-end accounts.
Book a free 30-minute call →This article is general guidance based on the rules as we understand them at the date above, not advice for your situation. Tax rules change and thresholds are often updated at fiscal events — check the current position on GOV.UK or speak to us before acting on anything here.