Sep 21
If you’re a director of a UK company, identity verification is now a legal requirement. From 18 November 2025, new directors must verify before they are appointed or incorporated, while existing directors must provide their Companies House personal code with the company’s next confirmation statement. PSCs also have separate verification deadlines. There is no single 18 November 2026 deadline for everyone; that date marks the end of the 12-month transition period, while each person’s actual due date depends on their role and company records.
The requirement was introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. It currently applies to directors, equivalent roles such as LLP members, directors of overseas companies registered in the UK, PSCs and people applying to become Authorised Corporate Service Providers.
Identity verification for people who file documents at Companies House has not yet started. Companies House says this will begin no earlier than November 2027 and that at least six months’ notice will be given. A company secretary who only files documents is therefore not automatically required to verify yet purely because of that filing role.
You normally verify once and receive an 11-character personal code. The same code is then used for each company role you hold. Verification is free through GOV.UK One Login, or it can be completed through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, which must be supervised for UK anti-money-laundering purposes.
| Your role | When the code must be provided |
|---|---|
| Existing director | With the company’s next confirmation statement |
| Director and PSC of the same company | Director code with the confirmation statement; PSC code during the separate 14-day period beginning the day after the statement date |
| Existing PSC who is not a director | During the first 14 days of their birth month |
| New director | As part of the appointment or incorporation filing |
| New PSC | When first added to the register or within 14 days afterwards |
For an existing director, checking your confirmation statement due date is the practical starting point. Companies House will not accept the confirmation statement until every current director has completed verification and the required personal codes have been supplied.
Continuing to act as a director after your deadline without complying is an offence, and the company may also be in breach. Companies House can take enforcement action, including financial penalties, and the company cannot file its confirmation statement until all directors are verified.
This can create additional problems for a business already showing signs of financial distress and can also surface during due diligence on a sale, investment or lending exercise.
For directors operating across the UK and Ireland, the verification requirement still applies to UK company roles. Our cross-border accounting and tax team can help coordinate it with wider obligations.
SCC is an Authorised Corporate Service Provider and can verify identities to the Companies House standard. Companies House records confirm SCC Chartered Accountants Ltd has completed identity checks as an ACSP.
Different directors in the same company can use different permitted routes. Where verification coincides with restructuring, insolvency practitioner involvement or audit requirements, it also makes sense to consider the wider filing and governance position.
Get in touch with SCC Chartered Accountants to check your confirmation statement due date and make sure directors and PSCs complete the correct steps on time.
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