The role of Companies House identity verification in corporate transparency

Start with what the requirement is intended to establish

Companies House identity verification is a legal requirement for applicable individuals. Its purpose is to make it more difficult for a person to use a false or misappropriated identity and to improve the transparency, trust and accuracy of information on the Companies House register.

Navigating Companies House identity verification doesn’t have to be a headache. Coddan CPM's fast-track ID verification for Companies House is designed for UK and overseas directors and people with significant control (PSCs) who need to get verified quickly and correctly. Coddan walks you through exactly what applies to your situation, supports you via the Credas app, and flags any outstanding tasks along the way. The process is straightforward—have your passport or driving licence ready, download the ID verification app, and you’re typically done in 5–10 minutes. Whether you’re after same-day ID verification for Companies House or just want a smooth, supported experience without the guesswork, Coddan takes the complexity out of compliance so you can get back to running your business.

For UK and overseas directors and people with significant control (PSCs), understanding what verification establishes helps avoid confusing an identity check with a company filing. Coddan can explain what remains and provide suitable supported verification, with professional review and personal-manager help. The guidance below distinguishes that service from the free official route, existing verification and later company work. If a relevant date is approaching, our fast track ID verification guidance explains priority handling and its processing target.

What identity verification contributes to the Companies House register

Why reliable identification matters

What identity verification can—and cannot—establish

A defined legal function, not a universal compliance solution

Identity verification concerns the identity of the individual. It does not, by itself, determine whether a proposed appointment is valid, whether a filing is complete or whether every continuing company obligation has been satisfied.

The appropriate outcome may be verification, use of a Personal Code, a role-related action, a separate corporate event, another legitimate route or nothing further.

Verified identity, corporate roles and the Companies House record

A verified identity belongs to the individual. The individual may hold several roles and may be connected with more than one company, but each applicable role-related requirement still has to be addressed through the relevant Companies House process.

Who is currently required to verify

Identify the individual’s actual role before applying the requirement

Current Companies House guidance covers directors, applicable equivalent officers, directors of overseas companies registered in the UK, people with significant control and individuals registering as Authorised Corporate Service Providers. Individual LLP members may fall within the applicable equivalent-officer requirements.

Requirements for people who file, limited partnerships, corporate directors, corporate LLP members and officers of corporate PSCs are described by Companies House as later phases unless and until the relevant requirement is officially commenced.

Why the applicable timing depends on the person’s role

Why there is no single deadline for every role

Commencement is not the same as one universal completion date

Mandatory identity verification commenced for relevant cohorts on 18 November 2025, but that date did not create one identical deadline for every director, PSC or company. The applicable date can depend on a Confirmation Statement, appointment, incorporation, PSC circumstances, birth month or entry on the Companies House register.

Check the dates for your role on the Companies House register and in current official timing guidance. There is no single November 2026 deadline applying identically to everyone.

What happens after successful identity verification

Companies House issues your Personal Code after successful verification. For Coddan-supported verification, it emails the code to the address provided for you after our ACSP confirmation. Completing your Credas checks is an earlier stage; your manager can explain whether review or submission remains. If the email is missing, check spam or junk and ask your manager to check the submitted address. If that address is correct, contact Companies House and ask its ACSP team to resend the email.

Personal Code or company authentication code?

An electronic Confirmation Statement may need both codes for different purposes, depending on the filing route. Neither replaces the other, a company registration number or a GOV.UK One Login password. Describe the intended task to your manager without sending codes in an ordinary enquiry; we explain what is needed and the appropriate secure process. Holding a code does not authorise unrequested future filings.

Identity verification, the Personal Code, role linkage and company filings

Four related but separate stages

1. 1. VerificationThe individual’s identity is checked through an applicable route.
2. 2. Personal CodeCompanies House issues the code following successful verification.
3. 3. Role-related actionThe code is provided for each applicable role through the relevant process.
4. 4. Corporate eventFormation, appointment or filing remains a separate legal and administrative event.

