⚠️ Company Directors: Have You Completed Your Company’s House Identity Check?

Company’s House Identity Check is no longer something directors can leave on the “to do later” list. Company’s House Identity Check became a legal requirement from 18 November 2025 as part of major Companies House reforms introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. The change is designed to improve the reliability of the UK companies register and make it harder for criminals to use false or stolen identities to set up and control companies.

For directors, the practical message is simple: Company’s House Identity Check may now affect your next confirmation statement, a new appointment as a director, or a new company incorporation. If you are also a person with significant control, commonly called a PSC, there can be an additional step and a separate deadline for that role.

Many directors assume that because their accountant files the annual accounts, corporation tax return or confirmation statement, the accountant can automatically complete everything connected with Company’s House Identity Check. That is not necessarily the case. Company’s House Identity Check is attached to the individual, and every director should understand what has been completed, what personal code has been issued and how that code must be linked to each relevant company role.

This guide explains Company’s House Identity Check in practical terms, including who needs to complete it, how the process works, the role of Authorised Corporate Service Providers, the importance of the Companies House personal code and the mistakes directors should avoid as the transition period approaches its end.

What has changed for company directors?

Under the new system, Company’s House Identity Check is intended to give Companies House greater confidence that directors and controllers appearing on the register are genuine individuals. From 18 November 2025, new directors generally need to verify their identity in connection with incorporation or appointment, while existing directors are brought into the requirement through the transition arrangements.

For an existing director, Company’s House Identity Check is normally tied to the company’s next confirmation statement. The company will need the personal code of each director when the relevant filing is made. If you are a director of more than one company, the same verified identity can be used, but your personal code needs to be connected to each company role.

This distinction is important. Completing Company’s House Identity Check once does not mean that Companies House automatically knows every directorship to which the verification should apply. The personal code acts as the link between your verified identity and your company roles.

Directors should therefore avoid treating Company’s House Identity Check as a one-off tick-box exercise without checking the follow-on filing requirements. Verification and linking are related, but they are not always the same action.

Company’s House Identity Check: who needs to complete it?

The requirement covers a wide group of individuals connected with UK companies. Company’s House Identity Check currently applies to company directors, people with significant control and individuals seeking to become Authorised Corporate Service Providers. Equivalent roles can also fall within the wider identity-verification framework.

A new director appointed after the mandatory regime began should expect Company’s House Identity Check to form part of the appointment process. Likewise, anyone forming a new company must ensure that the directors have the personal codes required for the incorporation filing.

Existing directors are subject to the phased transition. Company’s House Identity Check is generally dealt with when the company files its next confirmation statement after the relevant rules began. This means different companies and directors can have different practical dates rather than one single deadline applying to everybody.

If you hold directorships in several companies, Company’s House Identity Check does not normally require you to verify your identity from scratch for every company. Most people verify once, receive one personal code and use that code to connect their verified identity to each role. However, you should keep a record of which companies have already had the code submitted.

People with significant control are another important group. If you are both a director and a PSC of the same company, Company’s House Identity Check affects both roles. You may use the same personal code, but the director requirement and the PSC requirement are separate compliance steps.

For someone who is both a director and a PSC, the PSC submission generally falls within a 14-day period starting the day after the company’s confirmation statement date. If you are a PSC but not a director, your 14-day period is generally the first 14 days of your birth month. Company’s House Identity Check should therefore be planned role by role.

How can a director verify their identity?

There are two main routes for Company’s House Identity Check: using the official GOV.UK One Login process or using an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, commonly known as an ACSP or Companies House authorised agent.

Once Company’s House Identity Check is successfully completed through the official route, the verified person receives access to a Companies House personal code. This code is crucial because it is later used to connect the individual’s verified identity to company appointments and filings.

The second route is to ask an ACSP to carry out Company’s House Identity Check. An ACSP is typically an accountant, solicitor or company formation agent registered with Companies House and supervised for anti-money-laundering purposes. Not every accountant or solicitor is automatically an ACSP, so you should check their status.

