Companies House Identity Verification: What Directors Need to Do Now

23 October 2026 · Officium Business Services

Since 18 November 2025, verifying your identity with Companies House has been a legal requirement for company directors and people with significant control (PSCs). Existing companies were given a 12-month transition period to get everyone verified, and that year is now nearly over. If you run a limited company, here is what you need to check over the next few weeks.

What has changed

Anyone who is a director or a PSC of a UK company now needs to prove who they are to Companies House. In most cases you only do this once. When you succeed, you get a Companies House personal code. The code belongs to you, not to your company, so if you are a director of several companies you use the same code for each one.

Verifying through GOV.UK One Login is free. You can also ask an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), such as an accountant or solicitor registered with Companies House, to verify you. An ACSP may charge for this.

When you need to verify

The timing depends on your role:

• New directors must verify before they are appointed. Since 18 November 2025, a new company cannot be registered without a personal code for each director.
• Existing directors must have their personal codes included in the company's next confirmation statement. Companies House will not accept the confirmation statement until every director has verified.
• PSCs who are also directors must give their personal code within 14 days, starting from the day after the company's confirmation statement date. Filing the confirmation statement early does not move this window.
• PSCs who are not directors must give their personal code within the first 14 days of their birth month. For example, someone born on 24 February would have from 1 to 14 February.
• New PSCs can give their code when they are first added to the register, or within 14 days of the date on the direction letter from Companies House.

Why the next few weeks matter

The transition period started on 18 November 2025 and lasts 12 months. Most companies will file their first confirmation statement under the new rules within this 12-month window. If your company hasn't filed one since 18 November 2025, it is probably due soon.

Look up your company's next confirmation statement date on the Companies House register. You can file up to 14 days after the end of the review period. If that date is in November or December, check now that every director has verified and has their personal code to hand. A director who leaves it to the last day and then hits a problem with their ID could stop the whole filing.

This is already being enforced. In September 2026, the Insolvency Service brought its first prosecutions for identity verification offences. Three directors were convicted and fined at City of London Magistrates' Court. One of them had verified his own identity, but he was prosecuted for letting an unverified co-director keep acting.

What happens if you don't verify

Under section 167M of the Companies Act 2006, an individual must not act as a director unless their identity is verified. Breaking this rule is a criminal offence. The company must also make sure no unverified person acts as a director, so the company and every officer in default can commit an offence too.

Companies House says its enforcement options include:

• financial penalties for the company or individual officers
• prosecution, which can lead to a criminal conviction, fines and director disqualification
• marking the public register to show that someone is not compliant

There is a practical effect as well. If a director has not verified, the company cannot file its confirmation statement. Companies House also lists removing defaulting companies from the register among its enforcement options.

How to verify

You can verify online with GOV.UK One Login if you have one of these photo IDs:

• a biometric passport from any country
• a UK photo driving licence (full or provisional)
• a UK biometric residence permit or biometric residence card
• a UK Frontier Worker permit

Expired passports are not accepted. DVLA driving licences can be used if they expired within the last 90 days. If you live in the UK and do not have suitable photo ID, you may be able to verify using your bank or building society details, your National Insurance number and some security questions. You may also be able to finish the check in person at a Post Office. You can also use an ACSP.

A quick checklist for directors

1. Find your company's next confirmation statement date on the Companies House register.
2. List every director and PSC, and confirm whether each one has verified and has their personal code.
3. For PSCs who are not directors, note their birth month. That is when their 14-day window falls.
4. Make sure your company has a registered email address. You must give one in the confirmation statement if you have not already.
5. File the confirmation statement once every director's code is ready. The online fee is £50.

Also on the horizon

Two more Companies House changes are coming, but neither applies yet:

• Accounts filing reforms will start from April 2028, not April 2027 as first planned. All companies will have to file accounts in iXBRL format using commercial software, and abridged accounts will no longer be an option.
• Identity checks for people who file at Companies House will start no earlier than November 2027. Companies House will give at least six months' notice.

This article is general guidance based on Companies House and GOV.UK information as at 23 October 2026. It is not advice for your specific circumstances.