Companies House Identity Verification: Complete Guide to the November 2025 Deadline

Companies House Identity Verification: Complete Guide to the November 2025 Deadline

by | Sep 22, 2025 | latest news

With just two months until Companies House identity verification becomes mandatory on 18 November 2025, UK directors, PSCs, and LLP members face a critical compliance deadline. Despite voluntary verification being available since April 2025, many business leaders have yet to act. Here’s everything you need to know to avoid penalties and criminal liability.

The End of Anonymous Directors

The UK government’s drive to increase corporate transparency reaches a pivotal moment on 18 November 2025. From this “Base Date,” identity verification becomes mandatory for all company directors, Persons with Significant Control (PSCs), and LLP members – marking the end of anonymous corporate leadership in the UK.

This isn’t just another administrative requirement. It’s a fundamental shift toward full transparency in UK corporate governance, designed to combat money laundering, corporate fraud, and ensure those controlling companies can be held accountable.

Who Must Verify Their Identity?

Directors of UK Companies

All directors of UK companies must complete identity verification, including:

  • Existing directors who must verify by their next confirmation statement filing date
  • New directors appointed after the Base Date (must verify before appointment)
  • First directors when incorporating new companies
  • Directors of overseas companies with UK establishments (different transitional deadlines apply)

Persons with Significant Control (PSCs)

PSCs are individuals who hold or control:

  • More than 25% of shares or voting rights
  • The right to appoint or remove the majority of directors
  • Significant influence or control over the company

PSCs must verify their identity within 14 days of the first day of their birth month after the Base Date.

LLP Members

All members of Limited Liability Partnerships are included in the verification requirements from the Base Date.

Current Exemptions

Corporate directors, corporate PSCs, and corporate LLP members are currently exempt from individual identity verification. However, this exemption is expected to be removed in future phases of the rollout.

Timeline and Critical Deadlines

Already Available (Since 8 April 2025)

Voluntary identity verification opened through:

  • GOV.UK One Login
  • Authorised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs)

Start your verification now

18 November 2025: The Base Date

Identity verification becomes mandatory. From this date:

  • All new director appointments require prior verification
  • All PSC appointments require prior verification
  • New company incorporations require verified directors
  • Existing individuals must verify according to their specific deadlines

After 18 November 2025

  • Companies House filings without verified personal codes will be rejected
  • Acting as an unverified director or PSC becomes a criminal offence
  • Penalties may include director disqualification and financial sanctions

How to Verify Your Identity

Option 1: GOV.UK One Login (Free)

The government’s digital identity service offers three verification methods depending on your circumstances:

Smartphone App Verification: Quick digital verification using your phone’s camera and security features.

Online Security Questions: Answer questions based on your credit history and public records.

Photo ID + Post Office: Upload photo identification online, then visit a Post Office for in-person verification.

Complete guidance available here

Option 2: Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP)

Professional service providers can complete verification on your behalf, including:

  • Registered accountants
  • Solicitors
  • Company formation agents
  • Other professionals registered with Companies House and anti-money laundering supervisory bodies

This option particularly benefits busy executives, those with complex corporate structures, or individuals preferring professional assistance.

Your Personal Code

Once verified, you receive a unique Companies House personal code that:

  • Remains valid across all your company roles
  • Doesn’t expire unless Companies House specifically requests re-verification
  • Must be used for all future filings (confirmation statements, director appointments, incorporations)

Critical Timing for Different Roles

Existing Directors

Your verification deadline depends on your next confirmation statement filing date after 18 November 2025. If your company’s confirmation statement is due in December 2025 or January 2026, you must verify immediately.

Action Required: Check your confirmation statement due date and verify well in advance to avoid filing rejections.

PSCs (Non-Directors)

Your deadline is 14 days from the first day of your birth month after 18 November 2025.

Example: If your birthday is in March, you have until 14 March 2026 to verify.

Multiple Company Roles

If you hold positions across several companies, verify immediately using the earliest applicable deadline. One verification covers all your roles.

New Appointments

After 18 November 2025, you cannot be appointed as a director or PSC without prior identity verification. Plan accordingly for any upcoming appointments.

What Happens If You Don’t Verify?

