Companies House Identity Verification - Now Mandatory!

From this week (18 November 2025), the Companies House identification process has become mandatory. This was introduced as part of the new reforms under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA).

All newly appointed directors, persons with significant control (“PSC’s”) and LLP members will be required to verify their identity before acting on incorporation of a new entity. From this week, this is now a compulsory part of the incorporation process.

All existing directors, PSC’s and members will be given a 12-month transition period which is aligned up to when the next confirmation statement is due for filing. Existing directors will need to confirm they have verified their identity at the same time as they file their next confirmation statement.

PSC’s will now have a 14-day period during which they must submit a statement to confirm they have verified their identity along with the Companies House personal code. The timing of the 14-day period for each PSC depends on when they were a PSC from and if they are a director:

• If they are already a PSC on 18 November 2025, the 14-day period starts from the company’s confirmation statement date, if they are also a director of the company.
• If the PSC is not a director of the company, their 14-day period starts from the first day of their month of birth.
• If they are registered as a new PSC after 18 November 2025, they will receive a letter from Companies House shortly after they register to indicate the start of their 14-day period.

The changes have been brought in to provide more assurance and transparency on who is setting up, owning and controlling companies within the UK.

Companies House has published guidance on how it intends to deal with non-compliance and the enforcement action that it will look to take. Not complying with the identity verification process is an offence. The full details can be seen here - Companies House approach to non-compliance with mandatory identity verification - GOV.UK

If you have any questions regarding the process, please do not hesitate to get in touch at enquiries@teamjs.co.uk.