Companies House ID Verification 2026: Directors' Guide

Companies House ID verification in 2026 is a statutory process, not a website’s general KYC check. Mandatory verification began on 18 November 2025. A new director now verifies for incorporation or appointment. A director already in office before that date connects their verified identity through each company’s relevant confirmation statement during the transition.

The due date is individual to the company and role. Do not treat 18 November 2025, or the end of the 12-month transition, as permission for every existing director to wait. Check the register for the filing date that applies to your company. This page owns the official process; use the KYC guide for provider CDD and the document-request guide before sharing evidence.

What the requirement does

Companies House identity verification is intended to confirm that a person is who they claim to be. In most cases, a person verifies once. Successful verification produces a personal code that connects that verified identity to roles on the register.

It does not:

• approve a company or its business activity;
• confirm that a nominee arrangement is lawful or suitable;
• perform customer due diligence on a beneficial owner;
• establish that a provider is AML compliant;
• remove a director’s Companies Act duties; or
• guarantee an appointment, fee or payment.

A nominee director is still a director in law. Verification improves identity assurance, but it does not turn the office into a passive or lower-responsibility role.

When the mandatory regime began

Identity verification became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025. Companies House expressly described that date as the start of the requirement, not a deadline for everyone.

The rule applies differently according to when the directorship began.

Directors appointed on or after 18 November 2025

If you are a director of a newly incorporated company, your personal code is needed as part of the incorporation filing. If you join an existing company, it is needed as part of the appointment filing.

Do not agree to be named in a filing before you have verified, investigated the company and given informed consent. Providing a code is not a substitute for reviewing the appointment documents.

Directors already in office before 18 November 2025

The transitional rule in regulation 4 of the 2025 commencement regulations links an existing director’s identity-verification statement to the company’s next confirmation statement during a 12-month transition beginning on 18 November 2025.

That creates different practical dates because companies have different confirmation-statement timetables. As at 19 July 2026:

• some existing directors’ relevant filing dates have already passed;
• others have a later date within the transition;
• a person with several directorships may have a different date for each company; and
• no one should calculate a personal extension from the transition end date.

Use the official “when to verify” guidance and the dates displayed on the Companies House register. If a filing is already overdue or the circumstances are unusual, obtain current Companies House guidance rather than relying on a generic article.

The two permitted verification routes

Companies House says you can verify through GOV.UK One Login or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider. Do not post or email identity documents to Companies House.

Route 1: GOV.UK One Login

The official verification service asks you to sign in to or create your own GOV.UK One Login. An email address can be used to verify only one identity, so do not use an account shared with another person.

As at 19 July 2026, the listed photo-ID options include:

• a biometric passport from any country;
• a UK full or provisional photocard driving licence;
• a UK biometric residence permit;
• a UK biometric residence card; and
• a UK Frontier Worker permit.

The service asks for your current address and the year you moved in. The route it offers depends on your answers and evidence. It may use an app, online security questions with bank or building-society details and a National Insurance number, or a participating Post Office after you enter photo-ID details online.

Current rules on expired evidence differ by document and route. For example, the guidance allows a recently expired DVLA driving licence or certain recently expired immigration documents in stated circumstances, but not an expired passport in the One Login app. Check the live service rather than relying on an old list.

Route 2: an Authorised Corporate Service Provider

An ACSP, also called a Companies House authorised agent, can verify identity for Companies House. It might be an accountant, solicitor or company-formation agent, but the professional label alone does not prove ACSP registration.

Companies House requires an ACSP to be supervised by a UK AML supervisory body and registered as an authorised agent. These are connected but distinct facts. An AML-supervised business is not automatically an ACSP.

For an ACSP check, Companies House says you provide the agent with:

• your full name;
• home address;
• an accessible email address; and
• suitable identity evidence specified by that ACSP.

Companies House sends the personal code to the email address supplied by the ACSP. Confirm that address carefully. The official ACSP verification guidance explains what follows.

Before choosing an agent, check the Companies House list and the separate ceased or suspended list. The published active list is not complete because appearing on it is optional, so absence alone is not conclusive. Ask the agent for its registration details and verify them independently. Companies House does not endorse agents on the list.

Do not assume this site is an ACSP

This site’s published information does not currently confirm ACSP registration or complete legal-entity and controller details. Its document upload must not be represented as Companies House verification.

If the site asks for documents, ask whether it is:

1. collecting them for its own onboarding;
2. passing them to an identified AML-regulated provider; or
3. arranging verification through a named, registered ACSP.

Those answers have different privacy and regulatory consequences. Until the legal recipient, purpose and route are clear, do not upload. See why ID documents may be requested for the document-safety questions.

Your 11-character personal code

After successful verification, Companies House issues an 11-character personal code. It belongs to you, not to a company, agent or employer.