Immediate Consequences

  • Companies House will reject filings lacking verified personal codes
  • You cannot file confirmation statements, director appointments, or company incorporations
  • Your company faces potential administrative dissolution for failing to file

Criminal Liability

Acting as a director or PSC without required verification becomes a criminal offence, potentially resulting in:

  • Director disqualification (preventing you from acting as a director for up to 15 years)
  • Financial penalties
  • Criminal prosecution in serious cases

Company Implications

  • Inability to file statutory returns
  • Potential strike-off from the Companies House register
  • Complications with banking, contracts, and business operations

Practical Steps to Take Now

1. Verify Immediately

Don’t wait until November. With thousands of directors likely to verify close to the deadline, you risk:

  • Technical difficulties with government systems
  • Delays in Post Office verification appointments
  • Last-minute stress affecting your business operations

Start verification here

2. Check All Your Company Roles

Review every position you hold:

  • Directorships across all companies
  • PSC positions
  • LLP memberships

Compile confirmation statement due dates to understand your earliest deadline.

3. Consider Professional Support

If you’re time-pressed or manage complex corporate structures, ACSPs can handle verification on your behalf. This ensures compliance without diverting your attention from business operations.

At AcuAccounts, we can manage your Companies House identity verification process, handling the technical requirements while you focus on running your business. Our team understands the compliance deadlines and can ensure all your directors and PSCs are verified on time.

4. Update Your Records

Ensure Companies House has your current contact details so you receive important communications about verification requirements and deadlines.

5. Plan for New Appointments

If you’re planning director appointments or company incorporations after November 2025, ensure all relevant individuals verify their identity first.

Technical Considerations

Document Requirements

Prepare acceptable forms of identification:

  • Valid UK or EU photocard driving licence
  • UK or EU passport
  • UK biometric residence permit
  • Other government-issued photo ID

Digital Readiness

Ensure you have:

  • Access to a smartphone with camera (for app-based verification)
  • Stable internet connection
  • Updated browser for online verification
  • Alternative verification method planned if technical issues arise

Post Office Verification

If using the photo ID + Post Office route:

  • Book appointments well in advance (expect high demand near the deadline)
  • Bring original documents and printed verification codes
  • Allow extra time for potential queues

The Strategic Perspective

This isn’t just compliance – it’s preparation for the future of UK business regulation. Identity verification represents the first phase of broader transparency reforms that will likely expand to cover:

  • Corporate PSCs and directors
  • More detailed beneficial ownership reporting
  • Enhanced due diligence requirements
  • Real-time reporting obligations

Companies and directors who adapt quickly to these digital transparency requirements will be better positioned for future regulatory changes and demonstrate commitment to good corporate governance.

Your Next Steps for Companies House Identity Verification

Week 1: Verify your identity immediately using GOV.UK One Login or contact an ACSP
Week 2: Check confirmation statement due dates for all companies where you’re a director
Week 3: Ensure all PSCs in your companies understand their verification deadlines
Week 4: Plan for any new appointments or incorporations requiring verified individuals

The message is clear: identity verification isn’t optional preparation – it’s mandatory compliance that affects your ability to continue as a director or PSC. Act now to secure your position and avoid the criminal liability that begins on 18 November 2025.

Need Help with Identity Verification?
Don’t navigate these compliance changes alone. At AcuAccounts, we help directors and business owners complete their identity verification requirements efficiently and on time. Contact us at info@acuaccounts.com or call 0203 907 9027 to discuss how we can support your compliance needs.

Essential Resources:

This guidance reflects current government requirements as of September 2025. For specific advice regarding your circumstances, consult with professional advisors familiar with Companies House compliance.

Government Nov 5th Update: Furlough extended to March 2021, more grants and increased self-employed support

Government Nov 5th Update: Furlough extended to March 2021, more grants and increased self-employed support

by | Nov 6, 2020 | accounting, Loans, tax

As England goes back into a national lockdown this November the chancellor has announced a new series of measures increasing the support previously announced with the Winter Economic Plan which included the following highlights:

  • Extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme further (the furlough scheme), until the end of March
  • Job Retention Bonus of £1,000 per retained employee will not be paid in February but instead redeployed a retention incentive at the right time
  • Increase the third self-employed grant, covering November to January, from 55% to 80% of trading profits.
Extension of the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme (CJRS): Furlough again at 80%
  • The government is extending the CJRS until the end of March for all parts of the UK. To be reviewed in January to decide whether economic circumstances are improving enough to ask employers to contribute more. The Job Support Scheme is postponed.
  • Eligible employees will receive 80% of their usual salary for hours not worked, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month.
  • Employer flexibility: Businesses will have the flexibility to use the scheme for employees for any amount of time and shift pattern, including furloughing employees full-time.
  • Employer contribution: There will be NO employer contribution to wages for hours not worked. Employers will only be asked to cover National Insurance and Employer pension contributions for hours not worked. For an average claim, this accounts for just 5% of total employment costs or £70 per employee per month.
  • Payment: The extended CJRS will operate as the previous Scheme did, with businesses being able to claim either shortly before, during, or after running payroll. Claims can be made from 8 am Wednesday 11 November. Claims made for November must be submitted to HMRC by no later than 14 December 2020. Claims relating to each subsequent month should be submitted by day 14 of the following month, to ensure prompt claims following the end of the month which is the subject of the claim.
  • Employee eligibility: Neither the employer nor the employee needs to have previously claimed or have been claimed for under CJRS to make a claim under the extended CJRS (if other eligibility criteria are met). An employer can claim for employees who were employed and on their PAYE payroll on 30 October 2020. The employer must have made a PAYE Real Time Information (RTI) submission to HMRC between 20 March 2020 and 30 October 2020, notifying a payment of earnings for that employee.
  • Employees that are re-employed: Employees that were employed and on the payroll on 23 September 2020 (the day before the Job Support Scheme announcement) who were made redundant or stopped working afterwards can be re-employed and claimed for. The employer must have made an RTI submission to HMRC from 20 March 2020 to 23 September 2020, notifying a payment of earnings for those employees.

