Companies House identity verification: preparation checklist

Companies House identity verification is a legal requirement introduced through the current company-law reforms. The action and timing depend on the person's role and when it began. A founder should check the current official instructions rather than treating a general transition date as everybody's deadline. ^[1]

Make a list of your roles

Identify directorships, PSC positions and any other role covered by the current requirements. A person who is both a director and a PSC should not assume that completing the director step automatically deals with the PSC role.

The official guidance distinguishes roles already within the process from categories being introduced later. Use the relevant current route for your actual role, especially where corporate entities or less common structures are involved. ^[1]

Choose a permitted verification route

You can use the official service through GOV.UK One Login or an Authorised Corporate Service Provider. The official route is free; a provider may charge for its service. A professional's existing relationship with you does not by itself establish that they are registered as an authorised agent. ^[1]

Start from the official website rather than an unsolicited payment link. Ask a provider to identify the precise verification service and any separate formation work included in its fee.

Prepare your own information

Have the identity evidence requested by the chosen route and check that your personal details are consistent. Use an email address you can access and maintain. Follow the official instructions for how evidence is submitted; do not send identity documents to a general enquiry inbox.

A change of name, inconsistent date of birth or lost access to the email account should be resolved through the appropriate process. Repeatedly attempting new registrations may make the position harder to understand.

Keep and use the personal code correctly

Successful verification produces a personal code. The code belongs to the individual and is used to connect that verified identity to relevant roles. Completing the identity check and supplying the code for a company appointment or PSC role are separate parts of compliance. ^[1][2]

Before a company filing is due

• Confirm which people need to take action.
• Check the deadline for each relevant role.
• Confirm that verification succeeded.
• Arrange secure sharing with a trusted filing agent if needed.
• Retain evidence that the required role-specific submission was accepted.

Prepare a role-by-role action sheet

Create one row for each company role, showing the company number, role, appointment date, relevant filing and deadline. A person involved with several companies can then see which submissions have been completed and which remain outstanding. Record verification success separately from the acceptance of each role-related submission.

Consider a founder who will be both the sole director and a PSC of a new company. The company formation filing and the PSC identity step should each be accounted for. Ask the filer to explain which action is included and how completion will be evidenced. Avoid a vague status such as 'ID done' that could mean only the initial identity check.

Allow time for the route you can actually use

The official service asks questions to determine the suitable verification method. Follow the route offered for your own evidence and circumstances rather than assuming everyone can finish through the same app. Prepare a way to receive account messages and keep access to that email address. ^[1]

If an authorised provider is assisting, agree what evidence it requires, how it will be delivered and what its fee covers. Confirm that the provider is registered for the relevant Companies House service. The existence of an accountancy or legal business does not by itself prove that it can act as an ACSP.

Build time into the incorporation timetable for missing documents or discrepancies. A supplier launch date should not depend on an assumption that every person's verification will succeed immediately. Identify any person whose preparation is incomplete before booking a filing appointment.

Troubleshoot by identifying the failed step

First ask whether identity verification itself failed, the personal code cannot be found or a company filing will not accept the information. These are different problems. Retain the error wording, the service used and the date of the attempt without circulating the underlying code or identity documents in an ordinary project discussion.

If the personal details on a company record appear inconsistent, establish which record needs correction and follow the official instructions. Do not alter a genuine date of birth to match a suspected error. Nor should repeated verification be used as the default response to a filing mismatch; Companies House guidance says not to verify again unless instructed. ^[1][2]

Retain evidence that explains completion

A practical compliance file records that verification succeeded, how the personal code can be recovered and which role-related filings were accepted. It should not become a widely shared collection of passports and access credentials. Keep sensitive material in the agreed restricted location and give the project manager only the status information needed to coordinate the application.

Before the deadline, reconcile the action sheet with the acceptance evidence. Escalate any unresolved person or role specifically. This makes it possible to fix a real gap instead of repeatedly asking every founder to resend all their information.

If the company cannot complete a filing because verification information is missing, address the actual person or record concerned. Do not assume that a company authentication code is a substitute for a personal identity code.

If identity preparation is holding up a new company application, see limited company formation support for the formation enquiry process.