Companies House identity verification is now part of the compliance responsibilities attached to running and controlling a UK company. As at August 2026, directors and people with significant control are required to verify their identities and connect that verification to each relevant role.

The legal standard does not become stronger or weaker depending on which route you use. You can verify directly through GOV.UK One Login, or you can ask a registered Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) to carry out the checks. What differs is the practical experience. One route is free and largely self-service. The other provides professional support and may be easier to coordinate with confirmation statements and other Companies House filings.

This post sets out how each route works, what the deadlines mean in practice, and how to decide which option suits your circumstances.

GOV.UK One Login allows you to verify directly through the official Companies House service. It is free to use and is the most straightforward route when you have suitable identification and are comfortable completing digital checks independently.

When you start the process, GOV.UK One Login asks questions to determine which verification method applies to you. Depending on your documents and circumstances, you may be asked to use the GOV.UK One Login app, verify online using bank or building society details, your National Insurance number and security questions (where you live in the UK and are eligible), or enter details from photographic identification and attend a participating Post Office.

The service asks for information about you as an individual, not about your company. Accepted photographic identification includes a biometric passport from any country, a full or provisional UK photocard driving licence, a UK biometric residence permit, a UK biometric residence card, or a UK Frontier Worker permit. You will also need your current home address, the year you moved there, and an individual email address.

One point that matters in family businesses: an email address used to verify one person through GOV.UK One Login cannot be reused to verify somebody else. If several directors have historically shared a company email account, each will need their own address before starting.

The available verification method is determined during the process. You cannot choose freely between options, and a Post Office visit may still require you to enter identification details online first. The latest Companies House identity-verification guidance confirms that the direct service is free and that an ACSP is the recognised alternative.

Once Companies House accepts your verification, you receive an 11-character personal code. This code belongs to you as an individual, not to any company you direct.

You verify once, even when you hold several directorships. You then use the same personal code to connect your verified identity to each appointment or PSC role through the relevant company filing. If you are a director of three companies, you do not need three identity checks — you use one personal code but must provide it for each of the three directorships separately.

If you completed verification through GOV.UK One Login after 8 July 2026, Companies House also sends the personal code by email. You can access it through the Manage account section of your Companies House account.

Director and PSC positions are treated as separate roles. If you are both a director and a PSC of the same company, you provide your code for the directorship through the confirmation statement and separately for the PSC position using the designated PSC service — and your PSC submission must be made within the applicable 14-day period. Filing the confirmation statement early does not move that window.

Your personal code is different from your company authentication code. The personal code is the 11-character code tied to you as a verified individual. The company authentication code is a six-character alphanumeric code tied to a specific company and used to authorise online filings. You may need both during the same compliance process, but they serve different purposes and should be stored separately.

An ACSP is an accountant, solicitor, company formation agent or other eligible provider that has registered with Companies House as an authorised agent. The provider can complete the required identity checks and confirm successful verification to Companies House on your behalf.

An accountant may already be supervised for anti-money-laundering purposes without being registered as an ACSP. To act as one, the provider must register with Companies House and be supervised by a UK anti-money-laundering supervisory body. You should confirm the provider's status rather than assuming that every accountant or solicitor can complete Companies House verification. Companies House publishes an official list of registered ACSPs that have asked for their details to be shown, but the list may be incomplete or out of date. You should also check whether the provider appears on the separate list of ceased or suspended ACSPs.

An ACSP will normally request your full legal name and any former names, date of birth, home address and address history for the previous 12 months, a personal email address, and accepted identity documents. These checks go beyond standard client onboarding. The ACSP must follow the Companies House identity-verification standard and be satisfied that the documents are genuine and belong to the person being verified.

After successful verification through an ACSP, Companies House sends the personal code to the email address supplied for you. The email should arrive within a few hours. If it does not, contact the provider to confirm which address was submitted. If the address was correct, contact Companies House and ask the ACSP team to resend the email.

Identity verification and company filing are separate tasks, but an ACSP may provide both — verifying your directors and PSCs, checking that your Companies House register is accurate, preparing your confirmation statement, and dealing with changes to directors, shareholders or the registered office. Our confirmation statement filing service includes a review of your company record and direct submission under ACSP authorisation, which can help prevent identity verification from becoming disconnected from the filing in which your code is required.

Identity verification became a legal requirement from 18 November 2025, but that date was not a single universal deadline for every existing director and PSC. It began a 12-month transition period in which different people have different compliance dates. You need to check your actual company roles and filing dates rather than relying on a general date mentioned in an article or email.

If you are an existing director, you must provide your personal code through the company's next confirmation statement filed from 18 November 2025. If you hold directorships at several companies, the code must be supplied for each one. Verifying once does not automatically update every directorship on the register. A company with several directors should confirm that every required director has completed verification before the confirmation statement is prepared — if a required director has not verified, the company will be unable to file.

If you are appointed as a director from 18 November 2025, you must provide your personal code as part of the appointment filing. The same applies when incorporating a new company: each proposed director must have a code available for the registration. Identity verification should therefore be considered before an appointment date is agreed, particularly where a transaction, investment or restructuring depends on the appointment being registered promptly.

Failure to comply by the applicable deadline may be an offence and can lead to prosecution, a court fine or a financial penalty. Companies House has also stated that, in future, non-compliant individuals will be unable to accept a new directorship, register a new company or register as an ACSP. The immediate day-to-day risk is often disruption — a delayed confirmation statement can affect the accuracy of the public register, create unnecessary correspondence and leave your company dealing with several connected compliance problems at once.

Neither accepted route offers a different level of legal verification. The choice is about practicality, professional support and cost.

GOV.UK One Login is likely to suit you where you have accepted photo identification, your personal details are consistent with the Companies House record, you are comfortable managing the code yourself, and you have enough time before your next confirmation statement to resolve any failed checks.

ACSP support may be worth paying for where several of your directors or PSCs need to be coordinated, a director is based overseas, your direct checks have failed, personal details do not match the Companies House record, a confirmation statement deadline is approaching, or a board change or incorporation must be completed by a particular date. An overseas director does not automatically need an ACSP — a biometric passport from any country can be used through GOV.UK One Login, subject to the service completing the checks successfully.

Before deciding, it is worth working through your company record rather than the verification website. Check who holds a director or PSC role, confirm your next confirmation statement date, identify anyone holding more than one role, and establish who will store the codes and complete the filings. If the administrative work involved in coordinating several people is significant, the ACSP fee may compare favourably to managing the process internally.

Identity verification does not replace your confirmation statement, annual accounts, Corporation Tax return or event-driven filings. It adds another control to your compliance process. Our year-end accounts service coordinates statutory accounts, the Corporation Tax return and the Companies House accounts filing — identity verification and confirmation statement requirements should be managed separately or through the appropriate Companies House compliance service.