More support announced for the self-employed at 80% of trading profits capped at £2,500/month
  • The government has recently announced an extension of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme to support self-employed individuals which will be returned the overall level of the grant to 80% of trading profits covering November to January for all parts of the UK. This provides equivalent support to the self-employed as we are providing to employees through the government contribution in the CJRS. It is calculated based on 80% of 3 months’ average trading profits, paid out in a single instalment and capped at £7,500.
  • Timing: HMRC will pay this more generous grant sooner than planned and in time for Christmas – the window for claiming a grant will open on 30 November, two weeks earlier than previously announced.
  • The Government has already announced that there will be a fourth SEISS grant covering February to April. The Government will set out further details, including the level, of the fourth grant in due course.

More financial support for local businesses in England and extension of loan schemes including BBL
  • Businesses in England that are forced to close due to national or local restrictions will receive up to £3,000 per month. This will benefit over 600,000 business premises.
  • 90% of small and medium-sized business premises in the closed Retail, Hospitality, and Leisure sectors should broadly have their monthly rent covered by these grants (based on VOA data on Rateable Values as the best proxy we have for rent).
  • The application deadline for loan schemes – that is, the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, Future Fund, and Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme – has been extended to the end of January 2021. This will give businesses two extra months to make loan applications (relative to the current deadline of 30 November).
  • The Bounce Back Loan Scheme rules will be adjusted to allow those businesses who have borrowed less than their maximum (i.e. the lower of £50,000 or less than 25% of their turnover) to top-up their existing loan. Businesses will be able to take-up this option from next week; they can make use of this option once. Some businesses might not have anticipated the disruption to their business from the pandemic would go on for this long; this will ensure that they are able to benefit from the loan scheme as intended.

To find out what the recent announcement means for your business get in touch via email or phone.

For more information about what has been outlined above the full updates are at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/932977/ECONOMIC_SUPPORT_FACTSHEET_5_November.pdf

#Employer #Employee #Salary #Wages #PAYE #business #update #coronavirus #covid19 #income #support #SEISS 

What you need to know about the Winter Economic Plan: Job Support Scheme | SEISS | Kickstart Scheme | Bounce Back Loans

What you need to know about the Winter Economic Plan: Job Support Scheme | SEISS | Kickstart Scheme | Bounce Back Loans

by | Oct 8, 2020 | latest news, tax

Please see our latest blog article for the more recent updates from the chancellor’s statement on November 5th, 2020

The chancellor announced on September 24th 2020 a series of measures as part of the Winter economic plan with the aim to protect jobs and support businesses over the coming winter months. Central to the plan is a new Job Support Scheme, the extension of the Self Employment Income Support Scheme SEISS and more flexibilities for businesses to help pay back loans.

We have outlined what you need to know as a business owner or self-employed and invite you to reach if you need further clarification or support in implementing these measures for yourself and your business.


The new Job support scheme starts November 1st 2020
  • The Job support scheme takes the place of the current furlough scheme, due to end October 31
  • Employees must be working at least 33% of their usual hours 
  • The Government will pay a third of hours not worked up to a cap, with the employer also contributing a third. This will ensure employees earn a minimum of 77% of their normal wages, where the Government contribution has not been capped.
  • The level of grant will be calculated based on the employee’s usual salary, capped at £697.92 per month.
  • Currently confirmed to be available for six months ending 30 April 2021 
  • Less generous than the current Job Retention Scheme but highly flexible with employees being able to cycle on and off the scheme without the need to keep the same pattern each month. Each short-time working arrangement must cover a minimum period of seven days.
  • Can be combined with the Jobs Retention Bonus (£1,000 one-off payment to employers for every furloughed employee who remains continuously employed through to 31 January 2021)
  • The scheme applies to all employees, whether they have been previously furloughed or actively working. Employees cannot be made redundant or put on notice of redundancy during the period within which their employer is claiming the grant for that employee

Here is an example of how the Job support scheme works:

To help you navigate the complexities and calculate how the scheme could best work for your business get in touch via email or phone.


