Companies house identity verification: What you need to know

Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA), anyone incorporating, running, controlling or owning a company in the UK will need to verify their identity.

You will be legally required to verify if you are:

• a director
• the equivalent of a director – this includes members, general partners and managing officers
• a person with significant control (PSC)

In most cases, you'll only need to verify your identity once. After your identity has been verified, you will be provided with a Companies House personal code. You'll need to provide your personal code separately for each role and for every company.

Your verified status will be held by Companies House for all future filings. There may be some instances where re-verification is needed, for example if someone changes their name.

When you need to verify

From 18 November 2025, all UK company directors and PSC's will be required to verify their identity with Companies House.

Directors

From 18 November 2025, directors will need to provide their personal code as part of the company's next confirmation statement. If you're a director of more than one company, you'll need to provide the same code for each company with the next confirmation statement. If you're appointed as a director on or after 18 November 2025, you'll need to provide your personal code when you are appointed.

PSC's

If you're both an existing PSC and director of the same company, you'll need to provide your personal code for your director role with the next confirmation statement as above. For your PSC role, you must provide your code using a separate service within 14 days of your company's confirmation statement date. This service will be available when the requirement comes into force on 18 November 2025.

If you're a PSC but not a director of a company, from 18 November 2025 you must provide your personal code within the first 14 days of your birth month. For example, if your date of birth is 22 January, your 14 day period will begin on 1 January 2026.

If you become a PSC after 18 November 2025, you must provide your personal code within 14 days of being added to the Companies House register.

How do I verify my identity?

Option 1 | Online using GOV.UK One Login

You can verify yourself for free online with GOV.UK if you have one of the following types of photo ID:

• UK photocard driving licence
• biometric passport from any country
• non-UK passport with a biometric chip
• UK biometric residence permit (BRP)
• UK biometric residence card (BRC)
• UK Frontier Worker permit (FWP)

You'll also need:

• your current address, and the year you moved in
• to sign in using a GOV.UK One Login (if you do not already have a GOV.UK One Login, you will need to create one)

You will then be asked some questions to select the most suitable way to verify your identity online and dependent on your responses, you will be asked to verify using the GOV.UK mobile phone app or a web browser.

Please note, all directors and PSC's will need to use a unique email address for their GOV.UK login. We recommend that personal email addresses are used.

Option 2 | In person at Post Office

If you do not have one of the photo ID documents listed above, or if you are struggling to log in or create a GOV.UK One Login, or are unable to provide the required scans of your face and identity documents, you can also verify your ID at participating Post Offices.

Option 3 | Online via Hodge Bakshi

Hodge Bakshi is a registered Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) and we can ensure that your identity is verified to the standard required under the legislation.

We will send you a form where you can provide the details of the person who needs their ID verified. Please note, the person being identified will require a valid UK photocard driving licence or biometric passport from any country and you will need access to a mobile phone with a camera.

We will then contact this person directly, providing them with a secure link to upload ID documents and complete the verification process online.

What happens once my ID has been verified?

When you have successfully verified, you'll get a unique identifier known as a Companies House personal code. The code is personal to each individual, not the company they own or work for.

From 18 November 2025, it will be needed when you file your confirmation statement, are appointed as a director or become a PSC and is a legal requirement to ensure that Companies House know the correct identity is linked to any roles you
hold.

If you are a client of Hodge Bakshi, please send a copy of this code to cosec@hodgebakshi.com and retain it for future reference.

What happens if I don't verify?

If you do not comply with identity verification requirements on time, you'll be committing an offence.

There will be a range of consequences:

• financial penalties
• the company will be unable to make any statutory filings (which risks further consequences such as fines or being struck off the register)
• a publicly visible “unverified” flag may be added to the Companies House register which could cause reputational damage
• you will be unable to form a new company or be appointed as a PSC or director of a company

Next Steps

Delaying your ID verification could be costly.

If you are impacted by this new legislation, we recommend that you start the ID verification process early.

There have been several technical issues reported with the Companies House ID verification system.

Many users have reported issues when trying to verify their ID online and as the deadline approaches, we anticipate a surge in demand which could lead to further issues and delays.

If you need help or advice, speak with our team today.

Author

James Burnett | ACA FCCA
Director