An ACSP performing Company’s House Identity Check must meet the Companies House identity verification standard. The authorised agent may complete checks remotely or in person and may use appropriate identity-verification technology, but the ACSP remains responsible for meeting the required standard.

For some directors, using an ACSP can be helpful where the online process is difficult, documentation is unusual, the director is overseas, or several people within a business group need support with the process. The key point is that Company’s House Identity Check must be completed through an accepted route.

What is the Companies House personal code?

After successful verification, Company’s House Identity Check results in a unique Companies House personal code being associated with the individual. The code is personal to you rather than personal to one company.

Think of the code as the bridge between Company’s House Identity Check and the roles recorded against your name. If you are a director of three companies, you generally do not need three identity checks. You use your personal code when required for each company so that Companies House can connect the verified person with each directorship.

The personal code should be kept secure. Company’s House Identity Check is designed to protect the integrity of your identity, so you should not publish your code or circulate it unnecessarily. You may need to provide it to a trusted accountant, company secretary or authorised agent who is completing a legitimate Companies House filing for you.

If an ACSP completed Company’s House Identity Check for you, Companies House normally sends the personal code to the email address that the ACSP supplied. If it does not arrive, you should contact the agent and check which email address was used.

Company’s House Identity Check and your confirmation statement

For many existing directors, the next confirmation statement is where Company’s House Identity Check becomes immediately relevant.

This means Company’s House Identity Check should be addressed before the confirmation statement deadline rather than on the filing day. A company with two, three or four directors could be delayed if only some directors have verified and provided their personal codes.

If you use an accountant or company secretarial provider, ask whether they already hold the personal code and whether Company’s House Identity Check has been linked to the correct company. Do not assume that Company’s House Identity Check completed for another company automatically completes the filing requirement for this company.

Where one individual is a director of multiple companies, Company’s House Identity Check can create an administrative tracking issue. A simple register showing the company name, company number, confirmation statement date, director verification status, personal code received and code submitted can prevent last-minute confusion.

Directors who leave everything until the confirmation statement deadline also risk discovering an identity mismatch, expired-document issue or account-access problem at the worst possible time. Completing Company’s House Identity Check early gives more time to resolve problems.

Directors who are also PSCs: do not miss the second step

If you are both a director and a PSC of the same company, Company’s House Identity Check uses the same verified identity and personal code, but you must provide the code separately for the PSC role. Companies House guidance states that the PSC step is completed using the service for providing identity-verification details for a PSC.

For an existing director who is also a PSC, the 14-day PSC period generally starts the day after the company’s confirmation statement date. Company’s House Identity Check should therefore be included in your compliance calendar alongside the confirmation statement itself.

Consider a company with a confirmation statement date of 30 September 2026. The director’s code may be dealt with through the confirmation statement, while the director’s PSC role will have its own 14-day submission period beginning after that statement date. Company’s House Identity Check is one identity-verification process, but it can create more than one filing obligation.

This distinction matters for owner-managed companies, where shareholders frequently act as both directors and PSCs. Company’s House Identity Check should be reviewed role by role, not merely person by person.

Common mistakes directors should avoid

The first mistake is waiting until the confirmation statement is due. Company’s House Identity Check can be straightforward, but account-access issues, inconsistent names or unsuitable documents can create delay.

The second mistake is verifying but losing the personal code. Company’s House Identity Check is only useful for the company filing when the required code can be provided. Store it securely and make sure the appropriate person responsible for company filings knows how to obtain it when required.

The third mistake is assuming one company filing updates every other company. Company’s House Identity Check usually needs to be linked to each directorship. Directors with several companies should review them individually.

The fourth mistake is forgetting the PSC requirement. Company’s House Identity Check can create separate actions for a person who is both a director and a PSC, even though only one identity verification and one personal code are normally needed.

The fifth mistake is using an unverified third party. If you want an accountant or solicitor to complete Company’s House Identity Check, confirm that the firm is registered as an ACSP. Companies House publishes a list of authorised providers, although the public list may not include every registered ACSP.

