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Coddan CPM Ltd. – Company Registration Agent in the UK

Follow the practical journey of your Companies House Personal Code as you manage key corporate changes and maintain compliance throughout your company's lifecycle.

Step 1
Understand Compliance Duties
Step 2
Review Corporate Changes
Step 3
Protect Verified Identity
Step 4
Complete Statutory Updates
Step 5
Secure Company Records
Step 6
Maintain Ongoing Compliance
Companies Registry's e-Services Portal Identity Verification Director ID Verification The Director’s Digital Passport: Managing Your Companies House Personal Code

The Director’s Digital Passport: Managing Your Companies House Personal Code

Manage, Protect and Recover Access to Your Companies House Personal Code

Once Companies House has issued your Personal Code, the practical task changes from verification to access, protection and appropriate use of the code. The code has 11 characters, belongs to you as the verified individual rather than to a company, and ordinarily remains associated with you when you have more than one applicable role or appointment. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

This page helps you establish what to do if you can access the code, cannot locate it, did not receive it after ACSP verification, need to share it for a legitimate filing, or believe it has been disclosed or compromised.

I have the code

Keep it accessible and protected. It is personal to you and should only be shared where a legitimate filing on your behalf requires it.

I cannot find it

The recovery route depends on whether you verified through GOV.UK One Login or an ACSP and whether the issue concerns account access, email delivery or the information supplied.

I need to share it

A trusted person or authorised agent may receive the code where they are legitimately filing on your behalf.

I think it was compromised

Companies House can change a Personal Code where it has been shared or compromised. Coddan does not replace the code.

Support available does not mean support required. If your code is accessible, secure and every presently applicable role-related action is complete, Nothing Further Required may be the correct outcome.

Access, Protect and Recover Your Personal Code According to How It Was Issued

Verified through GOV.UK One Login

Sign in to your Companies House account and use Manage account to view your Personal Code. Companies House guidance also states that, for identity verification completed through GOV.UK One Login after 8 July 2026, the code is sent by email as well. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

If you have not yet completed identity verification, the legitimate free GOV.UK One Login route remains available where you meet the applicable service requirements.

Verified through an ACSP

Companies House sends the Personal Code to the email address supplied by the ACSP. If you did not receive it, first check with the ACSP which email address was provided. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

If the ACSP supplied an incorrect email address, the ACSP needs to correct the relevant information. Where the supplied address is correct but the code has not arrived, the current Companies House guidance provides a route to contact Companies House.

If you cannot access or locate the code

Establish which problem you actually have before treating it as a missing Personal Code:

  • the identity verification may not have completed successfully;
  • you may be using the wrong email address or Companies House account route;
  • an ACSP may have supplied incorrect contact information;
  • the code email may not have been received even though the relevant information is correct; or
  • you may simply need to access a code that has already been saved to your Companies House account.

If the remaining issue concerns the underlying identity-verification result rather than access to an issued Personal Code, use the identity-verification issues and post-verification reconciliation destination instead.

Keep the Code Secure Without Treating It as a Company Credential

Your Personal Code is a personal Companies House identifier. It is not a password, government identity document, company asset or general filing credential. The term “digital passport” is used here only as an explanatory metaphor; it is not an official Companies House term.

Keep it accessible

Keep the code available through the appropriate Companies House account route where applicable, rather than relying solely on an old email.

Protect access

Treat the code as information that should only be disclosed when there is a legitimate reason for another person to use it on your behalf.

Review sharing requests

Check who is requesting the code, which role or filing requires it and whether the request genuinely relates to a Companies House process.

Companies House guidance permits you to share the Personal Code with people you trust to file on your behalf, such as an agent or accountant. The code should therefore not be treated as information that can never be shared, but neither does every employee, adviser, company or service provider need permanent access to it. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

Share the Code Only for a Legitimate Filing Need

Before providing your Personal Code to another person, establish the purpose and authority for the request.

