Companies House identity verification: the deadline, the free route and the fast route

Every UK company director and person with significant control must verify their identity with Companies House. New directors have needed it since November 2025; existing directors must verify before their next confirmation statement, and the whole transition ends on 18 November 2026. Here is how to get it done, free or fast.

Why this is happening

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act gave Companies House the job of knowing who actually runs UK companies. Identity verification is the backbone: one verified identity per person, tied to an 11-character personal code you will use for every future filing and appointment. Crucially, a confirmation statement can no longer be filed without the codes of every director and every PSC, so a single unverified person blocks the company.

The free route: GOV.UK One Login

If you hold a biometric UK passport or a UK photocard driving licence and are comfortable with a smartphone app, you can verify yourself free through GOV.UK One Login in ten to twenty minutes. If that is you, just do it, today. You do not need to pay anyone.

When the free route fails people

• Non-UK passports and overseas directors, where the app frequently cannot complete checks
• Documents One Login rejects for photo quality, name mismatches or expired chips
• People without a smartphone, or without the patience for a fourth attempt
• Companies with several directors and PSCs who want it all handled in one go
• Anyone who wants their confirmation statement filed at the same time, correctly, with the personal code slotted in where it now belongs

The fast route: verification through an ACSP

An Authorised Corporate Service Provider is a supervised firm registered with Companies House to verify identities. Strategic Ridge is an authorised ACSP: we verify you on a ten-minute video call, handle UK and overseas documents, deliver your personal code usually the same day, and can file the confirmation statement in the same sitting. UK documents cost £49 + VAT per person, overseas documents £89 + VAT, and verification plus your confirmation statement is £129 + VAT including the £50 Companies House fee, with VAT added only where applicable. Everything is on the identity verification page, including the request form.

Do not park this

After 18 November 2026 an unverified director cannot file, cannot be appointed, and is committing an ongoing offence. It is a ten-minute task with a criminal-record-shaped consequence for ignoring it. Verify free through GOV.UK, or let us do it properly today.