Incorporation and director appointments remain separate corporate events

Verification may be required in connection with forming a company or appointing a director, but completing the identity check does not incorporate the company or complete the appointment. Each event has its own information, authority and filing requirements.

Director and PSC role requirements must be addressed separately

A person can be both a director and a person with significant control of the same company. The same Personal Code belongs to that individual, but it must be provided separately for the director and PSC roles through the applicable processes.

Completing one role-related step does not automatically complete the other.

Example: an individual living overseas

An individual living outside the UK may need to verify because of a role connected with a UK company. Overseas residence does not, by itself, establish that the case is complex or that paid support is required.

The appropriate route depends on the person’s actual role, documents and circumstances, together with the options supported at the time.

Example: one individual holding more than one corporate role

A verified individual may be a director of several companies and a PSC of one or more of them. The Personal Code belongs to that person, but each applicable company and role still needs its own relevant action. Verification packages cover one individual, not each appointment: being both a director and PSC does not itself require two purchases.

Verify directly with Companies House or choose Coddan’s supported service

Choose according to suitability, not pressure

The straightforward UK service is £40.00 + £8.00 VAT = £48.00 payable for one individual. Choose a published verification service and order, or enquire about document suitability first. For overseas instructions, confirm the applicable tax treatment and total. Additional document work, priority handling and company filings have separate scope and charges.

Choose for the documents, assistance and remaining work you need. Neither route guarantees acceptance, and accepted existing verification need not be purchased again. Detailed guidance on Coddan’s supported process explains preparation and participation.

What an Authorised Corporate Service Provider is responsible for

Professional responsibility remains with the ACSP

When verifying an individual, an ACSP must meet the Companies House identity-verification standard. If it uses a commercial platform, it must still be satisfied that the required steps have been completed and be able to explain and evidence its decision.

Coddan CPM Limited appears on the Companies House public ACSP list with HMRC as its AML supervisor. Our professional responsibility includes considering unresolved information, reaching a supported decision and keeping required records. Registration identifies the responsible provider; it does not imply government endorsement or guarantee an outcome.

Identity evidence is handled through the supported secure process, rather than an ordinary initial enquiry. The ACSP standard requires verification evidence and check records to be retained for seven years from completion of identity verification. Document images are not published as company filings. After you connect your verified identity to Companies House records, its public verification statement identifies you, the verification date, ACSP and AML supervisor. Read Companies House’s explanation and Coddan’s privacy policy.

Technology checks and the ACSP’s professional decision

Fast track ID verification: preparation, checks and professional review

Coddan reviews your order, creates your Credas case and arranges the email or SMS invitation. You provide accurate personal details and suitable evidence, then complete your own supported checks, including liveness. Your manager gives instructions, explains outstanding questions and updates your order and verification status by email or telephone. That assistance is distinct from separately selected priority handling.

Credas performs the applicable identity and document checks. Coddan reviews the results, clarifies missing or inconsistent information and decides whether the Companies House standard has been met. When satisfied, Coddan manually submits verification confirmation through its ACSP account. Companies House then issues the code. Manual review and submission do not establish an independent manual-verification service outside Credas.

For customers seeking one day ID verification, RapidVerify Pro provides priority handling of Coddan’s work. The processing target is one business day where the supported route is suitable, all required information and individual checks are complete, and no further enquiries or verification issues arise. This is a business-day processing target, rather than a promise of completion within 24 hours of ordering. Companies House issues the Personal Code separately; code delivery, role linkage and company filings are outside this target. Choose the published priority service, or tell your manager your relevant date and document position before ordering.

If an invitation is missing, will not open or looks doubtful, contact your manager using the details for your order or Coddan’s published contact details. Ask us to confirm the invitation before following it; a displayed sender name alone is not proof. Do not send identity evidence or confidential codes in an ordinary initial email.

