This article was last updated on 19 September 2025.
On 5 August 2025, Companies House confirmed that from Tuesday 18 November, compulsory ID verification requirements for directors and people with significant control (PSCs) of UK companies will come into force.
In brief:
How can an individual's identity be verified?
Individuals can verify their identity with Companies House through GOV.UK One Login, or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP).
For anyone who has a biometric passport from any country, verifying their identity directly via Companies House is likely to be the easiest route: Verify your identity for Companies House.
For more information on the routes to verification, please see our April 2025 briefing: Companies House reform next steps: ID verification coming soon.
Once an individual's identity is verified, they will receive a personal code from Companies House. The code will need to be provided with a verification statement confirming they have successfully verified their identity for each company role they hold. The timing for providing the code differs for directors and PSCs and (for PSCs) will also depend on whether the individual holds both director and PSC roles.
Timing for directors
From 18 November 2025, new directors will need to verify their identity to incorporate a company or be appointed to an existing company. Existing directors will need to confirm they have verified their identity at the same time as they file their next annual confirmation statement, during a 12-month transition period.
An individual who acts as a director without having had their identity verified will commit an offence, although technically this will not affect the validity of their appointment as a director or their actions while unverified. There will also be an obligation on the company to ensure that an individual does not act as a director unless their identity is verified; contravention will be an offence subject to a fine.
Timing for PSCs
The timing of the requirements for PSCs will depend on whether the individual is already either a PSC or a director. For each company in relation to which a person has a role:
- If the person becomes a PSC for the first time after 18 November, the person must provide their personal code within 14 days of being added to the Companies House register.
- If the person is both a director and PSC, the person will need to provide their personal code in the company's next confirmation statement (as director) and provide it separately within 14 days of the company's confirmation statement (as PSC).
- If the person is a PSC but not a director of the same company, they must provide their personal code within 14 days of the first day of their birth month. For example, if the date of birth is shown on the register as March 1990, the 14-day period will start on 1 March 2026.
Since only a natural person's identity can be verified, where a "Relevant Legal Entity" (RLE) qualifies as a PSC of a company, the identity of a relevant officer of the RLE will need to be verified. However, this requirement will not come into force until a later date.
Overseas companies with UK establishments
The ID verification requirements will also be extended to directors of overseas companies that have a registered UK establishment at Companies House, and the Department for Trade and Business recently confirmed that it is intended that the requirements for overseas companies will also come into force on 18 November 2025.
This will mean that:
- An overseas company will be required to confirm that its directors have had their identity verified on opening of a UK establishment and on the appointment of any new directors after that.
- All directors of overseas companies will be required to confirm during the transition period that they have had their identity verified. The transition period begins when the changes come into force and ends on the first anniversary of the date that the UK establishment was opened.
- As will be the case for UK companies, individuals, whilst in the UK, will not be able to act as a director of the overseas company in respect of the affairs of the UK establishment unless that individual has had their ID verified.
Next steps
It makes sense to verify the identities of directors and PSCs sooner rather than later. So far, we have only had confirmation of the timing for individuals who are or will be directors or PSCs of UK companies (or LLPs), or are or will be directors of overseas companies with UK establishments. Companies House has said that identity verification requirements for limited partnerships, corporate directors of companies, corporate members of limited liability partnerships (LLPs), and officers of corporate PSCs "will commence later".