Last reviewed: 22 October 2026. This guide is for UK accountants, bookkeepers and company secretarial teams whose clients are company directors or people with significant control (PSCs). It explains the Companies House identity verification rules introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, the deadlines that apply to existing directors and PSCs, how ACSP status works, and how identity verification for Companies House differs from the customer due diligence you carry out under the Money Laundering Regulations.
According to Companies House guidance, identity verification applies to:
Verification for people who file on behalf of a company, corporate directors and corporate PSCs is being introduced in later phases. Each person verifies once and receives a personal code, which is personal to them rather than to any company. The same code is used for every role they hold.
A director appointed before 18 November 2025 must confirm their verified identity when the company files its first confirmation statement on or after 18 November 2025. In practice, the deadline for each client company is its next confirmation statement due date.
Example: a client company has a confirmation statement date of 17 September 2026 and a filing deadline of 1 October 2026. Every director needs to be verified, with their personal code to hand, before you prepare the statement, so that it can be filed by 1 October.
The 14-day window to give the PSC personal code starts on the date the company files its first confirmation statement after 18 November 2025. They confirm as a director with the statement, then as a PSC within 14 days.
The 14-day window starts on the first day of the PSC’s month of birth, as recorded at Companies House.
Companies House warns that failing to verify on time may be an offence, which can lead to prosecution and a fine or a financial penalty. A director who keeps acting without complying may commit an offence, and so may the company and its other directors. Planned measures include a note on the public register and restrictions on being appointed as a director or registering new entities.
Remind clients never to post or email identity documents to Companies House.
If you handle company secretarial work, ACSP registration lets you verify clients’ identities for Companies House and file on their behalf as later phases come in. The key points:
This is the point most likely to catch practices out. A client being verified with Companies House does not mean you have met your customer due diligence obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, and your existing AML identity process does not automatically meet the Companies House standard either. ICAS has warned practices not to assume the two are interchangeable.
| Companies House ID verification | Your AML customer due diligence | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Confirms the person on the public register is who they say they are | Lets you understand and risk-assess your client relationship |
| Who | Directors, PSCs, ACSPs | Your clients and their beneficial owners |
| When | Once, then the personal code is reused | At onboarding, then ongoing monitoring for the life of the relationship |
| What it covers | Identity only | Identity, sanctions and PEP screening, adverse media, risk assessment, ongoing monitoring |
Under the MLRs you still need to identify and verify each client, screen them against sanctions and PEP lists, assess the risk, apply enhanced due diligence where required, monitor the relationship and keep records for at least five years after it ends. A Companies House personal code is useful evidence that a director has been verified, but it is not a substitute for that process.
AML Buddy does not replace Companies House verification, but it handles the AML side of the same client conversation. You send the client one secure link; they verify their identity on their phone, and AML Buddy runs sanctions, PEP and adverse media screening, then re-screens them automatically every day. Ambiguous matches are clarified with the client directly, and you get a timestamped, audit-ready report for your file. You pay per check, with no monthly subscription, and new accounts get free checks to start.
Start your free checks or read our guide to AML checks for accountants.
It is the company’s first confirmation statement filed on or after 18 November 2025. Companies House will not accept that statement until every director has verified their identity.
Not exactly. The 12-month transition started on 18 November 2025, and each company’s deadline is its next confirmation statement within that year. Because confirmation statements are annual, almost every existing company will have reached its deadline by around 18 November 2026.
Verifying directly through GOV.UK One Login is free. ACSPs may charge for verifying on a client’s behalf.
Not on its own. It confirms identity for the register, but the Money Laundering Regulations also require risk assessment, sanctions and PEP screening, ongoing monitoring and record-keeping.
No. PSCs have a 14-day window. For PSCs who are also directors it starts when the company files its first confirmation statement after 18 November 2025; for other PSCs it starts on the first day of their birth month as recorded at Companies House.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the latest Companies House guidance for your clients’ specific circumstances.
