If you're a director, a person with significant control (PSC), or an LLP member of a UK company, you now need to verify your identity with Companies House. This isn't optional, and it isn't a one-off form — it's a new, permanent legal requirement, and it catches almost everyone with a formal relationship to a UK company register. This guide explains, in plain English, exactly what changed, who it affects, what documents you'll need, and how the process actually works in practice.
Why identity verification exists now
The requirement was introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which gave Companies House new powers to combat the misuse of UK companies for fraud and economic crime. Alongside the Act, the Registrar's (Identity Verification by ACSPs) Rules 2025 set out exactly how identity checks must be carried out, including by firms — called Authorised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs) — acting on an individual's behalf.
According to GOV.UK's guidance on meeting the Companies House identity verification standard, every check — however it's carried out — must meet the same six core steps: asking for identity information, gathering evidence of identity, checking that evidence is genuine, checking the identity belongs to the person presenting it, keeping records for a defined period, and deciding whether to proceed and submit to Companies House. This standard corresponds to GPG45 medium level of assurance, the UK government's established identity-proofing framework.
Who has to verify their identity
- Directors of UK companies — whether they're UK-resident or based overseas.
- People with significant control (PSCs) — anyone who owns or controls 25% or more of a company's shares or voting rights.
- LLP members — both designated and non-designated members of a limited liability partnership.
- General partners of a limited partnership.
- Anyone filing documents with Companies House on a company's behalf.
There is no exemption for overseas directors, non-executive directors, or directors of dormant or small companies — if your name is on the Companies House register in one of these roles, verification applies to you.
The three ways to verify
GOV.UK's guidance is explicit that you can verify your identity in one of three ways: directly yourself for free through GOV.UK One Login, in person at a Post Office, or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) — typically an accountant, solicitor, or company formation agent — using a commercial identity service provider. All three routes are equally valid in the eyes of Companies House; they differ in convenience, support, and (for the ACSP route) cost.
Directors who want a firm to check their documents, manage the paperwork and submit on their behalf — rather than doing it themselves through the government portal — typically choose the ACSP route. We cover the trade-offs between GOV.UK One Login and using an ACSP in a dedicated comparison article.
Two accepted document routes
Whichever verification method you choose, you'll need to provide identity documents through one of two routes.
Route 1: One document, checked digitally (IDVT)
If you hold any of the following, you can typically complete a fully remote check in around 10 minutes:
- A biometric or machine-readable passport (any country, up to 6 months past expiry and still machine-readable)
- An Irish passport card
- A UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, or EU photocard driving licence
- An EU, Norwegian, Icelandic, or Liechtenstein biometric national identity card
- A UK biometric residence permit (BRP) or biometric residence card (BRC)
- A UK Frontier Worker permit
The process is simple: you receive a secure link, take a smartphone photo of your document plus a live selfie, and the check is completed digitally.
Route 2: Two documents, checked in person or by video
If you don't hold one of the documents above, you can still verify using two documents instead — either two photo IDs from Group A, or one Group A document plus one Group B supporting document (a bank statement, utility bill, council tax statement, mortgage statement, birth certificate, or marriage certificate, each dated within the last three months where applicable). If you live outside the UK, at least one document must be government-issued. Documents must always be seen as originals — never photocopies or photographs of copies.
What information you'll be asked for
Both digital and manual checks require the same core information, per GOV.UK guidance: your full name and any former names, date of birth, home address, a 12-month address history, and an email address that only you can access — this is where your personal verification code will be sent.
What happens once you're verified
Once your check is complete, you'll receive a unique personal verification code by email directly from Companies House — your ACSP, if you used one, never sees this code. You'll need this code whenever you're appointed as a director in future, and you connect it to your existing Companies House record yourself. Once connected, the public register displays your name, the identity of the firm that verified you (if you used an ACSP), your ACSP's anti-money-laundering supervisory body, and the date you were verified — but never your documents, biometric data, or home address. You can see what this looks like on a real, completed record on the Companies House public register.
How much it costs
Costs vary considerably depending on the route. Verifying yourself directly through GOV.UK One Login is free. Using a commercial ACSP typically costs anywhere from around £15 at the very basic end up to £150 or more for a fuller concierge-style service, particularly for overseas directors who need extra support — see, for example, published fee structures from VerifyDirectors' 2026 guide and Fundsure's director ID verification service. At TAH, we keep pricing simple and fixed: £125, all-inclusive, for UK-based directors, and £175, all-inclusive, for foreign or overseas directors — covering onboarding, the identity check itself, our compliance review, and the Companies House submission, with nothing added later.
A step-by-step summary
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 | Sign an engagement letter (if using an ACSP) and pay the fee |
| 2 | Provide your personal and company details |
| 3 | Receive your personal, single-use verification link |
| 4 | Complete the digital or in-person document check |
| 5 | Your ACSP (or GOV.UK One Login) reviews the result |
| 6 | Submission is made to Companies House |
| 7 | You receive your personal code and connect it to your record |
For the full walkthrough of our own process, including document preparation tips, see our step-by-step client guide.
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Start your applicationKey takeaways
- Identity verification is mandatory for directors, PSCs, LLP members, general partners and filers under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.
- You can verify for free via GOV.UK One Login, at a Post Office, or through a paid ACSP.
- One biometric document unlocks a ~10-minute digital check; otherwise, two documents are checked manually.
- Your personal code goes directly to your own email — never to a third party.
- The public register shows that you're verified, but never your documents or home address.