Imminent Companies House changes businesses need to know

October 28, 2025

Imminent Companies House changes businesses need to know

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By Georgina Rees

Read time: 6 minutes

All business owners and directors will need to be aware of the new Companies House requirements when it comes to verifying identity. Failure to comply could be considered a criminal offence.

Our corporate and commercial solicitor, Georgina Rees, looks at what’s changing and the impending deadlines.

What’s changing?

Following the introduction of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, Companies House has phased in various reforms, expanding its powers and improving transparency between companies and Companies House.

The next phase is due to be implemented on 18 November 2025. These changes will see the requirement for officers and persons with significant control (PSCs) of UK companies to have their identity verified.

In an effort to ensure the Companies House register contains more accurate information, as well as to reduce the risk of fraud, all directors, LLP members (excluding corporate members), PSCs and company secretaries will need to comply with identity verification requirement.

Regardless of the number of companies or LLPs an individual is involved in, it is expected that verification shall be a one-time process. Re-verification will only be required in very limited circumstances, such as suspected fraud.

Deadlines

The deadlines for identity verification are dependent on the role you undertake for the company as follows:

• Directors – existing directors are required to have their identity verified before the next annual confirmation statement is due to be filed. Newly appointed directors will be required to have their verification completed prior to them being appointed as a director.
• PSCs – the deadline for existing PSCs varies depending on whether or not they are a director:
  • If the PSC is also a director of the company, they will be required to have their identity verified within 14 days of the date of the next annual confirmation statement;
  • If the PSC is not also a director of the company, they will be required to have their identity verified within 14 days of the first date of their birth month (e.g. if their birthday is the 22 January, the 14-day period will begin on the 1 January 2026).
  • Newly appointed PSCs will be required to have their identity verified either when they are first added, or within 14 days of being added, to the PSC register.
• LLP members – the deadlines will work in the same way as for existing and new directors (currently this requirement does not apply to corporate LLP members).

It is important to note that individuals are able to voluntarily verify their identity in advance of the deadlines. It is estimated that there will be more than 6 million individuals required to verify their identity over the course of the next 12 months, therefore, starting the process early may be something to consider.

How to verify your identity

There are a few options to consider when choosing how to verify your identity. You can choose to verify using the Companies House online service or via an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP).

Using the Companies House verification service

This service uses your GOV.UK One Login to verify your identity and is free of charge. You will be required to sign into or create a GOV.UK One Login to use the online service. The service will ask you simple questions about yourself (not your company).

In all cases, your verified identity will be connected to your GOV.UK One Login and therefore, there can only be one verified person per email address. Therefore, if you share access to a current GOV.UK One Login account, you will need to create your own account using a different email address.

When you use this service, you will be considered as having your identity verified from the date you receive email confirmation from Companies House.

Using an Authorised Corporate Service Provider

You can request an ACSP to verify your identity on your behalf. Examples of an ACSP could include an accountant or solicitor, that must be registered with Anti-Money Laundering supervisory body. ACSPs are also known as a Companies House authorised agent.

When using an ACSP, you have the ability to verify your identity regardless of your country of residence, provided the ACSP is registered with Companies House. Once an ACSP has agreed to verify your identity for the purposes of Companies House identity verification, they will request identity documentation from you as evidence of your identity from an approved list provided to them.

If you use this service, you are considered verified for these purposes from the date on which the ACSP files the verification statement.

What happens next?

Once you have successfully verified your identity, you will be provided with a unique Companies House personal code. This code will be personal to you as an individual rather than to your company. Your code will then be used to link all of your directorships and any PSC registrations you hold directly to your verified identity for Companies House records.

Going forward, your code will be requested for various reasons such as to:

• File confirmation statements
• Appoint new directors
• Make changes to the PSC register

From time to time, you may be asked to share your code with your solicitors and/or accountants. It is important that you only share your unique code with people you trust to make your Companies House filings on your or your company’s behalf.

If you do not verify your identity before the deadline

From 18 November 2025, it is a compulsory requirement to verify your identity before your role-dependent deadline. Should you choose not to verify your identity in readiness for this, you will be committing a criminal offence. Failure to verify could also result in a financial penalty. Further to this, you will not be able to make filings on behalf of your company or incorporate any new entities. This could also cause implications at board meetings, particularly on completion of corporate transactions if directors are to be appointed on completion.

If you are unable to make filings on behalf of you company, this could result in additional non-compliance issues such as missing your confirmation statement deadline. If this is missed, there could be further penalties due to late filing.

Any directors or LLP members that continue to act in their roles without verifying their identity, after it becomes a legal requirement, will be committing a criminal offence and could be disqualified. The company and all directors (whether verified or not) may also be committing an offence. Similarly, any PSC that has not verified their identity, but continues in their role after it becomes compulsory, may be committing a criminal offence.

Practical next steps

• Identify everyone within your organisation who will need to have their identity verified. This includes anyone who is likely to be appointed as a director on or after 18 November 2025. Brief all those affected on the new requirements.
• All affected persons should ensure they have their identity documents readily available and ensure they are valid – even the most organised of people can miss passport expiry dates!
• Groups with various UK companies should take note of the confirmation statement due dates for each of the group companies to ensure they have planned for all verifications required in advance.
• Directors of companies with confirmation statements due in November or December 2025 are encouraged to verify their identity as soon as possible to avoid any last-minute delays that could result in late filing penalties.
• If a corporate acquisition is due to complete after 18 November 2025, all proposed officers of the company should ensure identity verification is completed well in advance to ensure they can act immediately on appointment.

It is also important to keep in mind that the next phases of identity verification are due to be rolled out following this phase for:

• A relevant officer of any company which is a registerable relevant legal entity
• Individuals who submit information to Companies House
• Limited Partnerships
• Corporate directors of companies
• Corporate members of LLPs

The next phase of the requirements will begin in Spring 2026, when the individuals who submit information on behalf of a company must have their identity verified. We recommend you consider your general filing practices to ensure a plan is in place as these phases approach.

If you would like to talk to one of our corporate/commercial law experts about any of the above, please get in touch for a free no-obligation discussion on 02920 829 100, hello@darwingray.com or via our Contact Form.