Companies House has announced that mandatory identity verification for company directors and people with significant control (PSCs) will begin on November 18, 2025. The change forms part of the UK government’s push to combat financial crime and increase corporate transparency, and is being implemented under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.
Companies House is the United Kingdom’s official registrar of companies. It maintains the public register of businesses and is responsible for incorporating and dissolving companies, collecting annual filings, and ensuring corporate transparency under UK law.
The rollout will unfold over a 12-month transition period and is expected to affect between 6 and 7 million individuals. All new directors must complete identity verification before incorporating a company or being appointed to an existing one from November 18 onward. Existing directors will be required to confirm their verified status when filing their next annual confirmation statement. A similar rule applies to PSCs, who must verify their identity within 14 days of appointment. After the respective deadlines, acting as a company director or LLP member without proper identity verification will constitute an offence.
The verification process will rely on the GOV.UK One Login platform, which was recently integrated into Companies House’s digital services. Users may also verify their identity through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). The process is free of charge when completed through One Login. However, concerns have emerged following news that the One Login platform lost its security certification under the UK’s Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework in May 2025 and had not yet been re-certified as of early August. The lapse has raised questions among industry stakeholders about the system’s robustness ahead of the rollout.
“We are phasing in identity verification over 12 months to make things simpler for companies and business owners,” said Companies House. “For most people this will be a one-off process that can be done in a few minutes.” The agency has committed to contacting affected companies directly with specific guidance on how directors and PSCs should comply with the new requirements.
The initiative is part of a wider strategy to strengthen the UK’s business registry and reduce abuse of legal entities for illicit purposes. Companies House says the identity checks will provide greater confidence in the integrity of corporate records by verifying who is actually setting up and controlling companies registered in the UK.
Sources: Think Digital Partners, Elemental CoSec, UK Government
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By Cass Kennedy
