Companies House identity verification is now a compliance task that every UK small business should have on its annual filing calendar. But there is one point directors, founders and advisers must get right: there is not one universal deadline that applies to every existing company.
Mandatory identity verification began on 18 November 2025. That date started a transition period; it was not a single cut-off date for all existing directors and people with significant control (PSCs). For most existing directors, the practical trigger is their company’s next confirmation statement. PSCs have their own role-specific 14-day windows. Understanding the distinction can prevent a rejected filing, avoidable stress and potentially serious compliance consequences.
This checklist explains who needs to verify, how the Companies House personal code works, the online and Post Office routes, and the actions existing company officers should take now.
The key rule: your company’s confirmation statement matters
For existing directors, Companies House has tied identity verification to the company’s next confirmation statement. Before that statement can be accepted, every director must have verified their identity. The filing must include each director’s Companies House personal code and a statement confirming that every director has completed verification.
That means the relevant date varies from company to company. A business with a confirmation statement due in August 2026 will face the requirement sooner than one whose next statement is not due until October 2026. Do not rely on a generic social-media deadline, an old reminder, or another company’s timetable.
Companies House confirms that 18 November 2025 marked the start of a 12-month transition period, rather than a deadline by which every existing person had to be verified. The immediate action for an owner-manager is therefore to check the company record, identify the confirmation statement date and filing deadline, and work backwards.
You can check the confirmation date and filing deadline on the Companies House register. A confirmation statement must normally be filed at least every 12 months, and the company has up to 14 days after the end of its review period to file it. It is sensible to start identity verification well before that final filing window, especially where there are several directors or overseas individuals involved.
Who needs to verify their identity?
The new requirement is aimed at the people setting up, running, owning or controlling UK companies. For a typical private limited company, the two groups to focus on are directors and PSCs.
Directors
Every individual director of an existing company needs to verify. This includes an owner-manager who is the only director, a non-executive director, and a director who lives outside the UK. If a person is a director of several companies, they verify once but must use their personal code in connection with each relevant appointment.
For an existing director, the code is provided through the next confirmation statement for each company. Companies House will not accept the statement until all directors have verified. This makes verification a company-wide dependency: one unprepared director can hold up the filing for everyone.
New directors have a different timetable. Anyone appointed from 18 November 2025 must provide their personal code as part of the appointment filing, while founders need the codes for all directors when incorporating a new company. The official Companies House timing guidance sets out the different rules by role and start date.
People with significant control
A PSC also needs to verify and provide a personal code. A PSC is commonly a person who holds more than 25% of shares or voting rights, can appoint or remove most directors, or otherwise has significant influence or control. In a family company, the PSC may be a founder, investor, spouse, parent or holding individual who is not involved in day-to-day operations.
Do not assume the director filing completes the PSC task. If someone is both a director and a PSC of the same company, they must provide the same personal code separately for each role. The director code goes into the confirmation statement; the PSC code and verification statement are submitted through the dedicated PSC service.
Companies House states that every PSC has a 14-day period to provide the code and verification statement. The timing depends on the PSC’s circumstances:
- Existing director and PSC of the same company: the 14-day PSC period starts on the day after the company’s confirmation statement date. It is based on the confirmation statement date, not on the day the company happens to file early.
- Existing PSC who is not a director of that company: the 14-day period falls in the first 14 days of their birth month.
- New PSC: the person can provide the code when they are added to the register or within 14 days of being added.
The PSC verification service allows a PSC, or someone acting for them, to submit the code and statement and to check the relevant 14-day period after signing in. A PSC can request a 14-day extension through that service, but it must be requested before the deadline passes.
Your deadline checklist for existing companies
Treat the process as a short compliance project rather than a task for the last afternoon before filing. The following checklist is suitable for a small limited company, including a business where the founder acts as both sole director and sole PSC.
- Check the public company record. Confirm the current directors and PSCs, their names and dates of birth, and the company’s confirmation statement date. Correct inaccuracies before trying to connect a verified identity to a role.
- Make a role-by-role list. Record who is a director, who is a PSC, and who is both. Do not overlook a passive shareholder or family member who meets the PSC conditions.
- Identify the earliest trigger. For directors, work to the next confirmation statement deadline. For non-director PSCs, diarise the first 14 days of the birth month. For director-PSCs, diarise the 14 days following the confirmation statement date as well as the company filing date.
- Ask each person to verify early. Give directors and PSCs time to resolve document, login or data-matching issues. This is especially important where a person is travelling, based overseas or not confident using digital services.
- Collect codes securely. Agree whether individuals will submit their PSC details themselves or share codes with a trusted employee, accountant or agent for filing. Do not place codes in a shared inbox, unsecured spreadsheet or group chat.
- Complete both role connections. Where a person is both director and PSC, make sure the company’s confirmation statement and the separate PSC submission are both dealt with.
- Retain a simple internal record. Note the date each person verified, where their personal code is stored securely, which companies and roles it has been used for, and who has authority to file.
For a business with more than one director, the company secretary, finance lead or external accountant should chase progress before the filing window opens. The legal requirement is personal, but a delayed confirmation statement creates a business problem for the whole board.
How to verify: online, Post Office or authorised agent
There are three practical ways to complete the identity check. The right route depends on the individual’s documents, location and confidence with technology.
1. Verify through GOV.UK One Login
The direct Companies House service uses GOV.UK One Login and is free. The journey asks questions about the individual, not about the company, and then directs them to an available verification method. Depending on the circumstances, this can include using an app, answering security questions online, or beginning online and continuing at a Post Office.
