Companies House ID Verification: A Small Business Guide

Every individual director and person with significant control (PSC) of a UK company must verify their identity with Companies House. It is free through GOV.UK One Login and usually takes minutes. Existing directors must verify by their company's first confirmation statement after 18 November 2025, and Companies House will not accept that statement until every director has.

Correct as of 12 November 2026. This guide is general information, not professional advice. For your own situation, check with Companies House or your accountant. See our editorial policy for how we check facts. Part of our Rules and regulation hub.

What is Companies House identity verification, and why does it exist?

It is a one-off check that the people running and controlling UK companies are who they say they are. It comes from the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 and has been a legal requirement since 18 November 2025. The aim, Companies House says, is "more assurance about who is setting up, running and controlling companies", and it estimated "6 to 7 million individuals" would need to verify.

Does it apply to me?

Yes, if you are an individual director of a UK company, an individual PSC or an LLP member. Corporate directors, corporate LLP members and officers of corporate PSCs will be brought in at a later date. No, if you are a sole trader with no company. Based on GOV.UK's when to verify guidance and the government's campaign page:

When was my deadline, and how do I check it?

Your due date is personal to each role you hold, and it is shown on the public register. 18 November 2025 started a transitional period: the transitional regulations define it as "the period of 12 months beginning with 18th November 2025", so the legal transition runs to mid-November 2026. Companies House said the people in scope "will need to verify their identity by mid-November 2026" (GOV.UK, 5 August 2025).

Separately, Companies House's operational transition plan (updated 23 October 2026) says that "by no earlier than the end of 2026" it should be able to complete the transition and "start compliance activity against those who have failed to verify their identity".

In practice: if your company's confirmation statement date has passed since 18 November 2025, you are already due. If it falls in the next few days, verify now.

To check yours:

1. Search for your company on Find and update company information.
2. Open the People tab.
3. Look next to your name. A role that still needs your code shows "Identity verification due" and a date. That is how the register displayed it when we checked on 12 November 2026, and Companies House said the register would "show the due dates for each role you hold" (Companies House blog).

How do I verify my identity, and what does it cost?

It is free through GOV.UK One Login. From GOV.UK's verification guidance:

1. Start the service on GOV.UK. It will guide you to use an app, answer security questions online, or enter your photo ID details and then visit a participating Post Office.
2. Have your ID ready, such as a biometric passport or a UK photo driving licence. You cannot use an expired passport in the app. If you have none of the accepted photo ID, GOV.UK describes a route using bank or building society details.
3. Post Office route: take your customer letter and original photo ID to a participating branch by the date on the letter, usually about 15 days. The result usually arrives within a day. You must then sign back in and select "Continue" to see your code, all within 21 days of booking, or start again (Post Office guidance).
4. Find your personal code. It has 11 characters. Sign in to Companies House and go to "Manage account". If you verified after 8 July 2026, it was also emailed to you (personal code guidance).
5. Link it to every role you hold (see the table above).

Companies House's blog says "the easiest way to verify is using a passport, through the GOV.UK One Login app". For the app step alone, GOV.UK put the average completion time for its ID checking app at 2.4 minutes (18 March to 30 June 2025, news release, 5 August 2025).

Alternatively, an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), such as an accountant or solicitor, can verify you, and "may charge a fee". Never post or email ID documents to Companies House.

What did verifying look like for us?

Our founder, Ali Shiwani, is a director of more than one UK limited company and verified a while ago. "It was quite simple," he says. He downloaded an ID check app on his phone and found it easy. (GOV.UK now points people to the GOV.UK One Login app.)

His main tip: make a note of your personal code and keep it somewhere safe. His accountant needed it before filing one company's confirmation statement, and Ali needed it himself to file the statement for his second company. That second company was easy: he just gave the code. This matches GOV.UK: "In most cases, you'll only need to verify your identity once."

Is it worth it? Ali hasn't personally seen fake companies or impersonation, but finds the checks reassuring when AI makes it easy to fake images and people get hacked. His sense is that cyber attacks are rising, so this is a good step. For context, the government's Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025/2026 (30 April 2026) found 43% of UK businesses reported a breach or attack in the previous 12 months, the same as the year before. Companies House says verification makes impersonation "much more difficult" for criminals, "but not impossible".

His advice: "Just follow the steps on the GOV.UK website."

What happens if I haven't verified?

Your company cannot file its confirmation statement, and you may be committing an offence. GOV.UK's confirmation statement guidance says: "We will not accept your company's confirmation statement until all directors have verified their identity." Not filing can mean a fine of up to £5,000, and the company may be struck off.

Under section 167M of the Companies Act 2006, "An individual must not act as a director of a company unless the individual's identity is verified". If the company allows it, the company and every officer in default also commit an offence. In England and Wales the penalty is a fine with no stated maximum.

