Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023
When do you have to verify your identity with Companies House?
Identity verification became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025, but that date is not a deadline. Companies House describes it as the start of a 12-month transition, and your actual due date depends on your role and, for a person with significant control, on your birth month or your company's confirmation statement date. Answer a few questions to see which rule applies to you and what you have to file.
18 Nov 2025
the date identity verification became a legal requirement, starting a 12-month transition period
14 days
the window in which a person with significant control must provide their personal code
Nov 2027
the earliest date verification will apply to people who file at Companies House, with 6 months' notice
Question 1
What is your role?
Companies House sets a different trigger for each role. If you hold more than one role, run the checker once for each, because the filings are separate.
Scope of this checker
- Directors and equivalents: members, general partners and managing officers
- People with significant control, including the 14 day window and how it is calculated
- People who are both a director and a PSC of the same company, who must file twice
- Directors of overseas companies registered in the UK
- Authorised Corporate Service Providers, also known as Companies House authorised agents
- Which roles are explicitly not in scope yet, and when Companies House says they will be
IDV Deadline is an independent information site operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Companies House, GOV.UK One Login, the Department for Business and Trade or any professional body, and nothing here is legal or accountancy advice. Companies House identity verification is being rolled out in stages: this site distinguishes requirements in force today from those announced but not commenced, and every statement is quoted from the gov.uk page it links to, checked on the date shown above. Rollout dates have moved before, so confirm the current position on gov.uk before you act.
Companies House identity verification: who, when, and what is not live yet
Last updated
The rollout is often described as a single deadline. It is not: it is a set of role-specific triggers, several of which are personal to you rather than to the company, plus a list of roles Companies House has explicitly deferred. This table separates what binds you today from what has only been announced.
Every row is taken from Companies House guidance on gov.uk, its 'when you need to verify' guidance, and the government's Changes to UK company law campaign site, read on the updated date shown above. The Status column distinguishes requirements in force today from those Companies House has announced but not commenced. No date is stated here unless the linked source states it, and where Companies House has given a qualified date such as 'no earlier than' or 'at a later date', that qualification is reproduced rather than resolved into a firm date.
| Role | When you must provide your personal code | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Existing director, or equivalent: LLP member, general partner, managing officer | As part of the company's next confirmation statement, separately for each company you are a director of | In force since 18 November 2025 |
| Director being appointed to an existing company | As part of the appointment filing | In force since 18 November 2025 |
| Director named on a new incorporation | As part of the registration filing, for each director | In force since 18 November 2025 |
| Director of an overseas company registered in the UK | All directors confirmed verified by the anniversary of the UK establishment's registration | In force since 18 November 2025 |
| PSC who is also a director of the same company | Twice: as director in the confirmation statement, and as PSC within 14 days starting the day after the company's confirmation statement date | In force since 18 November 2025 |
| PSC who is not a director of that company | Within the first 14 days of your birth month | In force since 18 November 2025 |
| PSC added to the register on or after 18 November 2025 | When first added to the register, or within 14 days of being added | In force since 18 November 2025 |
| Authorised Corporate Service Provider (Companies House authorised agent) | Verify your own identity in order to apply to register as an authorised agent | In force since 18 November 2025 |
| People who file at Companies House | Not yet set; Companies House says at least 6 months' notice will be given | No earlier than November 2027, announced only |
| Limited partnerships, corporate directors, corporate members of LLPs, officers of corporate PSCs | Not yet set | At a later date, announced only |
- Identity verification became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025, which Companies House states is not a deadline but the start of a 12-month transition period for directors and PSCs to verify by their own due dates.
- A company cannot file its confirmation statement unless all of its directors are verified, so a single unverified director blocks the whole company's filing.
- A person who is both a director and a PSC of the same company must provide the same personal code twice, and if the company files its confirmation statement early the PSC's 14 day window does not move.
Cite this page
“Companies House identity verification: who, when, and what is not live yet”, IDV Deadline, https://idvdeadline.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-14). Every row is taken from Companies House guidance on gov.uk, its 'when you need to verify' guidance, and the government's Changes to UK company law campaign site, read on the updated date shown above. The Status column distinguishes requirements in force today from those Companies House has announced but not commenced. No date is stated here unless the linked source states it, and where Companies House has given a qualified date such as 'no earlier than' or 'at a later date', that qualification is reproduced rather than resolved into a firm date.
Want an authorised agent to handle the verification?
We'll introduce you to a Companies House authorised agent, an accountant, solicitor or formation agent registered as an ACSP, who can verify identities and make the filings for you.
Go deeper
Sourced, dated, kept current.
How to verify your identity for Companies House
Two routes: free with GOV.UK One Login including a Post Office option, or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider. What each involves and what you end up with.
When do directors have to verify their identity?
The director trigger is the company's next confirmation statement, not a national deadline. Multiple directorships, appointments, incorporations, overseas companies.
The PSC 14 day window, and how it is calculated
Persons with significant control get a 14 day window to provide their personal code. Three different rules decide when it opens, and filing early does not move it.
Common questions
Is Companies House identity verification mandatory now?
Yes, for directors and their equivalents, directors of overseas companies registered in the UK, people with significant control, and Authorised Corporate Service Providers. It became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025, which the government describes as the start of a 12-month transition period rather than a deadline.
Who has to verify their identity with Companies House?
Directors, the equivalent of directors including members, general partners and managing officers, directors of overseas companies registered in the UK, people with significant control, and Authorised Corporate Service Providers. Companies House states it will introduce verification later for people who file, limited partnerships, corporate directors, corporate members of LLPs and officers of corporate PSCs.
How do I verify my identity for Companies House?
Two routes only. Directly through the 'Verify your identity for Companies House' service using GOV.UK One Login, which is free and includes an app, online security questions or a Post Office option; or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider such as an accountant or solicitor, who may charge and who must be registered with Companies House and AML supervised. Companies House says never to post or email identity documents to it.
What is a Companies House personal code?
The unique identifier you receive after successfully verifying. It is personal to you, not to a company, and you use it on confirmation statements, on director appointments and when you become a PSC. Companies House advises keeping it secure in the same way as a Unique Taxpayer Reference and sharing it only with people you trust.
Do people who file at Companies House have to verify?
Not yet. The government states identity verification for people who file at Companies House will be introduced no earlier than November 2027, and that at least 6 months' notice will be given before the requirement takes effect.
What happens if you do not verify your identity?
Companies House states that if you do not comply on time you may be committing an offence and may face prosecution and a fine through the courts, or a financial penalty. You will also be unable to be appointed as a new director, register a new company, or register as an authorised agent, and in future a note will be published against your name on the public register.
Find your actual date
One minute to see which trigger applies to your role, and what you have to file to satisfy it.
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