Companies House says nearly 4 million individuals have verified their identities and linked their appointments under identity verification requirements introduced by the UK’s Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.
The milestone was disclosed in a progress report on the agency’s ongoing effort to clean up the UK companies register and strengthen corporate transparency. The report also notes that 151,000 company addresses have been removed from the register since March 2024, part of a broader data quality effort tied to economic crime prevention.
Identity verification at Companies House became mandatory for company directors and persons with significant control (PSCs) in November 2025. The requirement extends to third-party agents such as accountants and solicitors, who must register as Authorized Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs) and undergo identity verification under anti-money laundering regulations.
The verification system is powered by GOV.UK One Login, the government’s centralized digital identity platform. Users verify their identity through the platform and link it to their Companies House filings. The integration made Companies House one of the earliest government services to adopt the One Login system at scale.
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act gave Companies House expanded powers to verify identities, improve data accuracy, and prevent the misuse of the register. Before the reforms, the registry operated largely as a repository of self-reported information with minimal identity checks, making it vulnerable to misuse by shell companies and fraudulent filings.
The removal of 151,000 company addresses reflects the agency’s use of new powers to flag and remove suspicious or fraudulent registered addresses. Companies House has also gained authority to query filings, share data with law enforcement, and require additional documentation where submissions appear inconsistent.
The UK government has positioned these reforms as central to its economic crime strategy, which also includes the development of digital identity guidance for AML compliance and the buildout of the Digital Verification Services trust framework.
Sources: GOV.UK
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By Ali Nassar-Smith