If you verified through GOV.UK One Login, sign in to Companies House with the same email address and view the code under “Manage account”. Companies House’s personal-code guidance says that people verified after 8 July 2026 are also sent the code by email.

If an ACSP verified you, Companies House sends the code to the email address that the ACSP provided. You can save it to a Companies House account using that email address, your code and your date of birth.

Use the same code for each directorship

You normally verify only once and use the same code to connect every appointment. If you direct three companies, the code must be provided for each company at the appropriate filing point. Connecting it to one company does not connect the other two.

Keep the code safe. Companies House permits you to share it with a trusted person who files on your behalf, such as an accountant. Share it only when you understand the exact filing and recipient. It is not a password, but misuse could link your identity to an unauthorised filing.

If you believe the code has been compromised, contact Companies House. It can issue a new code and cancel the previous one.

If you are also a PSC

Director and person with significant control, or PSC, are separate roles for identity-linking purposes. If you hold both for the same company, you must provide the personal code twice through the relevant routes.

For the directorship, the code is included in the company’s confirmation statement. For the PSC role, use the separate PSC service during the applicable 14-day period. Companies House says that, for a person who was already both director and PSC, this period starts the day after the company’s confirmation-statement date. Filing early does not move that period.

Other PSC situations have different 14-day windows. Check the dates displayed on the register rather than inferring them from the director deadline.

What happens at the confirmation statement

For an existing director, the company needs the personal code when it submits the relevant confirmation statement. Each director must be verified. Companies House states that a company cannot file that confirmation statement unless all its directors have complied.

This makes coordination important, but it does not justify sending your code or identity documents to an unknown contact. Verify the filing party through established details and ask:

• Which company number and confirmation statement is involved?
• What is the official filing due date?
• Who will submit the filing?
• Why does that person need the code now?
• How will the code be protected after use?

Check the public filing history after submission. A successful filing does not remove your continuing duty to monitor the company.

If your details do not match

A code may fail to connect if it was entered incorrectly or if the date of birth or other details do not match Companies House records. Use the official correction process for an inaccurate date of birth. If an ACSP supplied incorrect verification information, contact the ACSP so it can address the error.

Do not repeatedly create new One Login identities or verify again unless Companies House tells you to. The official guidance says most people should verify once.

Keep a record of:

• the route and date of verification;
• the email account connected to it;
• the agent’s name if an ACSP was used;
• when and to whom you supplied the code; and
• the Companies House filing confirmation.

Do not store copies of identity documents or codes in an unprotected shared folder merely for convenience.

Consequences of missing the applicable date

Companies House warns that failure to meet identity-verification requirements on time may lead to prosecution, a court fine or a financial penalty. A new appointment or incorporation may also be blocked.

For existing directors, continuing to act after the applicable deadline without complying may be an offence. The company and its directors may also be committing offences, and the company cannot file the relevant confirmation statement unless all directors are verified.

These consequences make the date important, but they do not create a reason to use an unverified commercial upload. If the deadline is close, use Companies House’s own service or an independently verified ACSP and seek official help for access problems.

Keep AML KYC and onboarding separate

Companies House verification answers an identity question. A regulated provider’s AML CDD goes further by identifying the customer and beneficial owner, understanding ownership, control and purpose, and applying risk-based monitoring. Read KYC for company directors for that process.

A website’s onboarding may collect application information for another defined purpose. It needs its own controller, lawful basis, data-minimisation analysis and retention schedule. Neither an onboarding result nor AML CDD automatically produces a Companies House personal code.

Be cautious if a message uses the three labels interchangeably. Ask which organisation acts under which authority, and which official outcome you will receive.

Illustrative examples

New appointment: Maya is considering joining a company in August 2026. She verifies through her own GOV.UK One Login and receives a personal code. After investigating the company and agreeing final terms, she gives the code to a trusted filing professional for the named appointment. The code supports the filing; it does not amount to consent before she agrees.

Existing director of several companies: Daniel was appointed to two companies before 18 November 2025. Their confirmation statements fall on different dates. He verifies once, then uses the same code for each company at its own relevant filing. He does not assume that the later company’s date extends the earlier one.

A reason to stop: a public website says its passport upload makes the applicant “Companies House approved” and asks for the personal code before naming a company or filing party. It cannot show ACSP status. The applicant should not upload or share the code.

Director action checklist

1. Confirm whether you are a new or existing director for the relevant company.
2. Check the company’s number and official confirmation-statement dates.
3. Use GOV.UK One Login or independently verify an ACSP.
4. Keep access to the email address used for verification.
5. Record the 11-character code and store it safely.
6. Connect every directorship separately at the correct filing point.
7. Complete a PSC link separately if that role also applies.
8. Check the register after the filing and resolve mismatches promptly.
9. Treat any private KYC or onboarding request as a separate process.

The proportionate next step is to open the live Companies House guidance and register entry for your particular company. Use the date shown there, not a general transition date, and share your code only with a trusted party handling a filing you recognise.