How should businesses prepare for Companies House’s upcoming Identity Verification requirements?  

Companies House is set to introduce new identity verification (IDV) rules protecting who can file company information. It will be compulsory for new directors and people with significant control (PSCs), existing directors and PSCs and anyone acting on behalf of a company to prove they are who they say they are. From 8 April 2025, individuals will be able to voluntarily verify their identity.

There will also be new rules governing company formation agents, solicitors, accountants, chartered secretaries and governance professionals. Following the recent launch on 18 March 2025, people in these professions are now able to apply to become Authorised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs). ASCPs will be able to carry out IDV checks to meet the same level of assurance as those who verify directly with Companies House.

Why is this change necessary?

Buckley: Currently, Companies House doesn’t know a lot about who presents information on the register. In the majority, it knows very little about the people who are presenting information onto the public register. IDV is not only about knowing who is on the register, it’s also about knowing who is filing information on the public register. The rollouts over the next year to 18 months are the building blocks for knowing who is on the register and who is filing on the register, information which for the last 170 years hasn’t been available.

Williams: Ultimately, it’s not about adding any extra burden to our customers or processes, but it’s about adding extra value to our data and giving trust and confidence to people who rely on Companies House information.

How does identity verification work in practice?

Williams: Predominantly, there’ll be two ways in which people will be able to verify their identity. Users will be able to do it through ACSPs, or they’ll be able to come to the registrar directly and use the service on gov.uk. We’re working really closely with the Government Digital Service, as well as looking at other services to make sure that the identity verification process can be completed for most users.

To complete verification electronically you’ll need to take a photo of your ID on a smartphone or other device and take a selfie to compare your likeness. Some users may choose to go to physical locations to get assistance with that process, and we’re looking at how we can also work with the Government Digital Service, using things like post office locations to support that.

Buckley: The second route that we’ve got available to people is through Authorised Corporate Service Providers. Where an ACSP wants to provide the identity services for the customers for the register, they’ll carry out the IDV of the client. They will do that to our set standard, which has recently been published in Registrar’s Rules. They will then provide us with their client’s credentials through the ACSP portal that will then hit the IDV API (application program interface). Once it hits the API we will then send out a unique identifier or personal code to the person whose identity has been verified and then that individual will have to use that code when we mandate IDV requirements on the public register in the autumn of this year.

Williams: The intent, from our perspective, is to make this as easy as possible, and to have people verify once. The way we do that is that when somebody comes along to verify their identity, we will issue them with a personal code which we will then ask them to apply to all their appointments that they hold.

What about ACSPs?

Buckley: ACSPs are third parties that deliver information onto the register. People like incorporation agents and professional service providers, like accountants, solicitors, insolvency practitioners. The ACSP registration launched on 18 March, so now, people who want to provide identity verification services will need to register as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider and in order to do that, they need to be currently supervised by one of the 25 UK anti-money laundering supervisory bodies.

How will you go about ensuring compliance?

Buckley: When we fully launch IDV in the autumn there will be people who will comply and we know there are likely to be a lot of people who can’t comply, some of them without a legitimate reason. The registrar has new powers along with IDV to do things to companies when they’re not compliant. Companies House has set up a project under IDV specifically looking at compliance and the operational scaling up of dealing with non-compliance.

Williams: For some, compliance will be very easy in the sense that it is a go or no-go decision. If you appoint a new individual, the person who’s submitting that appointment would need to prove their identity alongside the person who’s being appointed as the director. If you haven’t done it for existing companies and directors, we’ve got that period where we’re looking to use the confirmation statement and say, when your confirmation statement is due, that’s when we expect your directors to have completed identity verification, and if they haven’t, we will not be able to accept that filing.