Tax cuts and deferrals for businesses and self-employed
  • 15% VAT cut for the tourism and hospitality sectors is extended to the end of March 2021
  • If your business has deferred their VAT bills the New Payment Scheme gives you the option to pay back in smaller instalments where rather than paying a lump sum in full at the end March next year, they will be able to make 11 smaller interest-free payments during the 2021-22 financial year.
  • 11 million self-assessment taxpayers will be able to benefit from a separate additional 12-month extension from HMRC on the “Time to Pay” self-service facility, meaning payments deferred from July 2020, and those due in January 2021, will now not need to be paid until January 2022.
Some good news and not so good news for the self-employed
  • The Self Employment Income Support Scheme Grant (SEISS) has been extended to cover three months’ worth of profits for the period from November to the end of January next year. 
  • However, the grant  will cover only 20% of average monthly profits, up to a total of £1,875.
  • The taxable grant will be provided to those who are currently eligible for SEISS and are continuing to actively trade but face reduced demand due to coronavirus.

If you have any questions around taxable grants or your next self-assessment tax return due to January 2021 book a call or send us an email


Bounce back loans have been extended
  • More than 1.17 million ‘bounce back loans’ have been issued since the scheme launched in May and applications have been extended to the end of November
  • Your business can borrow between £2,000 and £50,000 capped at 25% of your total turnover
  • No interest will be charged and no repayments will need to be made in the first 12 months and after 12 months, all banks will charge a fixed 2.5% annual interest.
  • Bounce back loans may be extended from six years terms to ten, which will cut monthly repayments by nearly half. 
  • Interest-only periods of up to six months and payment holidays will be available 

If you are interested in applying for a Bounce Back Loan from £2,000 – £50,000 or have already taken out a loan and want to verify how these updates affect your cash-flow get in touch to book a financial assessment call.

 

Kickstart scheme to support employment for young people
  • You can create 6-month job placements for young people who are currently on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment
  • And organisation regardless of size can apply for funding. If you have fewer than 30 job placements to offer we can put you in touch with an organisation that can apply on your behalf
  • Funding available for each job will cover the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus the associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions. 
  • The job placements created with Kickstart funding must be new jobs. They must not replace existing or planned vacancies or cause existing employees or contractors to lose or reduce their employment
  • The roles you are applying for must be: a minimum of 25 hours per week, for 6 months and paid at least the National Minimum Wage for their age group. Roles should not require people to undertake extensive training before they begin the job placement
  • The government will initially prioritise young people aged between 16 and 24 who are ready for an opportunity  will be supported by their Jobcentre Plus work coach to enrol in the scheme.

To find out what the Winter Economic Plan means for your business get in touch via email or phone.

 #Employer #Employee #Salary #Wages #PAYE #business #update #coronavirus #covid19 #income #support #SEISS 

Contractors – Tax Update

Contractors – Tax Update

by | Oct 11, 2018 | accounting, latest news

Plans have been revealed that the Treasury is due to overhaul tax rules which allow self-employed people to avoid paying national insurance contributions. The move will be targeted at people who set themselves up as private Limited companies to take on work.

 

As announced on the BBC today, this reform could be announced in the October Budget.

 

The Treasury believes a third of people claiming self-employed status as a “personal service company” are actually full-time employees and should be paying more tax. It says without reform, high levels of non-compliance with tax rules could cost HM Revenue and Customs, which collects taxes, £1.2bn a year by 2023.

 

It is now looking at demanding that firms which use personal service company contractors take legal responsibility for ensuring “off-payroll” contractors stick to the tax rules known as IR35. A similar move in the public sector on “synthetic” self-employed has raised £410m extra in taxes since 2016, HMRC estimates suggest.

 

Full employees pay higher levels of national insurance compared with these Contractors. Personal income tax allowances could be frozen, despite a Tory pledge at the 2017 election that they would rise to £12,500 for lower rate taxpayers and £50,000 for higher rate taxpayers by 2020. Freezing them could raise up to £2bn a year. Reform of the IR35 rules is questionable whether it would raise as much.

 

Source – BBC UK News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45822650

Subscribe to our newsletter

Services

Services

Company

Let's Connect

E: info@acuaccounts.com
T: 0203 907 9027

Copyright © Acuaccounts 2019  |  Privacy Policy  |  Website by FireStar Digital