Companies House ID Verification: The First Year Ends This November

Last updated: 3 November 2026

Companies House identity verification became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025. Companies were given a 12-month transition period to bring their existing directors and people with significant control (PSCs) into line. That first year ends in mid-November 2026, and by then almost every existing company will have reached the point where its directors must be verified.

If you run a Northern Ireland company and have not yet checked where your directors and PSCs stand, now is the time. This guide explains what the rules require, when each person needs to act, and what happens if they do not. If you would like our Belfast team to help, see our identity verification service.

What changes as the transition period ends?

The transition period was never a single deadline for everyone. Instead, each existing director and PSC has a due date linked to their company’s confirmation statement or, for some PSCs, their birth month. Because every company files a confirmation statement at least once a year, the 12 months from November 2025 cover every company’s next confirmation statement date.

Companies House has said it will move from supporting companies through the change to enforcing the requirements. If someone at your company has not verified and has passed their due date, the company is likely to run into problems at its next filing.

When do existing directors need to verify?

Existing directors must provide their Companies House personal code as part of the company’s next confirmation statement filed after 18 November 2025. Companies House guidance is clear that a company will be unable to file its confirmation statement unless all of its directors are verified.

If you are a director of more than one company, you need to provide your personal code for each company. You only verify once, but the code has to be linked to every directorship you hold.

LLP members follow the same approach, as they are treated as the equivalent of directors.

When do existing PSCs need to verify?

The timing for persons with significant control depends on whether they are also a director.

• PSCs who are not directors must provide their personal code within the first 14 days of their birth month. For example, someone born on 22 January must provide it between 1 and 14 January.
• PSCs who are also directors provide the code twice: once as a director in the confirmation statement, and once as a PSC using the Companies House “Provide identity verification details for a PSC” service. The PSC window is the 14 days starting the day after the company’s confirmation statement date. Filing the confirmation statement early does not change this window.
• New PSCs added since 18 November 2025 can provide their code when they are added to the register, or within 14 days afterwards.

What about new directors and new companies?

There is no transition period for new appointments. A new director must provide their personal code as part of the appointment filing, and every director must be verified before a new company can be registered. If you are setting up a limited company in Northern Ireland, build identity verification into your plans from the start.

What happens if you do not verify?

According to Companies House, failing to comply with the identity verification requirements on time may be an offence. The consequences can include:

• prosecution and a fine through the courts, or a financial penalty;
• the company being unable to file its confirmation statement;
• being unable to be appointed as a director of another company or to register a new company;
• the company and its other directors also potentially committing an offence.

Companies House has also said that, in future, it will add a note on the public register against the name of anyone who has not complied. That is the kind of record suppliers, lenders and customers may notice.

Your checklist before your next filing

1. Find your confirmation statement date. You can check it on the Companies House register. Remember that the PSC window for director-PSCs starts the day after this date.
2. List every director and PSC. Note who has verified already and who still needs to.
3. Collect personal codes. Each person receives their own code once verified. It is personal to them, so ask them to share it only with people they trust, such as the person filing for the company.
4. Check PSC birth months. PSCs who are not directors have their own 14-day window, which may fall at a different time of year from the confirmation statement.
5. Choose how each person will verify. See below.
6. File on time. Leave enough room before the deadline in case anyone’s verification takes longer than expected.

How can directors and PSCs verify?

Each individual has to verify personally. Nobody can do it on another person’s behalf. There are three main options:

• Online with GOV.UK One Login, which is free, using the app or by answering security questions online;
• At a participating Post Office, after entering photo ID details on GOV.UK One Login first;
• Through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), such as an accountant, solicitor or company-services provider registered with Companies House. Fees may apply.

Companies House asks people not to post or email identity documents to it. Our guide on verifying directly or through an ACSP explains the difference in more detail.

What is coming next?

Identity verification is being extended in stages. Companies House has said that people who file on behalf of companies will need to verify from no earlier than November 2027, with at least six months’ notice. Corporate directors, corporate members of LLPs, officers of corporate PSCs and limited partnerships will follow at a later date.

How The Company Shop can help

The Company Shop is a registered Authorised Corporate Service Provider based in Belfast. We can verify directors and PSCs, help you work out who needs to act and when, and file your confirmation statement once everyone is verified. See our Companies House identity verification service or get in touch with our team.

If you are comfortable verifying yourself, the free GOV.UK route works well for most people. Whichever route you choose, the important thing is not to leave it until your filing is due.

This article is for general information only and reflects the position at the date it was last updated. It does not constitute legal, tax, accounting or other professional advice and should not be relied upon as such. Companies House processes, deadlines and requirements may change. Check the latest official guidance on when you need to verify your identity or seek appropriate professional advice before acting.