Companies House identity verification requires an identity check and a separate submission for each relevant director or person with significant control (PSC) role. Existing directors usually provide their code with a confirmation statement; PSCs have their own submission windows. Verify free through GOV.UK One Login or use an authorised agent.
Mandatory verification began on 18 November 2025, starting a 12-month transition for existing directors and PSCs. That start date was not a universal deadline. A general reminder to “verify by November” is an unreliable way to manage individual obligations. Companies House explains the phased introduction.
A PSC is someone who meets the legal conditions for owning or controlling a company. A confirmation statement is the filing that confirms the company’s registered information is up to date.
For a company secretary or governance team, the practical task has two parts: help the individual complete verification, then make sure the required information reaches Companies House for every relevant role. Completion needs evidence against the appointments themselves.
What does Companies House identity verification involve?
In most cases, you verify your identity once; Companies House says you must not verify again unless instructed. Successful verification gives you a personal code, which must then be used to connect your verified identity to each relevant director or PSC role. The official verification guidance explains both steps.
The Companies House personal code has 11 characters and belongs to the individual. It is different from the company’s authentication code. Someone who is both a director and a PSC of one company must deal with both roles; supplying a code for the directorship does not complete the PSC submission.
For an ordinary, unprotected PSC entry, use Provide identity verification details for a PSC to submit the code and a verification statement during the applicable period. The PSC or someone acting on their behalf can do this.
Use two distinct statuses in your working records: identity verified and role submission completed. This makes the outstanding task visible when an individual has finished their check but a filing remains outstanding or a PSC submission window has yet to open.
When is your verification due?
Your deadline depends on the role and when you held it. Check the official timing guidance, the Companies House register and, for PSCs, the dates shown in the submission service. If a deadline has passed, treat it as overdue; the next annual filing or birthday does not reset it.
This table covers individual directors and individual PSCs of UK-incorporated companies with ordinary public register entries. For the two existing-PSC rows, director status is assessed immediately before 18 November 2025, as specified in regulation 5 of the transitional rules.
| Role | When to deal with verification and the code |
| Director already in office before 18 November 2025 | Verify before the company’s first relevant confirmation statement filing from 18 November 2025. Supply the code and verification statement with that filing for each company. A late filing does not postpone the applicable compliance deadline. |
| New director from 18 November 2025 | Verify before being appointed. Include the personal code in the appointment or incorporation filing. |
| Existing PSC who was also a director of that company immediately before 18 November 2025 | Make the separate PSC submission within 14 days beginning the day after the relevant confirmation statement date. Completing the director filing does not complete this step. |
| Existing PSC who was not a director of that company immediately before 18 November 2025 | Use the first 14 days of the birth month specified for the transition: December birthdays used 1–14 December 2025; January to November birthdays use the corresponding month in 2026. This is not an annual reverification schedule. |
| New PSC from 18 November 2025 | Provide verification information with the registration where possible. Otherwise, comply with the Companies House direction: the statutory period is 14 days beginning with the date of that direction, not the date the letter arrives. Check the service for the due date. |
The new-PSC rule is set out in Companies Act 2006, section 790LM and the official PSC guidance, paragraph 3.7.7, page 21. Keep the direction with the filing record and resolve any discrepancy with the service dates promptly.
Take particular care with the confirmation statement date and the filing deadline. Companies normally have 14 days after the review period ends to deliver the statement. The existing PSC/director window starts after the relevant statement date, not when the company chooses to file. Companies House says filing early does not change that PSC window. See the confirmation statement guidance alongside the role-specific timing rules.
Protected PSC information requires a different process, including where a protection application is pending. Check the PSC service guidance rather than relying on this table. LLPs, overseas companies and corporate officeholders need their own applicable guidance. A dormant company still has confirmation statement obligations, so include it in the company review.
Can you verify for free, or should you use an ACSP?
You can verify directly through the free Companies House service using GOV.UK One Login, or use an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), which may charge. Choose according to the verification route available to the individual and the support needed afterwards.
Start with the official verification service. Depending on your circumstances, it guides you to an app, online security questions or a participating Post Office. For the Post Office route, enter your photo ID details in the online service first.
An ACSP is an agent registered with Companies House and supervised for UK anti-money laundering purposes. An ACSP can carry out Companies House identity checks, including for people overseas. Accountants, solicitors and other eligible professionals can register; being your existing adviser does not itself establish ACSP status.
An agent must meet the Companies House verification standard. Previous anti-money laundering customer checks do not automatically satisfy that standard. Ask specifically whether the proposed work includes Companies House identity verification.
Before instructing an agent, agree the identity evidence required, how the individual will supply it, the fee and who will complete the director and PSC submissions. If you want help across a group, provide the entity list and ask for the scope to cover each relevant role. Do not assume a verification fee includes all later filings.
Check registration with the provider and consult the official ACSP list and ceased or suspended list. The public directory is voluntary and may be incomplete or out of date, so absence does not itself mean an agent is unauthorised. The ceased or suspended list can also lag a change in status. Listing is not a government recommendation; confirm the provider’s current position.
