New company registration rules coming into force in November will require all company directors and PSCs (persons with significant control) to verify their identity.
From November 18th, anyone seeking to register a new company with Company House, or wishing to be added as a director or PSC to an existing company, will have to fulfil the ID verification requirements by choosing one of four available routes. Existing directors will have until the submission of their next confirmation statement within a 12-month transition period to follow suit.
The changes are part of reforms announced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) 2023, which introduced a wide range of measures to tackle corporate fraud and the misuse of the UK’s corporate rules to hide economic crime. One major strand of the legislation is an overhaul of the company register and new powers for Company House to monitor and enforce rules on filings, including issuing fines or striking off companies for non-compliance.
The move to require all directors and PSCs to confirm their identity with Company House is the latest step in a phased implementation which, by the end of 2026, will require all companies to file profit and loss accounts electronically, and all persons making filings on behalf of a company to verify their identity each time they do so.
How to verify your identity
There are four options available to verify identity under the new scheme – via the GOV.UK One mobile app, via the website on a browser, at a Post Office, or by an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) that has registered to carry out the checks on behalf of the government.
In all cases, you will need an accepted proof of ID. The types of ID you can use and how you verify varies depending on which option you use. For example, UK passports and photocard driving licenses are accepted in all settings. But on the mobile app, you can scan your ID documents in using your device’s camera. Via a web browser, you have to input details from your document, plus answer questions about things like mobile phone contracts and bank accounts. This affects which documents can be used in each setting.
A full breakdown of what documents you can use where is as follows:
- GOV.UK One App: UK photocard driving licence, UK passport, non-UK passport with a biometric chip, UK biometric residence permit (BRP), UK biometric residence card (BRC), UK Frontier Worker permit (FWP)
- Online: UK photocard driving licence, UK passport, UK bank or building society current account:
- Post Office: UK passport, non-UK passport, UK photocard driving licence, EU photocard driving licence, national identity photocard from an EU country, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein
- ACSP: Same options as the GOV.UK One App, plus a combination of other photographic and non-photographic identification documents listed here.Â
To verify your identity via a Post Office, you must still register for a GOV.UK One account, and then go to the Post Office to scan and submit your documents electronically.
The ACSP route is primarily intended for anyone who is unable to register for a GOV.UK One account, for example because they are not a UK resident. For anyone based overseas who wishes to register as the director of or incorporate a company in the UK, ACSPs can check documentation and validate your identity remotely, and confirm verification with Company House on your behalf.
To find out more, get in touch with Xeinadin and we can connect you with one of our registered ACSPs.
