Companies House identity verification: what directors and PSCs must do

The duty falls on people, not companies. Every serving director, every person with significant control, every member of an LLP and anyone who files documents at Companies House must be verified. A shareholder who is not a PSC and takes no part in filing does not need to verify.

Verification is done once. Companies House issues you a personal code, and that same code is quoted whenever you are appointed to another company, so a director of six companies verifies once and reuses the code six times.

Direct verification through GOV.UK One Login is free and usually takes minutes if you hold a UK passport, a biometric residence permit or a UK photocard driving licence and a device with a camera.

Verification through an authorised corporate service provider is the route most overseas directors use. Accountants and formation agents registered for anti-money laundering supervision can verify you against documents they already hold and confirm it to Companies House. We do this for clients as part of formation or onboarding.

The paper route exists for people who cannot complete either of the above. It is slower and should be a last resort when a filing deadline is close.

Acting as an unverified director is an offence. In practice the first consequences are administrative: filings are rejected, appointments cannot be registered and the company's record shows the gap. Fines and prosecution sit behind that for persistent failure.

The practical risk for a trading company is a rejected confirmation statement or set of accounts close to a deadline, which then attracts a late filing penalty for a reason that had nothing to do with the accounts themselves.

A foreign passport works for the provider route, and usually for the direct route where the document is biometric and readable by the app. Where the digital check fails, an authorised provider can verify you from certified documents, which is why non-resident founders normally verify through their accountant or formation agent rather than fighting the app.

Expect to supply a passport, a recent proof of address in your own name and, for some nationalities, a certified translation.

Rates, thresholds and deadlines quoted here reflect the 2026/27 UK tax year. Check current GOV.UK guidance, or ask us, before relying on them for your own company.