With the new identity verification regime for company directors and others under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA 2023) now coming into force, it’s time to take action!
With effect from 18 March 2025 an individual who wishes to apply to register as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP – see below) – also known as a Companies House authorised agent, will need to verify their identity.
With effect from 8 April 2025:
- directors
- persons with significant control (PSC) (for example persons holding 25% or more of the shares or votes of a company or who have rights to appoint a board majority)
can choose voluntarily to verify their identity online with Companies House using GOV.UK One Login or in person using the same login at a post office.
Relevant individuals must verify their identities by supplying their name, date of birth, any former names, a valid email address, a current residential address and supporting evidence of identity. You can verify online and free of charge with one of the following types of photo ID:
- biometric passport from any country
- UK photo driving licence (full or provisional)
- UK biometric residence permit (BRP)
- UK biometric residence card (BRC)
- UK Frontier Worker permit (FWP)
Those who do not have any of these but live in the UK, may be able to verify with bank or building society details instead using the ‘Verify your identity for Companies House’ service to find out if you can verify this way. This may involve an identity checking interview with a third party approved by Companies House.
ACSPs
Individuals may, from 8 April 2025, also use a registered ACSP to verify their identity and this may be useful if they are out of the country. The role of ACSP has been created under ECCTA 2023 and there is a new licensing regime which has just launched so it will take a while for ACSPs to emerge and hold themselves out as such. They will be supervised by an appropriate anti-money laundering body so will most frequently be accountants, solicitors, but are also expected to include trust administrators and company service providers. ACSPs will require a client to provide details including their ‘required personal information’, ‘required evidence’ and ‘required contact information’.
Companies House personal code
Once verification is successful, an individual will get a unique identifier called a ‘Companies House personal code’ – personal to the individual, not the company. An individual need only verify their identity once unless Companies House requires otherwise or wishes to re-verify subsequently. This means they can use their code in respect of any company.
Clearly it will be important for individuals to keep their Companies House personal code safe and share it only with persons who are trusted, such as the officer at the company that needs to make filings on the individual’s behalf.
Compulsory verification
Whilst verification is voluntary for directors and PSCs from 8 April 2025, in autumn 2025 it will start to become compulsory, and the personal code will be needed:
- when incorporating a company
- when filing a confirmation statement
- if the individual is appointed as a director
- if the individual becomes a PSC
At the same time a de facto12-month transition period will start for existing companies who will be required to provide identity verification credentials for their directors and PSCs when their confirmation statement is due. This will therefore require individuals to have verified their identity and obtained their Companies House personal code before the confirmation statement is filed.
A new PSC will have a 14-day window after company formation, or after notifying Companies House of becoming a PSC, to confirm to Companies House that their identity has been verified. For PSCs that are bodies corporate, i.e. ‘Relevant Legal Entities’, (RLE), the period is 28 days from incorporation or becoming a PSC, during which time they must provide to Companies House the name of a ‘verified relevant officer’ of the RLE (either a director of the RLE, a member (say of an LLP) or their equivalent in other registrable entities).
By spring 2026 Companies House intends to:
- make identity verification of document presenters (such as company secretaries) a compulsory part of filing any document
- require third party agents filing documents with Companies House on behalf of companies to be registered as an ACSP
Effect on existing filings for directors and PSCs
Existing directors and PSCs will need to use their Companies House personal code to connect their verified identity to existing Companies House records. This is part of the legal requirement to verify identity for Companies House, allowing Companies House to link the verified identity to all roles they have. This should lead to a useful improvement in the quality of data on Companies House where frequently names may be slightly wrong meaning it is not possible to pick up common directors and PSCs across multiple companies. In the initial years this may enable Companies House to flush out fraudulent operators – one of the primary objectives of the new regime.
Non-compliance
Once the compulsory regime comes into force in autumn 2025:
- a director who continues to act as such without verifying when required to do so will be committing an offence – actions will not however be invalidated, although such director risks disqualification for a persistent breach.
- the company and all other directors may also be committing an offence
- unverified PSCs will also be committing an offence.
This could in each case mean a financial penalty or fine.
Without a Companies House personal code, an individual will be unable to:
- make filings at Companies House
- start a new company
- register as an ASCP
So…
The clock is ticking down. From 8 April 2025, Companies House will be ready to verify identities for directors and PSCs. Directors, and PSCs should make the time to verify their identity in the next few months before the compulsory regime starts to come into force.