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Companies House identity verification for directors
Since 18 November 2025, every company director and person with significant control has to verify their identity with Companies House. For most small company owners the deadline is the company’s next confirmation statement — and the statement can’t be filed until it’s done.
The short version
- Who: directors (and LLP members), and people with significant control (PSCs).
- How: free through GOV.UK One Login (app, online questions or the Post Office), or through an authorised agent such as your accountant, who may charge.
- Result: a personal code that belongs to you, not the company. You verify once.
- Existing directors: give your code with the company’s next confirmation statement. It can’t be filed until all directors are verified.
- New directors: give the code when you’re appointed (form AP01) or when the company is incorporated.
Who has to verify
Identity verification comes from the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. It applies to:
- company directors, LLP members and equivalent officers;
- people with significant control (PSCs) — usually anyone with more than 25% of the shares or votes;
- authorised agents (Authorised Corporate Service Providers) who file for others.
Companies House says verification for people who simply file on a company’s behalf, and for some corporate officers, comes later.
How to verify
- GOV.UK One Login (free). Use the “Verify your identity for Companies House” service. Depending on your answers you’ll use the GOV.UK ID Check app with photo ID, answer security questions online, or go to a Post Office. The questions are about you, not your company.
- An authorised agent. An accountant, solicitor or other professional registered with Companies House as an ACSP can check your documents. They may charge a fee.
Don’t post or email identity documents to Companies House.
Your personal code
When you’re verified you get a Companies House personal code. It’s linked to you, so it covers every company you’re involved with. You’ll need it for confirmation statements, director appointments and PSC filings. Keep it safe and only share it with people you trust to file for you, such as your accountant. You shouldn’t verify again unless Companies House asks you to.
When: directors, new directors and PSCs
| Role | When to give your personal code |
|---|---|
| Director appointed before 18 November 2025 | With the company’s next confirmation statement. All directors must be verified before it can be filed. |
| New director | With the appointment filing (AP01) or on incorporation |
| Person with significant control | Within a 14-day window; the dates depend on when you were registered and whether you’re also a director |
If you’re a director and a PSC of the same company, check Companies House’s “when you need to verify” guidance for how the two deadlines line up.
If you don’t
Companies House warns that failing to verify on time may be an offence, with a fine or financial penalty. It plans to note non-compliance against your name on the public register. You may be unable to become a director of another company or set up a new one. A director who keeps acting without verifying may commit an offence, and so may the company. And because the confirmation statement can’t be filed, the company risks falling behind on that too.
A simple plan for small companies
- Find your company’s next confirmation statement date on the Companies House register.
- Every director (and PSC) verifies well before then, and records their personal code safely.
- Give the codes to whoever files the confirmation statement.
- When appointing a new director, ask them to verify first, and minute the appointment. Our guide to board minutes and resolutions covers what to record.
Includes a board minute for appointing or accepting the resignation of a director, with the identity verification and AP01 personal code step built in, plus 10 more Word and PDF templates for small companies.
See the pack on Etsy