For the standard online route, eligible photo ID includes a biometric passport from any country, a UK photo driving licence, or certain UK biometric immigration documents. The individual will also need their current address, the year they moved in, and their own GOV.UK One Login. One email address can be used to verify only one identity, so business owners should not attempt to share a family or office login.
The official Verify your identity for Companies House service also explains alternatives for people who do not have the listed photo ID. UK residents may be offered a route using bank or building society details, National Insurance information and security questions. The service determines the available route based on the answers supplied.
Before starting, compare the person’s Companies House details with their identity documents. A mismatch in date of birth can prevent the verified identity being linked to the company role. If necessary, update the company record first rather than repeatedly attempting the verification process.
2. Use the Post Office route where directed
The Post Office option is not simply a walk-in identity check. The individual must first enter photo ID details through the Companies House verification service and select the in-person route. They then download a Post Office customer letter containing a QR code.
Take the customer letter, displayed on a device or printed, along with the original photo ID to a participating Post Office. A photocopy or image of the document is not accepted. Staff scan the QR code, take a photograph and scan the ID. The service is free.
Timing matters. The customer letter gives a date by which the visit must be made, usually around 15 days from the confirmation email. If a posted copy of the letter is requested, it can take up to six working days to arrive, leaving less time to attend. After the visit, the result usually arrives by email within one day. Read the full Companies House Post Office guidance before choosing this route.
3. Ask an Authorised Corporate Service Provider
An Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), sometimes called a Companies House authorised agent, can verify a client’s identity. This may be useful for an overseas director, someone with a complex document situation, or an owner who already uses an accountant, solicitor or company formation agent.
Not every adviser is automatically authorised. An ACSP must be registered with Companies House and supervised for UK anti-money laundering purposes. Ask your adviser whether they are registered, or use Companies House’s published list. An agent may charge for the work, unlike the direct GOV.UK One Login route.
Once the ACSP completes the check, Companies House emails the personal code to the individual. The person should save it to their Companies House account. The ACSP guidance explains what to expect and why it is important to provide the agent with an accurate email address.
Personal codes: what they do and how to protect them
A Companies House personal code is an 11-character identifier issued after successful identity verification. It belongs to the individual, not to their company, employer, accountant or family. In most cases, a person verifies once and uses the same code whenever they need to connect their verified identity to a Companies House role.
That makes the code reusable but sensitive. A founder who is director of three companies and PSC of two can use one verified identity and one personal code, but must use it for each relevant director or PSC role. Verification is a one-off identity check; connecting that verification to every role is the separate compliance step.
For directors, the code is supplied as part of the confirmation statement. For PSCs, it is submitted through the PSC verification service during the correct 14-day window. For a person who holds both roles at one company, one code is used twice through different processes.
Keep the code secure, in the same way you would protect a tax reference or high-value account credential. It can be shared with people you trust to file on your behalf, such as an accountant, but it should not be circulated unnecessarily. Companies House may ask for the individual’s date of birth when the code is used to check that the details match. If a code is believed to have been compromised, contact Companies House to request a replacement; the old code can be cancelled. The official personal-code guidance explains how to save, use and protect it.
Three practical examples
Sole director and sole PSC
Amira is the only director and shareholder of her design agency. Her next confirmation statement date is 20 September 2026, with the filing deadline 14 days later. She should verify now, retain her personal code, and use it in the confirmation statement as director. Because she is also a PSC, she must also submit the PSC code and statement during the 14-day period beginning 21 September 2026. Filing the confirmation statement early does not bring forward that PSC period.
Two directors, one passive investor PSC
A trading company has two working directors and an investor who owns 30% of the shares but is not a director. Both directors need to verify before the next confirmation statement can be filed. The investor also needs to verify, but their 14-day PSC window is tied to the first 14 days of their birth month, not to the company’s confirmation statement. The company should contact the investor early; waiting for the annual filing reminder could mean missing the PSC’s separate deadline.
Director of multiple companies
Leo is director of a consultancy and a property company. He only needs one identity verification and one personal code. However, each company must use his code in its own next confirmation statement. Leo should make sure each company’s filing contact knows that he has verified, but should share the code only through an agreed secure channel.
Why early action is the safest approach
Missing the requirement is more than an administrative inconvenience. Companies House says a company cannot file its confirmation statement until all directors are verified. Failure to submit a confirmation statement can lead to a financial penalty and, ultimately, strike-off action. Individuals who fail to meet identity verification requirements on time may be committing an offence and may face a financial penalty, a court fine or prosecution.
There is also a practical risk: a blocked confirmation statement can distract a small leadership team at exactly the wrong time, such as during finance applications, a sale process, investment discussions or a change in directors. Companies House may in future show a note against a non-compliant person’s name on the public register. Its approach to non-compliance makes clear that it can use enforcement powers where obligations are not met.
Final action: make verification part of your annual compliance routine
The most useful message for UK small business owners is simple: do not treat 18 November 2025 as everyone’s deadline, and do not wait for a single nationwide cut-off reminder. Check your company’s confirmation statement date, identify every director and PSC, and map each person’s separate action.
Start the identity check early, store personal codes securely, and give special attention to people who are both directors and PSCs. If your business uses an accountant or solicitor, ask whether they are an ACSP and agree who will complete each filing step. Put the dates in the compliance calendar today so your next confirmation statement is routine rather than a last-minute obstacle.
