One Code, Many Companies: How Your Companies House Personal Code Works

If you're a director of several companies, or a PSC with multiple stakes, you might reasonably wonder whether Companies House expects you to go through full identity verification separately for each one. The answer is no — but the way the personal code actually works is easy to get half-right, and getting it wrong can mean a role that quietly stays unverified while you assume it's covered. Here's exactly how it works.

Verify once, receive one personal code

Companies House is explicit: "You only need to do this once – the same personal code can then be used to link your verified identity to each role you hold." Whether you verify through the GOV.UK One Login service or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) like TAH, the outcome is the same single, reusable code tied to your identity (Companies House, January 2026).

The part people miss: the code still has to be submitted for every role

Having the code is not the same as it being applied. A Companies House representative clarified this directly in response to a common question: "Your personal code links your verified identity to each role you hold and you must provide it separately for each one – it does not link your roles together." In other words, the code proves who you are once you have it, but Companies House still needs to be told, role by role and company by company, that this code applies to that specific appointment.

Worked example: director and PSC of the same company

This is the scenario that causes the most confusion. If you're both a director and a PSC of one company, you verify your identity once — but you must provide your code twice:

• As a director: your code goes into the company's confirmation statement, alongside the codes of the company's other directors.
• As a PSC: your code is submitted separately through the "Provide identity verification details for a person with significant control" service.

Companies House confirms this pattern directly: "If you are a director and a person with significant control (PSC) of the same company, you only need to verify your identity once – but you must provide your personal code twice, once for each role."

Worked example: director of multiple companies

The same logic extends across companies. Your one personal code is submitted with each company's own confirmation statement, on that company's own filing schedule. If your three companies have confirmation statement dates in March, July and October, you'll be providing (the same) code three separate times across the year — not once for all three.

Worked example: PSC of multiple companies

The same applies to PSC roles: "You'll need to provide your personal code as a PSC separately for each company," and whether you're also a director of each specific company determines which 14-day window rule applies to that role. You can check the "People" tab for each company on the Companies House register to see the specific deadline for each role you hold.

Where to find your code if you've lost it

How you retrieve a forgotten code depends on how you originally verified:

• Verified via GOV.UK One Login: the code is not emailed to you. Sign in to Companies House, go to "Manage account," using the same email address you used to verify, and your code will be displayed there.
• Verified via an ACSP: ask your ACSP, who processed your identity check, or check the confirmation they issued at the time.

You must not verify again unless told to

It's worth being clear on the flip side too: Companies House states that "in most cases, you'll only need to verify your identity once. You must not verify again unless we tell you to." Re-verifying speculatively doesn't give you a "better" or "more current" code — it just creates duplicate records to untangle.

Key takeaways

• You verify your identity once, through either GOV.UK One Login or an ACSP, and receive one reusable personal code.
• That code must still be actively submitted, role by role and company by company — it does not automatically apply everywhere.
• Being both a director and PSC of the same company means one verification but two separate code submissions.
• Multiple directorships or PSC roles mean the same code submitted repeatedly, once per company's own filing schedule.
• Don't re-verify speculatively — Companies House explicitly says not to unless instructed.