Non-resident company services
Identity verification at Companies House is now compulsory for directors and people with significant control. How to verify from overseas through an authorised agent, from £50 plus VAT.
Short answer
Directors, people with significant control and anyone filing at Companies House must now verify their identity. You can verify yourself through GOV.UK One Login, or, if you have no UK passport or UK address, through a registered agent. We verify identities from £50 plus VAT, usually the same working day.
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QuickBooks PartnerCertified ProAdvisor100+ yearsCombined team experienceFully insuredUp to £2m indemnityDirectors, people with significant control and anyone filing at Companies House must now verify their identity. You can verify yourself through GOV.UK One Login, or, if you have no UK passport or UK address, through a registered agent. We verify identities from £50 plus VAT, usually the same working day.
Who has to verify
Two routes: One Login or an authorised agent
Comparing the two routes
What we need from you
What happens if you do not verify
Directors, people with significant control and anyone filing at Companies House must now verify their identity. You can verify yourself through GOV.UK One Login, or, if you have no UK passport or UK address, through a registered agent. We verify identities from £50 plus VAT, usually the same working day.
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act made identity verification a legal requirement rather than an option. It applies to company directors, members of limited liability partnerships, people with significant control, and anyone who files documents at Companies House on a company's behalf.
Verification is a one-off check of the individual, not of the company. Once verified, the person carries a personal code that is reused for every company they are involved with.
The direct route is GOV.UK One Login, which matches you against documents such as a UK passport or driving licence, often through a phone app or at a Post Office. It is free, and it works well if you hold UK identity documents and live in the UK.
The agent route exists for everyone else. A firm supervised for anti-money-laundering purposes and registered with Companies House as an authorised agent carries out the identity check and confirms it to Companies House on your behalf. We are registered with Companies House to do this and our anti-money-laundering supervisory body is ACCA.
Non-resident directors overwhelmingly end up on the agent route, because One Login struggles with foreign passports, overseas addresses and people with no UK credit footprint.
GOV.UK One Login: free, self-service, needs accepted UK identity documents, and can fail without a clear reason. There is no one to escalate to when the automated check does not match.
Authorised agent: chargeable, document checks are reviewed by a person, foreign passports and overseas addresses are handled routinely, and you have someone accountable for getting the confirmation filed. Our fee starts at £50 plus VAT per individual.
The outcome is identical either way. Companies House records the verification against the person, not against the route used.
A valid passport or accepted photographic identity document, evidence of your residential address, and the companies you are connected to. Checks are completed digitally, so you do not need to travel to the UK. Where a document is in another language we will tell you what translation is acceptable before you pay.
We submit the confirmation to Companies House once the check passes, normally on the same working day.
Unverified directors cannot lawfully act as directors and filings can be rejected. Companies House can also take enforcement action against the individual and the company. If you have received a letter giving you a deadline, deal with it rather than waiting for the next filing to fail.
Rates, thresholds and deadlines quoted here reflect the current UK position and current HMRC and Companies House guidance. Check GOV.UK, or ask us, before relying on them for your own business.
Primary references
Frequently asked
Our fee starts at £50 plus VAT per individual. Verifying directly through GOV.UK One Login is free if your documents are accepted.
Yes. An authorised agent can accept overseas identity documents where the automated GOV.UK route cannot.
Once we have acceptable documents the check and the confirmation to Companies House are normally completed the same working day.
No. Verification is of you as an individual and is reused across every company and role you hold.
Yes. The requirement covers people with significant control as well as directors and filing agents.
No. The checks are carried out digitally and we deal with overseas directors regularly.
Keep bank statements, sales and platform reports, purchase invoices, payroll records, VAT workings, finance agreements and Companies House correspondence. We confirm the exact list at onboarding and identify gaps before a filing deadline becomes urgent.
The fee depends on transaction volume, record quality, VAT and payroll requirements, historic catch-up and the level of reporting needed. We agree a fixed scope and price before technical work starts, with published packages available on our fees page.
Yes. We request professional clearance, collect the prior records and authorities, check the next Companies House and HMRC deadlines, and give you one clear handover list. The process is normally completed remotely.
Yes. We work through secure cloud records, scheduled reviews and digital approvals, while keeping a named team available by phone, video call and email. Clients can also visit our Morden office by appointment.
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