Companies House identity verification: what accountants need to track

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act made identity verification compulsory for company directors and people with significant control (PSCs). It began on 18 November 2025. Each person verifies once and receives a personal code, which is then used in the company's filings.

When each person has to verify

• New directors: since 18 November 2025, they give their personal code as part of the appointment filing, or when the company is incorporated — so they need to have verified by then.
• Existing directors: by the company's next confirmation statement. GOV.UK says a current director needs to provide their personal code in that filing.
• PSCs: each has a 14-day window to provide their personal code. When it falls depends on when they were registered and whether they are also a director.

Every company files a confirmation statement at least once every 12 months, so for an existing director the company's next statement date is, in practice, the verification deadline.

What happens if someone doesn't verify

GOV.UK warns that a director who keeps acting without verifying commits an offence, and that missing the identity verification requirements can lead to prosecution and a fine through the courts, or a financial penalty. The confirmation statement also needs each director's personal code, so one unverified director holds up the company's filing.

How verification works

• Directly with Companies House, through GOV.UK One Login and its identity check. It is free of charge.
• Or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) — such as an accountancy firm registered with Companies House — which can verify people for them.

Either route ends the same way: a personal code the director gives for the company's filings. Some practices register as an ACSP so they can offer this to clients who find the online check difficult.

Tracking it across a client list

The hard part is not the verification itself but knowing who still needs it and by when. For each company, list the current directors and PSCs, note who has verified, and keep the next confirmation statement date beside them. The public register now shows whether each officer has verified, so the list can be checked against the record rather than against memory.

FilingKeeper already tracks every client's confirmation statement deadline, with reminders well before the 14-day window closes, so the verification checkpoint never arrives unannounced.

Source: GOV.UK, "Verifying your identity for Companies House". This article is general guidance, not legal advice. Confirm each client's position against current Companies House guidance.