Companies House Identity Verification: A Director’s Guide to the New Rules
Identity verification became a legal requirement at Companies House on 18 November 2025, and the 12 month transition period ends on 18 November 2026. Every director and person with significant control needs to verify by their own due date, and for most directors that date is tied to the company’s next confirmation statement. If yours falls in the coming months, now is the time to get verified. The process is free, takes minutes for most people, and doing it early removes any risk to your filing.
What has changed
Companies House is verifying the identity of everyone who runs a UK company, a measure designed to make the register more reliable and to make life harder for fraudsters. Once you verify, you receive a Companies House personal code. That code is yours, not the company’s, and you will use it to prove you are verified.
When directors need to verify
You must provide your personal code as part of your company’s next confirmation statement, so your real deadline is your confirmation statement date. The filing cannot be completed until every director has verified, which is why we encourage clients to sort it well ahead of time. If you are a director of more than one company, you provide your code for each company. New companies ask for each director’s code at registration.
Running a limited company brings a steady rhythm of filings, and this is now part of it. If you are weighing up company life for the first time, our guide to sole trader vs limited company covers the trade offs.
When PSCs need to verify
People with significant control have their own timetable. If you are both a director and a PSC of the same company, you provide your code separately for each role: in the confirmation statement as a director, and through the Companies House PSC service within 14 days of the company’s confirmation statement date. If you are a PSC but not a director, you must provide your code within the first 14 days of your birth month. Companies House estimates 6 to 7 million people will verify by mid November 2026, so it pays to be ahead of the queue.
How to verify
The quickest route is online with GOV.UK One Login using photo ID: a biometric passport from any country, a UK photo driving licence, or a UK biometric residence permit or card. You will also need your current address and the year you moved in.
Check your documents before you start. An expired passport cannot be used, although a DVLA driving licence that expired within the last 90 days can, and an expired biometric residence permit or card works for up to 18 months after expiry.
No suitable photo ID? You can verify using your bank details and National Insurance number, or in person at the Post Office after entering your ID details online first. You can also ask an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, such as an accountant or solicitor registered with Companies House, to verify you.
One practical point that catches people out: your verified identity is linked to your own GOV.UK One Login email address, and an email address can only verify one identity. Couples who share an email address will each need their own.
Keep your personal code safe
Treat your personal code like any other credential. You will need it for every company you direct, for future filings and if you take on new appointments. Companies House also warns against letting anyone else use your identity to set up or run a company; you would be legally responsible for anything done in your name.
Our advice: do it this month
Verifying early costs nothing and protects your confirmation statement filing. Check your confirmation statement date, verify every director and PSC, and store the personal codes somewhere safe. Directors juggling company filings alongside Self Assessment and matters like director’s loan accounts have enough dates to track already, so tick this one off now.
We keep your company compliant
Our year end accounts and compliance service keeps limited companies on the right side of every Companies House and HMRC deadline, confirmation statements included. We support directors across Oxfordshire, whether you are looking for accountants in Banbury or accountants in Abingdon. If you would like help getting verified, or simply want someone reliable watching the dates for you, we are happy to talk.