Who?

Identify the person, company or authorised agent requesting the code.

Why?

Identify the exact director, PSC or other applicable Companies House filing.

Authority?

Establish that the person is legitimately acting on your behalf for that filing.

How?

Consider how the code will be transmitted and stored once provided.

Sharing the code for one legitimate filing does not create a general entitlement to retain or reuse it for unrelated company administration.

If You Believe the Code Has Been Shared or Compromised

If you believe someone has obtained or misused your Personal Code, do not treat this as a new identity-verification application. Companies House states that it can change a Personal Code where it has been shared or compromised and will send a new code by email while cancelling the previous code. The current route is to contact Companies House to request the change. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}

Coddan does not create, issue, retrieve, replace or control the Personal Code. Companies House remains responsible for issuing or changing it. Where the underlying issue instead concerns incorrect information supplied during ACSP verification, Coddan may assist with the appropriate correction or contact process.

Multiple Companies, Multiple Roles and Nothing Further Required

The Personal Code belongs to the individual, not to one company. The same code is ordinarily used when the individual needs to confirm their verified status for different applicable appointments. A person who is both a director and a PSC does not ordinarily repeat identity verification merely because they hold both roles, although the director and PSC roles remain separate and each applicable role-related process must be completed. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}

The code remains yours

Having several companies or applicable roles does not turn the Personal Code into a separate company credential.

The connected process remains separate

Holding the code does not itself complete director-role linkage, PSC-role linkage, incorporation, appointment, Confirmation Statement or another corporate event.

Nothing Further Required

If your Personal Code is accessible and appropriately protected, no recovery or management issue remains, and every presently applicable role-related and corporate process has been completed, Nothing Further Required may apply. Do not create additional work merely because the Personal Code continues to exist.

If the remaining question is how the Personal Code must be provided for a director, PSC, appointment or Confirmation Statement, use the dedicated Using the Personal Code destination rather than treating that filing task as Personal Code management.

If the question is instead what the Personal Code is, who issues it or how it is initially received, use the Understanding and Receiving the Personal Code destination.

Optional professional support: Coddan support may be relevant where the Participant needs appropriate assistance with an ACSP-related correction or a defined Companies House identity-verification matter. Support available does not mean support required.

Where Coddan-supported identity verification is relevant, technology performs the applicable identity and document checks; Coddan reviews the resulting information; Coddan determines whether it is satisfied that the Companies House standard has been met; and, following a successful outcome, Coddan performs its applicable notification responsibility. Coddan cannot order Companies House to issue a Personal Code, control the checking technology's result or replace a Personal Code.


Start Your Business Today: Fast Formation Services to Meet All Compliance Standards

Ensure compliance with Companies House through rapid, secure ID verification for Directors and PSCs. Complete the process online with an authorized ACSP

treamline your compliance with Companies House using our fast, secure ID verification for Directors and PSCs, all completed online by an authorized ACSP
£40.00
+VAT

IdentityGuard Pro™

Recommended for

1
package

Buy Now Identity Verification Bundle™ (Professional Director Identity Verification) – Standard Verification Where No Personal Code Has Yet Been Issued for £40.
The Identity Verification Bundle™ provides a fast, secure and professionally managed Standard Verification Route where investigation shows that a director does not have a Personal Code because Companies House identity verification has not yet been completed. The participant supplies the required personal information and eligible identity evidence, the technology performs the applicable identity and document checks, and Coddan reviews the resulting information through its Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) framework. Coddan then determines whether it is satisfied that the applicable Companies House identity-verification standard has been met. Following a successful outcome, Coddan performs its notification responsibility and Companies House separately issues the Personal Code. The package does not retrieve, reproduce or replace a code that already exists. It provides an economical digital verification pathway for an ordinary UK or overseas director whose eligible documents and personal information are suitable for the standard process.

