The Simple Guide to Companies House ID Requirements
There are new ID requirements for registering company directors and Persons of Significant Control (PSCs) at Companies House, which have been introduced to reduce the risk of people setting up companies for illegal purposes. To help you understand the changes and what you need to do next, we have put together this simple guide in collaboration with compliance experts Calathea Solutions.
Why have the ID requirements for Companies House changed?
Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA), the identity of anyone submitting information to the public register, including those acting on behalf of a company, must be verified. The aim is to improve the accuracy and transparency of the held information and to combat fraud.
Tony Walker, Head of Financial Services at Armalytix, told Raconteur that these reforms are a welcome and much-needed change, saying: “For years, it’s been far too easy to set up a company in the UK with few to no checks, creating a huge loophole for fraud. Just recently, a couple discovered they were victims of identity fraud after their address was changed without consent and fake companies were set up in their name.”
Practically, these changes mean that any existing or new directors of companies must undergo an ID check for Companies House.
What do you need to do to comply with the changes?
There are theoretically two ways that company directors or PSCs can undertake this ID check for Companies House:
- In the majority of cases, they will go through an ACSP-registered third party, such as an accountant or company secretary.
- They can undertake an ID check directly with Companies House.
In cases where a company director or PSC has undertaken an ID check directly with Companies House, a registered professional third party is not permitted to rely on that verification for any other purpose. It is therefore important to carry out your own ID checks.
To become a third-party Authorised Corporate Services Provider (ASCP) to carry out identity checks and make statutory filings on behalf of clients for Companies House, you can apply through the gov.uk online service.
Once registered, to provide these checks for your clients, you will need to use a digital electronic identity verification (eIDV) service to verify the identity of a company director or PSC for Companies House. Technically, it is possible to manually ID clients, but any individual doing so must be trained in detecting false documents by a specialist training provider that follows the Home Office best practice guide. It is therefore not recommended and simpler to use eIDV services.
These eIDV services will ask for and check the following information from the client:
- Documents confirming the person’s name and date of birth
- That the cryptographic features on the documents match the information provided by the client
- That the client physically matches the photo on or accompanying the documents
- That the client is a real person
- Recent bank statements, credit card statements, utility bills or council tax bills, sent to the person’s home address
The eIDV service will then send you copies of all this information, as well as the ID check details. You must keep these for seven years from the date the check is completed.
If the client fails an ID check, you must also keep these check details for seven years.
When do the Companies House changes come into effect?
The requirement to become ACSP-registered to provide ID checks for Companies House came into effect from March 2025.
The Companies House ID requirement for new company directors and PSCs will be mandatory from 18th November 2025.
For existing company directors or PSCs, their registration is due within a 12-month grace period from 18th November 2025 OR by the company’s next confirmation statement filing, whichever is sooner.
From Spring 2026, you will be able to file on behalf of clients as an authorised agent.
Who can help with electronic identity verification?
Our Armalytix ID Service is one of the leading eIDV services in the marketplace, meeting not just the Companies House ID requirements but also those of your own professional regulator. Simple for you and your clients, and all ready to go. Just get in touch to book a quick, free demo and find out how it works.
To speak to the experts behind this guide, who can share more information on these ID checks and all of your other compliance needs, speak to Calathea Solutions.
