Briefing · UK regulation
Companies House identity verification: the transition ends in November 2026.
Companies House identity verification is the UK's switch of the register from a passive registry to a verified one. Since 18 November 2025, directors and people with significant control must have their identity verified, and the agents who form and file for companies must be registered to do it.
LAST UPDATED OCT 2026 · IDV MANDATORY SINCE 18 NOV 2025
Background: why the UK is doing this
Companies House historically registered whatever it was sent: famous abuses include obviously fictitious officers and mass registrations at single addresses. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act rebuilt the registrar’s role: verify identities, query filings, and share data with law enforcement. Identity verification is the centrepiece of that reform.
The short timeline
The Companies House reform runs from ECCTA passing in 2023, through voluntary identity verification and ACSP registration in 2025, to mandatory verification from 18 November 2025. Existing officers are brought in over the following twelve months through the confirmation-statement cycle rather than all at once, and that transition closes in November 2026.
What changes
Identity verification is mandatory for UK directors and people with significant control, done directly with Companies House or through an ACSP. New incorporations include verification from day one, existing officers follow a transition tied to the confirmation statement, and filing agents must register as Authorised Corporate Service Providers under AML supervision.
If you are a formation agent or CSP
Formation agents and CSPs become accountable for a verification step covering each client, director and PSC, under AML supervision. Spreadsheets and inbox attachments will not survive an inspection at that volume. You need client due diligence, screening and an audit trail as a system: the ground covered in our AML software for corporate service providers page.
What to do before November
Before November, formation agents should complete ACSP registration, map which clients and officers will need verification and when their confirmation statements fall, and put a repeatable CDD and screening workflow in place before the volume arrives. Telling clients early matters: the officers who ignore the first letter miss deadlines.
ACSP registration, in short
ACSP registration is how agents keep verifying identities for clients: an Authorised Corporate Service Provider registers with Companies House, must be supervised for anti-money laundering, and its verification statements carry legal weight. Formation agents that skip ACSP registration lose the ability to file identity verification on behalf of clients.
Frequently asked questions
What is an ACSP?
An Authorised Corporate Service Provider: a UK-supervised agent, such as a formation agent, accountant or solicitor, registered with Companies House to carry out identity verification and file on behalf of clients. Agents must be registered as ACSPs to keep providing those services.
Who has to verify their identity with Companies House?
Directors and people with significant control. New directors and PSCs have had to verify before appointment since 18 November 2025, and existing officers are brought in over a twelve-month transition tied to the company's confirmation statement. Verification is done directly with Companies House or through an ACSP.
When do existing directors have to verify?
With the company's next confirmation statement after 18 November 2025, by providing their Companies House personal code; existing PSCs who are not directors verify within the first 14 days of their birth month. Each person can see their own due dates on the register. That staggering is what makes the workload manageable, and what makes mapping your client base by confirmation date the single most useful preparation.
Does this change due diligence on UK companies?
Over time, yes, for the better: a register where officers are identity-verified is a stronger corroboration source than the old self-declared one. It still is not a substitute for your own KYB: verification confirms a person exists and matches an identity, not that the business is safe to trade with.
ACSP obligations without the spreadsheet sprawl.
KYCK gives formation agents client due diligence, screening and audit trails in one place. See it before November.
Summary of UK ECCTA reforms as published by Companies House, checked October 2026, not legal advice. Dates and transition details are set by Companies House; confirm current guidance there.