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Companies House identity verification

Directors and people with significant control must have a verified identity. We verify you as an authorised corporate service provider.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act made identity verification a condition of holding office. It applies to directors, members of an LLP, and people with significant control. It is a check on the person, not the company, so someone who is a director of four companies verifies once and their verified status is used for all of them.

When it is due

Before appointment for new directors, and within the transition deadlines for existing ones. Verification attaches to the person, so it is done once and reused.

What we do

  • Identity verified as an authorised corporate service provider, with the reference recorded
  • A clear list of exactly which documents are accepted before you start
  • Overseas identity documents handled, including where an apostille or certified translation is needed
  • The verified status linked to every company you are appointed to
  • Records kept as the regulations require

What happens if it is not done

Acting as a director without a verified identity is an offence, and Companies House can reject filings made by unverified people. In practice the first sign of a problem is usually a rejected appointment or a blocked confirmation statement.

Questions

Do I have to verify for each company separately?
No. Verification is per person. Once verified, the status applies to every appointment you hold.
Can I verify from outside the UK?
Yes. It takes more evidence, and some documents may need certifying or translating, but there is no requirement to be in the UK.
What if I use a different name on my passport?
Tell us before you start. A mismatch between the register and the document is the single most common reason verification fails.

Related

  • Confirmation statement — The annual filing that confirms the information Companies House holds about your company is correct. Due every year whether or not anything has changed.
  • Director appointments and resignations — Filing an appointment, a resignation or a change of a director's details at Companies House, with the statutory registers updated to match.
  • Change of company name — Changing a registered company name by resolution, with the new certificate issued by Companies House.
  • Issue of shares — Allotting new shares — to bring in an investor, reward a joiner, or restructure who owns what — with the return of allotment filed at Companies House.
  • Transfer of shares — Moving existing shares from one holder to another — stock transfer form, board approval, register of members and the next confirmation statement.
  • Dormant company accounts — Accounts for a company that has had no significant accounting transactions in the financial year.

Identity verification

£25 + VAT

No Companies House fee applies to this filing.

Per person. Required for directors and people with significant control.

Ask us to handle it

Every fee is on the pricing page. Statutory fees are passed on at cost.

All filing services

Enquire

Identity verification

Tell us the company number and what needs doing. If it is already late, say so — that changes the order things have to happen in, not whether we will help.

Identity verification enquiry

Tell us what you are trying to do and we will reply with what is involved. No obligation, and we will say so plainly if what you need is not something we do.

Permanent once registered — it cannot be moved later.
We use what you send to reply to you, and we keep it for as long as we need to. See the privacy notice.

Start with the name.

Run it through the checker — statutory rules first, then the Companies House register — and we will tell you plainly what stands in the way. Nothing to pay to find out.

Check a company name