August 5, 2025 Companies House sets date for mandatory Identity Verification
Today, Companies House announced that mandatory identity verification under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 will be phased in from 18 November 2025 – a date anticipated by many, given the scale of the task ahead, with over 7 million individuals expected to complete the process.
From this date, it has been confirmed:
- New directors will need to verify their identity to incorporate, or be appointed to, a company
- Existing directors will need to confirm they have verified their identity when they file the company’s next annual confirmation statement
- Existing PSCs will need to verify their identity by a specific day (see below) within 12 months of the commencement date.
Following today’s announcement, we now have clarity on who needs to act and by when. However, the multiple deadlines, each linked to an individual’s role, create a real risk of confusion and missed deadlines if not managed carefully.
Individuals only need to verify once to obtain their personal code, but it must be completed by their first applicable deadline. Acting early will help organisations and their stakeholders avoid last-minute pressures and ensure compliance as these requirements take effect. Below, we set out the rules in more detail.
Who Needs to Act and When
Directors
Directors of companies will need to provide their Companies House personal code as part of a company’s next confirmation statement after 18 November 2025. If a person is a director of more than one company, they need to do this for each company. However, it is by the first deadline that they must ensure they are verified.
When registering a new company, the Companies House personal code needs to be provided for each director as part of the registration filing.
People with significant control (PSCs)
PSCs must verify their identity and submit their personal code. The timing for this depends on their situation:
• If a person is both a director and a PSC of the same company, they need to provide their code separately for each role:
o As a director, they must provide the code in the company’s confirmation statement.
o As a PSC, they must provide it using a separate Companies House service within 14 days of the company’s confirmation statement date.
• If a person is a PSC but not a director of the same company, they must provide their code within the first 14 days of their birth month. For example, if someone’s date of birth is 22 January, the 14-day period begins on 1 January and ends on 14 January.
• If someone becomes a PSC after 18 November, they must provide their code within 14 days of being added to the Companies House register.
The approach Companies House is taking means that a single individual may have multiple deadlines and must provide their Companies House personal code on multiple occasions.
Future Requirements
Companies House has confirmed that it will introduce mandatory identity verification at a later date for:
• people who file at Companies House
• limited partnerships
• corporate directors of companies
• corporate members of limited liability partnerships (LLPs)
• officers of corporate PSCs
This was expected for most of these roles; however, the delay for officers of corporate PSCs was not.
Summary
Mandatory identity verification goes live from 18 November, affecting over 7 million individuals. With multiple deadlines depending on roles, acting early will help ensure individuals are not caught out. Meanwhile, timelines for others – such as corporate officers of PSCs and limited partnerships – have been extended.
Read our blog to understand why organisations should act now on identity verification. Alternatively, find out more about how we’re helping clients with our identity verification services.
