Since 18 November 2025, directors and persons with significant control (PSCs) of a UK company must verify their identity with Companies House, under requirements confirmed by Companies House. This isn’t a proposal or a future date — it’s in force now, and it changes a step in UK company formation that used to be routine paperwork into a mandatory identity check with real consequences for getting it wrong.
Why this exists
Companies House spent decades as a filing registry, not a verification body. Identity verification is part of the UK’s wider economic-crime and corporate-transparency reform programme, and Companies House states the change is designed to give “more assurance about who is setting up, running and controlling companies in the UK.” An estimated 6 to 7 million individuals will need to verify their identity by mid-November 2026.
The two ways to verify
According to Companies House’s own guidance, you can verify directly through GOV.UK One Login — the UK government’s free identity-checking service, using a passport, driving licence, or other accepted ID document, with app, security-question or Post Office verification paths — or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP): a firm registered with Companies House and with a UK anti-money-laundering supervisory body, which verifies identities on a client’s behalf as part of a formation or compliance service and may charge a fee.
Both routes lead to the same outcome: a verification status recorded against your director or PSC record at Companies House. Neither route makes the underlying requirement optional — it’s a question of who carries out the check, not whether it happens.
Who has to verify
Per Companies House’s guidance, verification applies to:
- Directors, and the equivalent role in other structures — LLP members, general partners, managing officers.
- Directors of overseas companies registered in the UK.
- Persons with significant control (PSCs).
- Authorised Corporate Service Providers themselves, as part of their own registration.
When it applies to you
- New companies: identity verification is now part of the incorporation process itself for every director and PSC — it isn’t an optional add-on, and an incorporation filing without it doesn’t go through.
- New director or PSC appointments to an existing company: verification happens at the point of appointment, not deferred to a later filing.
- Existing companies: current directors provide their verification code in the company’s next confirmation statement filing; existing PSCs get a 14-day window to do the same, timed against the 18 November 2025 start date. This is a phased 12-month rollout, not a single cut-off date for every company at once, so the exact deadline depends on where your company sits in its own filing cycle.
What happens if you miss it
Companies House’s guidance sets out real consequences for non-compliance, not just an administrative nudge: potential prosecution and a fine through the courts, or a financial penalty; a notation against the person’s name on the public register; and being blocked from being appointed as a new director, registering new companies, or registering as an ACSP. A director or PSC who continues to act without verifying is described as committing an offence. Practically, a confirmation statement filed without valid verification for its directors and PSCs doesn’t go through — it stalls the filing that keeps your company in good standing.
What this means for a new UK setup
None of this changes the underlying attraction of a UK company — 100% foreign ownership remains permitted, with no general nationality or residency restriction on shareholders or directors, and the corporate framework itself is unchanged. What’s changed is who stands behind the company on paper. For a new UK setup, the sequence now runs: name check and structure confirmation, identity verification for every director and PSC (via One Login or an ACSP), incorporation filing with Companies House, then HMRC registration for Corporation Tax and VAT once required.
How Build Your Business handles this
We build identity verification into the incorporation sequence from day one, alongside HMRC registration and banking, rather than treating it as a separate, easy-to-miss step after the fact. Concretely: we coordinate your own verification through GOV.UK One Login and make sure it’s completed in the right order relative to incorporation and your confirmation statement date — we do not perform the identity check ourselves, and we’re precise about that distinction rather than implying a status we don’t hold.
Frequently asked
Do I need to verify my identity to set up a UK company?
Yes — since 18 November 2025, identity verification is mandatory for all directors and persons with significant control, including new appointments and, on a phased basis, existing ones.
Can I own 100% of a UK company as a non-resident?
Yes. There’s no restriction on foreign ownership of a UK private limited company, and no requirement for a UK-resident director. Identity verification is a separate requirement from ownership or residency rules.
What if I already have a UK company from before November 2025?
You still need to verify — Companies House is rolling the requirement out against existing companies’ own confirmation statement dates rather than all at once, so check your next confirmation statement date to see where your company sits in that timetable.
What happens if a director doesn’t verify in time?
Companies House states this can lead to prosecution and a fine, a notation on the public register, and being blocked from new director appointments or company registrations — it isn’t a paperwork formality.
Important information: this article is general information, reflecting official Companies House guidance available as of 27 September 2026. Identity-verification rules, deadlines and penalties may change — confirm your company’s specific timeline and requirements directly with Companies House before relying on any date given here. This is not legal or professional advice, and Build Your Business does not guarantee any verification, filing or registration outcome.
Read the full picture on our UK country page, including HMRC registration, VAT thresholds, and the ongoing compliance calendar.