International documents and overseas circumstances

Document suitability depends on the available route

An overseas address, international passport or different naming convention may affect which route and evidence can be used. It does not automatically make the person unsuitable for the free route or require professional assistance.

Before starting, have your full name and former names, date of birth, home address and requested address history, accurate email and telephone details, suitable documents and a camera-equipped device for capture and liveness checks. Explain name or address differences early. For document photographs, use good lighting, avoid glare and keep the whole document clear and in frame, following the invitation’s instructions.

Unsure whether your evidence is supported? Describe the document type and issuing country at info@coddan.co.uk before ordering, without attaching evidence. Tell us about a device, camera or liveness difficulty so we can establish what assistance is available. Companies House’s permitted evidence and Credas’s general capabilities do not establish that every option is enabled in Coddan’s service; we confirm the supported route for your circumstances.

Companies House identity verification is separate from AML, KYC and CDD

Different compliance purposes must remain distinct

Some evidence may overlap, but neither obligation automatically completes the other. Tell your manager what checks you have already completed; we establish what remains and whether information is suitable for the instructed work. Automatic evidence reuse is not assumed, and two obligations do not automatically mean two paid verification packages. HMRC explains the separate customer due-diligence purpose.

When identity verification is not the task that remains

Identify what has already happened before choosing a destination

The remaining job may concern the Personal Code, a director or PSC role, an appointment, company formation, a Confirmation Statement, another filing or a discrepancy in the company record. Those destinations should be considered on their own terms.

If the individual has already been verified

In most cases, Companies House says an individual should verify only once and should not verify again unless instructed. The next question is whether the Personal Code or an applicable role-related action remains.

If a verification attempt has not succeeded

An unclear photograph, interrupted check, unsuitable document and mismatch in a company record are different problems. Tell your manager where the check stopped and what message appeared, without sending sensitive evidence in an ordinary enquiry. Coddan investigates what information is needed and explains the supported next step. Where instructed, manual document review can help identify why the app did not accept it; this remains Credas-supported verification.

Clearer evidence, clarification, a supported retry or another legitimate route may be appropriate. Check included work and any further charge before arranging additional attempts or document work. An interrupted or unsuccessful check is not automatically a reason to buy verification again.

If you wish to cancel, cannot supply suitable evidence or receive an unsuccessful result, contact your manager to establish the work completed and the applicable cancellation or refund position. These are different circumstances; payment does not guarantee verification.

If the Personal Code or role-linkage step remains

Get help with the remaining code or role step

A person who has already verified should not be returned automatically to another verification service. The appropriate destination may instead explain the Personal Code or the process for providing it for a director or PSC role.

If an appointment, formation or filing remains

Use the destination for the actual corporate event

You can arrange suitable limited-company formation or existing-company administration through Coddan alongside supported verification, including for a company formed elsewhere. Each appointment, incorporation or filing still has its own information, authority, scope and charges. Verification alone does not complete it, and a Personal Code is not required for every administrative task.

When nothing further may be required

You can finish without another purchase

If the applicable verification, Personal Code and role-related requirements have already been completed and no connected corporate event remains, another Coddan service may not be necessary.

Find help for your next verification-related step

Ask about the help you need before ordering

Email info@coddan.co.uk with your role, current verification or code position, relevant company name or number, difficulty and any relevant date. You need not diagnose the technical solution. Coddan explains suitable work and charges before you decide; an enquiry creates no obligation. Identity evidence and confidential codes follow the appropriate secure process.

Ask about the available written service agreement, engagement letter or service schedule recording selected work, charges and your Coddan contact. You can order a suitable published service directly without first requesting a quotation.

Check current Companies House guidance before acting

Regulatory information can change

Guidance reviewed on 19 October 2026. Check the current Companies House requirements and the dates for your individual role before acting. Supported evidence, commencement stages and filing procedures can change.

Frequently asked questions about the role of identity verification