Blog · Company directors

Companies House ID verification: what every director needs to do before 17 November

Who has to verify, when your deadline actually is, how to do it, and what happens if you don’t. A five-minute read.

By Umang · Published October 2026 · ← All guides

TLDR: If you’re a company director and you haven’t verified your identity with Companies House yet, do it this week. It’s free, it’s usually quick, and your deadline may already have passed without you noticing.

In September, three directors became the first people in the UK convicted for not verifying their identity with Companies House. Fines, costs and a criminal record, for something that takes most people a few minutes on their phone.

“It’s just admin. Companies House never chases anything.” That used to be true. It isn’t anymore.

What’s changed

Since 18 November 2025, every company director in the UK has had to verify their identity with Companies House. It’s part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, and it’s the biggest change to running a limited company in years.

Existing directors were given a 12-month transition period. That period closes on 17 November 2026. After that, every director on the register is expected to be verified, with no sign of a grace period.

And plenty still aren’t. By the end of June, Companies House’s own figures showed only around 55% of directors had verified.

Who has to verify

1. Every director of a UK limited company, including one-person companies, family companies and dormant companies.
2. People with significant control (PSCs). Usually anyone who owns more than 25% of the shares or votes.
3. LLP members.
4. New directors. Since 18 November 2025, you have to verify before you’re appointed, not after.

If you’re a director and a PSC, you verify once. You get one personal code and use it for every role you hold.

When your deadline actually is

This is the part most people get wrong. 17 November is the end of the transition, but it isn’t everyone’s deadline.

So if your company’s confirmation statement was due in, say, March, your deadline was in March. If you still haven’t verified, you’re already late, and you’re still acting as a director while unverified. That’s the exact offence the first three directors were convicted of.

How to verify

For most people it’s done online through GOV.UK One Login. It’s free. Companies House’s own guidance walks through every route.

1. Get your photo ID ready. A biometric passport from any country, a UK photo driving licence, or a UK biometric residence permit or card. Expired passports aren’t accepted.
2. Sign in or create a GOV.UK One Login from the Companies House “Verify your identity” page. Use an email address you’ll keep, because one email can only be used to verify one person.
3. Follow the prompts. With a biometric passport and a smartphone, the GOV.UK ID Check app scans your passport chip and takes a quick face scan.
4. Save your personal code. You’ll get an 11-character code. It’s shown in your Companies House account and emailed to you.
5. Give the code to whoever files your confirmation statement. If that’s us, send it over and we’ll include it when we file.

No passport or photo licence? If you live in the UK you can usually verify with your bank or building society details and your National Insurance number, or in person at a Post Office.

Rather not do it yourself? You can verify through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), an accountant or solicitor registered with Companies House to check your documents and verify you. AMN Collective Solutions is a registered ACSP, so we can do this for you directly and send your personal code straight to you.

What happens if you don’t

1. It’s a criminal offence to act as a director without being verified. That includes signing accounts and making board decisions.
2. Your co-directors are exposed too. One of the September convictions was a director who had verified, but didn’t take reasonable steps to stop his unverified co-director from acting.
3. Your filings get harder. Your company’s confirmation statement needs each director’s personal code. A late confirmation statement is an offence in its own right.
4. It shows on the public register, and in serious cases it can lead to disqualification.

The first fines were small, a few hundred pounds including costs. That’s not the point. A conviction is a conviction, and Companies House has made it clear it will take enforcement action.

Common snags

1. Your name doesn’t match your passport. If Companies House has you under a shortened or different name, verify with your passport details first, then get the register updated.
2. An expired passport. It won’t be accepted. A UK driving licence or the bank details route are the usual fallbacks.
3. Several companies. You only verify once. The same personal code works for every appointment.
4. Directors abroad. The app works with a biometric passport from any country. Otherwise, use an Authorised Corporate Service Provider.
5. Losing the code. Sign in to your Companies House account with the same email and it’s under “Manage account”.

While you’re looking at your company’s admin, it’s worth checking how you pay yourself too. Our guide to paying yourself as a director in 2026/27 sets out the numbers, and our company accounts service covers the confirmation statement every year.

Frequently asked questions