It is being enforced. On 16 September 2026, three directors of two companies were fined at City of London Magistrates' Court in the first Insolvency Service prosecutions. Fines were £80 to £307, plus £85 costs and a victim surcharge each. All three were also convicted over late confirmation statements. One director had verified himself but was prosecuted for failing to take reasonable steps to stop his co-director acting unverified. Small fines, but criminal convictions.

Companies House's enforcement approach starts with informing, nudging and guiding. For non-compliance, its main routes are prosecution, referral to the Insolvency Service, or financial penalties "at company or individual officer level". It has not published ID-specific penalty amounts.

I've missed my date: what should I do now?

Verify today, then file whatever is overdue:

1. Verify through GOV.UK One Login. It is free and usually takes minutes.
2. Find your code under "Manage account".
3. File the overdue confirmation statement with every director's code (£50 online), or send your code to whoever files it.
4. If you are also a PSC, use the PSC verification service. An extension has to be requested before your verification deadline has passed.
5. If there were extenuating circumstances, Companies House will give you a timeframe to contact it in writing. It is more likely to accept a representation where there is evidence the circumstances were exceptional and related to your due date. Representations outside the timeframe are not considered. If accepted, enforcement is paused, "usually for up to 2 months", but you must still verify to act lawfully as a director (enforcement approach).
6. If a co-director is dragging their feet, it is your problem too. Get advice.

Worked example: what does this look like for a two-director company?

An illustration, not a real business. Amira and Tom are directors of a small online shop. Amira is also a PSC. Their confirmation statement date is 31 March. Tom verified in 2025; Amira kept meaning to.

• The statement: Their 31 March 2026 statement was the first after 18 November 2025, so it needed both codes. The filing window closed on 14 April 2026. Without Amira's code it could not be accepted, so it is now overdue.
• Amira's PSC role: Her window ran from 1 to 14 April 2026, the day after the statement date. It has passed, and it is too late for an extension.
• Tom's risk: As the first prosecutions show, being verified himself does not fully protect him.
• The fix: Amira verifies in the app and sends her code to the accountant, who files the overdue statement (£50). She then gives her code through the PSC service.

By contrast, a non-director PSC born on 24 February had a window of 1 to 14 February 2026 (Companies House example).

How many directors still haven't verified?

About 1.86 million director appointments and 2.10 million individual PSC appointments were unverified at 30 September 2026, though not all were overdue yet. That is our calculation from Companies House's July to September 2026 figures (released 29 October 2026):

At 31 December 2025 the director figure was 7.79%. The figures are "unaudited and subject to change", and they count appointments, not people.

What's coming next from Companies House?

Per the transition plan, identity checks for people who file, and ACSP registration for third-party agents, are planned "by no earlier than November 2027", with "at least 6 months' notice". "Changes to accounts filing will be introduced in April 2028", including software-only filing. We will update this guide as these firm up.

What does SME Shack recommend?

• Sole director? Verify yourself in the GOV.UK One Login app. It is free and quick.
• Several companies? Verify once and list every role that needs your code.
• Offered paid verification? The free route is usually as quick. Pay an ACSP only if you cannot use GOV.UK One Login.
• Adding a director or starting a company? Make verification part of onboarding, then sort your business bank account.
• Everyone: do what Ali did and store your personal code safely the moment you get it.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Do sole traders need to verify with Companies House?

A: No. It applies to company and LLP roles such as directors, PSCs and LLP members. If you trade as a sole trader with no limited company, there is nothing to do. If you are also a director or PSC of a company, verify for that role.

Q: Is Companies House identity verification free?

A: Yes, if you do it yourself through GOV.UK One Login, by app, online questions or the Post Office. An Authorised Corporate Service Provider, such as an accountant, can verify you instead and "may charge a fee". The confirmation statement has its own fee: £50 online.

Q: What is a Companies House personal code and where do I find it?

A: An 11-character code you get once verified. It belongs to you, not your company. Sign in to Companies House and go to "Manage account" to see it; if you verified after 8 July 2026, it was also emailed to you. Share it only with people who file for you. If it is compromised, Companies House can issue a new one.

Q: Can my accountant verify my identity for me?

A: Yes, if they are a registered Authorised Corporate Service Provider. Many owners already use an accountant or accounting software for filings. Even if you verify yourself, your accountant will need your code to file your confirmation statement, as Ali's did.

Q: Do I need to verify again for each company?

A: No. GOV.UK says that in most cases you verify once, and you must not verify again unless Companies House tells you to. You give the same code for each role, so a director of two companies gives it in both confirmation statements.

Q: What happens if one director won't verify?

A: The company cannot file its confirmation statement, risking a fine of up to £5,000 and strike-off. The unverified director commits an offence by acting as a director, and the company and its officers can too, as the first prosecutions showed. Get advice from an accountant or solicitor quickly.