TITLE: Companies House Identity Verification: A Practical Compliance Guide for Directors
Companies House identity verification is now a legal requirement for UK company directors and people with significant control (PSCs).
The regime began on 18 November 2025. Existing directors are moving through a 12-month transition period. For many UK Limited Companies, the next confirmation statement filed during this period will be the key compliance test.
Do not leave this until your filing deadline. Complete the identity check early, secure your personal code, and update your accounting compliance process at the same time.
Start with the Companies House identity verification checklist
Use this checklist to organise your next steps:
- Identify every company where you act as a director.
- Identify every company where you are registered as a PSC.
- Check each company’s next confirmation statement date.
- Complete identity verification through GOV.UK One Login or an authorised agent.
- Save your Companies House personal code securely.
- Provide the code separately for each director and PSC role.
- Update your accountant or filing provider.
- Review your accounts, Corporation Tax and VAT deadlines.
Companies House states that most people only need to verify their identity once. However, you must connect your verified identity to each role you hold.
Read the official guidance on verifying your identity for Companies House.
Verify your identity before your next confirmation statement
If you were already a director before 18 November 2025, you have a 12-month transition period.
You must verify your identity and provide your personal code when your company files its next confirmation statement within that period. In practical terms, this means many existing directors must complete the process before their next 2026 confirmation statement. The transition period runs to approximately November 2026.
Companies House will reject the confirmation statement if any director has not completed the required identity verification.
That rejection can disrupt your normal filing timetable. It can also create a wider compliance problem if you miss the statutory confirmation statement deadline.
Action point: check your company’s confirmation statement date now. Do not assume that your accountant or filing agent can complete the process without your code.
You can review the detailed timing rules in the official Companies House identity verification deadlines guidance.
Obtain and protect your personal code
After successful verification, Companies House issues an 11-character personal code.
This code belongs to you. It does not belong to your company or your accountant.
You may need to share it with a trusted professional who files documents for you. Treat it like your Unique Taxpayer Reference or other important company credentials.
Follow these steps:
- Complete the identity check using GOV.UK One Login, or use an authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP).
- Locate your personal code through your Companies House account or the email issued after verification.
- Store the code in a secure company compliance record.
- Send it to your accountant or filing provider through a secure channel.
- Record which company roles have been connected to the code.
If you used an ACSP and cannot find your code, contact that provider first. The official personal code guidance explains where to find and manage it.
Provide your code separately if you are also a PSC
A director who is also a PSC has two compliance responsibilities.
You must provide your personal code:
- As a director, through the company’s confirmation statement.
- As a PSC, through the dedicated PSC identity verification service.
These are separate requirements. Completing one does not automatically complete the other.
For an existing PSC who is also a director, the PSC 14-day period starts on the day after the company’s confirmation statement date.
Use the official PSC identity verification service to submit the relevant information.
If you are a PSC but not a director, your 14-day period starts on the first day of your birth month. For example, a PSC whose birth month is January must act during the relevant 14-day period beginning on 1 January.
If you became a PSC after 18 November 2025, you can generally provide your code when added to the register or within 14 days of being added.
Do not combine these deadlines in your calendar. Create separate reminders for your director and PSC obligations.
Update your accounting compliance calendar
Identity verification is a Companies House requirement. It is not an accounting calculation. However, it affects the wider compliance workflow for your company.
Your accounting provider should maintain a calendar covering:
- Confirmation statement dates.
- Annual accounts deadlines.
- Corporation Tax payment dates.
- CT600 filing dates.
- VAT return deadlines.
- Payroll submissions.
- Identity verification and PSC code deadlines.
This is especially important if your business has several directors, overseas shareholders or a group structure.
A structured uk limited company accounting process helps you connect Companies House filings with your bookkeeping and tax records. It reduces the risk of treating each deadline as a separate task with no central oversight.
Prepare for separate accounts and Corporation Tax filings
The HMRC and Companies House joint filing service closed on 31 March 2026.
From 1 April 2026, you must file:
- Company accounts separately with Companies House.
- Your Company Tax Return and computations separately with HMRC.
HMRC requires compatible commercial software for Corporation Tax filing. The change does not move the statutory deadlines, but it does change the software and preparation process.
Review your current filing arrangement now. Confirm that your provider can:
- Prepare iXBRL accounts and computations.
- File the CT600 with HMRC using compatible software.
- File statutory accounts with Companies House.
- Reconcile the figures between both submissions.
- Retain evidence of successful filing.
Read the official guidance on the closure of the joint filing service.
This is a practical reason to review your accounting provider. Your accounts, Corporation Tax calculations and Companies House filing should come from consistent, reconciled records.
Track the main 2026/27 tax figures
Your compliance process should also reflect the current tax thresholds.
For the 2026/27 financial year, the standard Corporation Tax structure is:
- 19%
