Scope: UK companies registered at Companies House. Based on Companies House guidance on GOV.UK as published up to September 2026 and checked on 15 October 2026. Companies House says it will extend verification to more roles later, so check the sources below for anything newer.
Who has to verify
The requirement comes from the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act. Companies House lists the people who must verify as:
- Directors, and the equivalent of a director — for example LLP members, general partners and managing officers
- Directors of overseas companies registered in the UK
- People with significant control (PSCs)
- Authorised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs), also called Companies House authorised agents
Companies House says it will introduce verification at a later date for people who file at Companies House, limited partnerships, corporate directors, corporate members of LLPs and officers of corporate PSCs. In most cases you only verify once.
When you need to do it
Identity verification became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025. Companies House is explicit that this date is not a deadline: it started a 12-month transition period. What triggers your own due date depends on your role:
| Your situation | When you provide your personal code |
|---|---|
| Existing director | In the company’s next confirmation statement (for each company you’re a director of) |
| New director, or forming a new company | In the appointment filing or the incorporation application |
| PSC who is also a director of the same company | Within 14 days starting the day after the company’s confirmation statement date (filing the confirmation statement early does not move these dates) |
| PSC who is not a director | Within the first 14 days of your birth month (a 22 January birthday means a window starting 1 January) |
| Became a PSC after 18 November 2025 | When you’re added to the register, or within 14 days of being added |
You can check the exact dates of a PSC’s 14-day period on the Companies House register. If a PSC can’t provide their details on time, the PSC service lets them request a 14-day extension — but only before the deadline passes.
How to verify: the three routes
1. Online with GOV.UK One Login (free)
The ‘Verify your identity for Companies House’ service uses GOV.UK One Login. You’ll typically need one of: a biometric passport (from any country), a UK photo driving licence (full or provisional), a UK biometric residence permit or card, or a UK Frontier Worker permit — plus your current address and the year you moved in. Expired passports can’t be used in the app; a DVLA driving licence that expired in the last 90 days can. Each email address can only be used to verify one identity, so directors who share an inbox need separate One Login accounts.
2. In person at a Post Office (free)
If you live in the UK and can’t use the app, One Login may offer the Post Office route. You enter your photo ID details online, download a customer letter, then take the letter and your original photo ID (not a photocopy) to a participating branch by the date on the letter — usually about 15 days away. The result normally arrives by email within a day. You have 21 days from booking to finish the whole process. Some UK residents may instead be offered verification using bank or building society details and their National Insurance number.
3. Through an authorised agent (ACSP)
An Authorised Corporate Service Provider — for example an accountant or solicitor who is registered with Companies House and supervised by a UK anti-money-laundering body — can verify you from any country using documents from an approved list. They may charge for this. Ask your existing adviser whether they are registered, or use the Companies House list of ACSPs. Don’t post or email identity documents to Companies House itself; it doesn’t accept them that way.
Your Companies House personal code
Once verified you get an 11-character personal code. It belongs to you, not to a company, and you use the same code for every role you hold. Verifying alone is not enough — you must provide the code to connect your verified identity to each appointment. If your details don’t match (often a wrong date of birth on the register), Companies House says to correct the date of birth through WebFiling, or ask the ACSP who verified you to fix the details they supplied.
What happens if you don't verify
- The company can’t file its confirmation statement unless all its directors are verified.
- Continuing to act as a director after your deadline without complying is an offence, and the company and all its directors may also be committing an offence. A PSC who stays a PSC without complying may be committing an offence too.
- Companies House says non-compliance can lead to prosecution and a fine through the courts, or a financial penalty, and that it will publish a note against your name on the public register.
- Until you comply you can’t be appointed as a new director, register a new company, or register as an ACSP.
Need the confirmation statement handled?
We prepare and file confirmation statements for small and micro companies, and when we review your company record we’ll flag which directors and PSCs still need to provide a personal code and when. You’ll still need to verify your own identity by one of the routes above. Call 0114 327 1480. This guide is general information, not advice on your individual circumstances.