Update June 2025: Company Director and Owner ID Verification at Companies House

Date posted: 5th Jun 2025

By Martin Hobson, Partner

As I wrote in my previous blog in April, The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 has introduced significant changes to Companies House regulations, aimed at enhancing transparency and combating fraud. A key change for this year is in relation to identity verification at Companies House.

Now that Companies House has registered e-mail addresses for all companies/LLPs, it has started to send out bulk e-mails to all those addresses on subjects such as this.

 

What are the Changes?

From April 2025, Companies House began the process of verifying the identities of all individual directors/LLP members and Persons with Signification Control (broadly speaking those with over 25% ownership/control) associated with existing companies and LLPs.

  • Voluntary Verification (From 8 April 2025): Companies and LLPs can now begin to voluntarily verifying Identification.
  • Mandatory Verification (Autumn 2025 – exact date to be confirmed): Identification will become mandatory for all existing companies and LLPs.   IDs must be verified before the next Confirmation Statement (form CS01) filing following the Autumn 2025 implementation.
  • New Incorporations and Appointments (After Autumn 2025): Identification will be required for all new company incorporations and any new directors/PSCs for existing companies and LLPs.

 

How Does ID Verification Work?

There are three options for businesses to follow:

1. With Companies House directly –via the gov.uk One Login service:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/verify-your-identity-for-companies-house

This is the simplest route to use, is free of charge and so we recommend that businesses follow. It involves the biometric scanning of passports/driving licenses, as well as using facial recognition.

2. In person at selected Post Offices – if you do not have the required documents to verify ID with gov.uk in step one. More information on this in the link above.

3. Using an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) – accountants and other regulated professionals. Clive Owen LLP is registered as an ACSP.   This allows us to manage the process in house, on your behalf, using software to go through a process which will be similar to that in step one above.

 

Why is it important?

It is important you are aware of the changes and prepare for the mandatory requirements in Autumn 2025. We recommend verifying identity voluntarily now so that you are in plenty of time ahead of the mandatory enforcement.

At the end of the ID verification process each person will receive a personal code. That code should be retained, as from Autumn 2025 a company/LLP will need the codes for all its directors (members for LLP) and Persons with Significant Control. If those codes are not obtained, then it may delay the filing of Confirmation Statements. This could negatively impact a company’s credit rating and potentially lead to further action including through fines and penalties.

More information can be found on the Companies House website:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/verifying-your-identity-for-companies-house

 

How can we help?

As a registered ACSP, Clive Owen LLP can assist you with navigating these new regulations. Get in touch with the team today to find out how we could help by visiting the link below: https://www.cliveowen.com/contact-us/


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