When an ACSP verifies you, Companies House sends the personal code to the email address supplied. Check that address carefully and make sure you can access it. The guide to using an ACSP explains how to resolve a missing email or incorrect address. Keep the code secure and share it only with people authorised to file for you.
How do you track one person across several companies?
Track each person, company and role separately, even where one identity check serves them all. A completed identity check does not show that every required submission has been made.
Consider this hypothetical example. Alex has been a director of Company A and Company B, and a PSC of Company A, since before 18 November 2025. The PSC information is not protected. The companies’ first relevant confirmation statement dates are 31 October 2026 and 10 November 2026 respectively. Alex has already completed verification and received a personal code. Assume the ordinary 14-day filing periods apply and no relevant filing has been made early.
| Role record | Action and date to track |
| Director of Company A | Supply Alex’s code and the required verification statement in the relevant confirmation statement filing. The ordinary filing deadline is 14 November 2026. |
| PSC of Company A | Make the separate PSC submission during 1–14 November 2026. |
| Director of Company B | Supply the same code and the required verification statement in Company B’s relevant confirmation statement filing. The ordinary filing deadline is 24 November 2026. |
The calculation is straightforward: 31 October plus 14 days is 14 November; 10 November plus 14 days is 24 November. The PSC window contains 14 calendar days, from 1 to 14 November inclusive. Check the actual register and service dates before applying the example to a real company.
If Company A’s director filing has been accepted, the tracker should still show two outstanding role submissions. Alex should not be sent through another identity check because Company B has a later timetable. The company secretary needs the existing code, an owner for each submission and a record of completion.
A group-wide “verified” column answers a question about Alex’s identity. The operational question is whether each company and role has been dealt with. Keep both views so a board update can distinguish people still needing verification from submissions awaiting action.
What should your verification tracker record?
Record the applicable dates, the person responsible for each submission and evidence of completion. Start with the company list and reconcile recorded directors and PSCs against Companies House. For each person-role-company combination, capture:
| Record | What it should tell the person coordinating the work |
| Company and role | The entity, company number, individual and director or PSC role covered by the row. |
| Date and its basis | The relevant confirmation date and filing deadline, PSC window or appointment timetable; the source checked and the check date. |
| Verification status | Whether the identity check is complete and the authorised filer has access to the code. |
| Submission owner and next action | Who must do what, when they can submit and when a delay should be escalated. |
| Completion evidence | The accepted filing or submission receipt, followed by a check of the relevant register entry. |
Use a controlled way to give the filer access to personal codes. A widely circulated progress spreadsheet can record that a code is available without displaying it. The board usually needs a view of outstanding obligations, ownership and exceptions; it does not need everyone’s code or identity documents.
Give each person a specific instruction: which role needs action, what they should do, who will file afterwards and how to confirm completion. Agree an internal target ahead of the relevant deadline. Treat that earlier target as an internal control, not a different statutory deadline.
What if there is an error or a deadline is missed?
Identify the failed step and escalate it promptly. A record correction, a PSC extension request and an overdue director obligation require different responses.
A date-of-birth mismatch can stop the personal code connecting to a role. Follow the Companies House correction process for the original filing. The correction must be processed before the verification requirements can be completed. As at 26 October 2026, Companies House warns that corrections may take up to 20 working days. That makes an early record check useful when a submission window is only 14 calendar days.
For an eligible PSC submission, the PSC service allows a request for a 14-day extension before the deadline passes. Check the response and keep working to the existing deadline until an extension is confirmed. This does not extend a company’s confirmation statement deadline.
The Companies House non-compliance policy explains its enforcement approach. Continuing to act as a director without a verified identity once the applicable requirement applies is an offence. The company and officers in default can also commit an offence under Companies Act 2006, section 167M. Companies House will not accept the relevant confirmation statement until all directors have verified. Establish the outstanding obligation and what can lawfully happen next.
Keep later reforms separate. As at 26 October 2026, Companies House says verification for people who file on behalf of companies will start no earlier than November 2027, with at least six months’ notice. Directors and PSCs must still meet their existing role requirements. Recheck the implementation timetable when reviewing the plan.
What else should directors and PSCs know?
The following answers distinguish verification, company filing access and the responsibilities that remain when an agent helps.
Do I need an ACSP to verify my identity?
No. Companies House offers free verification through GOV.UK One Login. An ACSP provides an alternative route and may charge. Whichever route you choose, the required director and PSC submissions must still be completed for each relevant company.
Does my personal code replace the company authentication code?
No. The personal code identifies a verified individual. The company authentication code authorises online filings for a particular company. Keep the two codes distinct when instructing the person who will file.
Does using an ACSP transfer responsibility for compliance?
An agent can perform the agreed checks and submissions. The PSC remains responsible for complying with their identity-verification duties. The company’s separate duty to prevent an unverified individual acting as a director, once the applicable requirement applies, also remains. Agree who will perform each task and retain evidence that it was completed.
How can Beyond Governance help?
Beyond Governance is registered with Companies House as an ACSP. If you need help with verification or coordinating director and PSC requirements across companies, talk to the BG team about the work your organisation needs.
For an initial conversation, have the company list, relevant dates, role records and known exceptions ready. That gives the discussion a practical starting point: which checks remain, which submissions are outstanding and who will take responsibility for each step.
