A Practical Guide to Completing Identity Verifica...

With confirmation‑statement deadlines approaching for many companies, it’s essential that all directors and people with significant control (PSCs) have verified their identity in advance and are ready to provide their personal codes.

Understanding the two‑step identity verification process

Identity verification for Companies House involves two separate steps, both of which must be completed. Depending on your arrangements with clients, you may be responsible for supporting one or both steps.

Step 1: Verification

If you are registered as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) and are verifying a client’s identity on their behalf, you must inform Companies House of the checks you’ve completed using the “Tell us you’ve verified someone’s identity” service.
The details on the client’s identity documents must exactly match the information held by Companies House; any mismatch (e.g., an incorrect date of birth) will prevent the client from completing step 2 successfully.
Once a verification statement is submitted, Companies House will generate a unique 11‑character personal code for your client and email it to the address you provided. This should be the client’s email address, not your firm’s.
Alternatively, the client can verify their identity independently using GOV.UK OneLogin.

Step 2: Link the verified identity to company roles

After verification, the verified identity must be linked to each role that person holds using their personal code.
A separate personal code is required for director and PSC roles and for roles in multiple companies.
Verification deadlines vary, so check the Companies House register to confirm when the code needs to be provided for each role.

How clients access and save their personal code

If you verified someone’s identity as an ACSP, the personal code is sent to the email address you provided.
If the email wasn’t received or the wrong address was used, the ACSP must contact Companies House to request a resend.
To store the personal code for future use, clients should:
- Enter their date of birth (must match the documents used during verification).
- Confirm they have verified their identity by entering their personal code.
- Sign in to a Companies House account (or create one) using the same email address the code was sent to.
Once completed, the personal code will be saved to their account and ready for future filings.

Act now if your client’s confirmation statement is due soon

Directors must provide their personal code as part of their company’s next confirmation‑statement filing or as part of the registration filing for new companies. If a confirmation statement is approaching, make sure that:

You have collected all required personal codes in advance if you are filing for the company.
Each individual has their Companies House personal code.
You are registered as an ACSP, if you will be verifying on their behalf.

Filings will be rejected if personal codes are missing or if names and details do not match precisely.

When PSCs must submit their personal code

A PSC must provide their personal code using the “Provide identity verification details for a person with significant control (PSC)” service. Each PSC has a 14‑day period to do this, and the code cannot be submitted before this period begins. PSC‑specific deadlines can be checked on the Companies House register.

The 14‑day period depends on the PSC’s circumstances:

New PSCs: The personal code can be provided when they’re first added to the register, or within 14 days of the date on the direction letter issued shortly after.
PSC but not a director: The personal code must be provided within the first 14 days of their birth month, giving a clear compliance window for those not involved in day‑to‑day management.
PSC and director of the same company: The 14‑day period starts the day after the company’s confirmation‑statement date.

Join the public ACSP list

Companies House publishes a public list of registered ACSPs on GOV.UK to help customers find professional services. The list is updated periodically rather than after every submission.

To be included, complete the short consent form and ensure you are an account owner for the ACSP.

Top tips for ACSPs

Sign up for Companies House email newsletters to stay updated.
Review the GOV.UK guidance for ACSPs regularly.
Always request personal codes before filing deadlines to avoid delays.
Remember that the personal code must be provided separately for each role a person holds, with a separate service for PSCs.
If an error is identified after verification, contact Companies House to correct it.
Ensure client details (name, date of birth) exactly match the Companies House register.