The sixth mistake is sharing your personal code too widely. Company’s House Identity Check is connected directly with your verified identity. Treat the code as sensitive information and only provide it where there is a genuine filing need.

The seventh mistake is assuming that an old WebFiling login, company authentication code and personal code are all the same thing. They are not. Company’s House Identity Check creates a personal code for the verified individual; the company authentication code is a separate company-level security credential.

What happens if you do not comply?

Company’s House Identity Check is a legal requirement, not an optional Companies House preference. Company’s House Identity Check should therefore be treated in the same way as other statutory company obligations.

Companies House has stated that it will support businesses and take a proportionate approach to enforcement during implementation. However, directors should not interpret that as permission to ignore the rules. Company’s House Identity Check is part of the statutory framework and failure to comply can cause filing and appointment problems and may expose individuals or companies to enforcement consequences under the legislation.

A practical risk is that a confirmation statement or appointment cannot be completed as expected because the necessary personal code has not been provided. Company’s House Identity Check can therefore affect the company’s wider compliance position even before considering formal enforcement.

If your deadline is close and Company’s House Identity Check has not been completed, act immediately. Company’s House Identity Check is usually easier to resolve before a statutory filing becomes overdue than after the company is already dealing with a compliance failure.

What should accountants and company owners do now?

Next, confirm whether Company’s House Identity Check has already been completed. If yes, locate the personal code. If no, choose whether to use GOV.UK One Login or an ACSP.

Then check whether Company’s House Identity Check has been linked to each directorship where required. If your accountant files your confirmation statements, confirm that they have the information they need and understand whether you are also a PSC.

For PSCs, record the relevant 14-day submission window. Company’s House Identity Check is much easier to manage when the deadline is in a compliance calendar rather than left to memory.

If you run a family company, ask every director separately about Company’s House Identity Check. One director completing verification does not cover a spouse, adult child, business partner or other director.

If you manage multiple companies, consider adding identity-verification status to your company secretarial records. Company’s House Identity Check should sit alongside confirmation statement dates, registered-office details, director appointments and PSC information as a standard compliance item.

A practical director checklist

• You know whether Company’s House Identity Check applies to you now.
• You have successfully completed Company’s House Identity Check through an accepted route.
• You have received and securely stored your Companies House personal code.
• You have identified every company for which the code needs to be provided.
• You have checked the next confirmation statement date for each company.
• If you are a PSC, you have identified the separate PSC deadline.
• Your accountant or filing agent has the information needed to complete the filing.
• You are using an authorised ACSP if a third party is verifying your identity.
• You have checked that your Companies House records contain accurate personal information.
• You have not shared your personal code with anyone who does not genuinely need it.

Working through this checklist now can make Company’s House Identity Check a routine compliance task rather than an urgent problem immediately before a deadline.

Final thoughts

Company’s House Identity Check represents one of the most significant practical changes to Companies House compliance for directors in recent years. It affects new appointments, company incorporations, confirmation statements and PSC obligations, so it deserves attention well before a filing deadline.

For most people, Company’s House Identity Check should be a one-off verification process. The larger administrative challenge is making sure the personal code is then used correctly for every relevant role and that directors who are also PSCs complete the separate PSC requirement on time.

If your company’s confirmation statement is approaching, check every director now. Confirm who has completed Company’s House Identity Check, who has received a personal code and whether those codes have been provided for the correct companies. Then check the PSC position separately.

Do not assume your accountant has automatically completed Company’s House Identity Check simply because they prepare your accounts or submit Companies House forms. Ask the question, confirm the position and keep a record.

The earlier you deal with Company’s House Identity Check, the easier it is to resolve missing documents, account problems or mismatched details without disrupting an important statutory filing. A few minutes of preparation now can prevent avoidable problems later.

Need help with Company’s House Identity Check or your wider Companies House compliance? Taxes Done Right can help directors understand their verification obligations, identify relevant deadlines and, where appropriate, assist with identity verification and Companies House filings.

Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal, tax or professional advice. Companies House rules and online services can change. Check the latest official guidance or obtain professional advice based on your circumstances before taking action.

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