For £40 plus VAT, the package covers one professionally supported director identity-verification application. Before ordering, establish whether verification is genuinely outstanding. If you verified through GOV.UK One Login, check the Companies House account connected with the same email address. If an ACSP verified you, first establish which email address it supplied to Companies House. A missing email or inaccessible account does not automatically mean that verification failed. Likewise, a compromised Personal Code should normally be changed through Companies House rather than through a new identity check. Review our Personal Code issue and receipt guidance before purchasing another service. Where verification truly remains incomplete, the standard package provides a simple and affordable starting point. Applicants facing a genuine deadline may compare the £65 priority route. Code management, role linkage, appointment filings, PSC submissions and Confirmation Statements remain separate from the identity-verification service.



£65.00
+VAT

RapidVerify Pro™

Recommended for

2
package

Buy Now Fast-Track Expert Director ID Verification™ (Priority Director Identity Verification Service) – Priority Verification Where a Personal Code Is Still Required for £65.
The Fast-Track Expert Director ID Verification™ service provides a professionally managed Priority Verification Route where identity verification remains incomplete and a Personal Code will be required for a time-sensitive appointment, incorporation or filing. The participant submits the required information and eligible evidence, secure technology performs the applicable identity and document checks, and Coddan reviews the resulting information through its regulated ACSP framework. Where the selected route is appropriate, all required information has been received and no additional enquiry or verification issue arises, Coddan targets its applicable processing within one business day. This is Coddan's handling target, not a promise that Companies House will issue the Personal Code within that period. If Coddan becomes satisfied that the required standard has been met, it performs its applicable notification responsibility. Companies House then independently controls creation and delivery of the code.

For £65 plus VAT, the service gives one director identity-verification application priority attention within Coddan's workflow. It may be appropriate where the absence of completed verification affects a proposed directorship, company formation, Confirmation Statement or another genuine corporate deadline. Priority handling cannot lower the evidence standard, force the checking technology to pass an application or accelerate Companies House's separate code-issuance process. It also cannot recover or replace a code that Companies House has already issued. If the code exists but must be provided for a director, PSC or company filing, use our guide to using the Companies House Personal Code instead. If the code has been disclosed or compromised, Companies House controls its cancellation and replacement. This package is therefore fast-track handling of genuinely outstanding verification, not priority Personal Code management. Without a genuine deadline, the standard £40 package may provide the appropriate service level.



£125.00
+VAT

VerifyFlex Solutions™

Recommended for

3
package

Buy Now Expert Director ID Verification™ (Professional Director Verification Service) – Two Verification Pathways Where Personal Code Issue Remains Outstanding for £125.
The Expert Director ID Verification™ service provides a flexible Two-Pathway Verification Route where a director has no Personal Code because identity verification remains incomplete and the appropriate evidence route requires consideration. The digital pathway uses applicable identity-document validation technology where the participant and document are suitable. Where that process is inappropriate, an alternative professionally managed pathway allows relevant evidence to be examined under the applicable Companies House standard. Coddan reviews the resulting information and decides whether it is satisfied that the required standard has been met. The package can help where a prior digital attempt did not complete or the available document cannot confidently be assigned to the ordinary route, but it does not overturn an earlier outcome or guarantee that either pathway will succeed. Following successful verification and Coddan's applicable notification, Companies House separately issues the Personal Code. Coddan cannot create, retrieve or replace that code itself.

For £125 plus VAT, the package provides two professionally managed verification pathways for one director application, with guidance on the route appropriate to the evidence presented. An unsuccessful or incomplete earlier attempt should first be understood: the problem may concern the information supplied, available evidence, selected process, email address or access to a code that already exists. Do not purchase another verification service merely because the Personal Code cannot be found or connected to a particular role. The same individual code is ordinarily used across applicable directorships and roles, while each director, PSC or filing process remains separate. If the real issue is an incorrect code, mismatched details or information previously supplied through an ACSP, use the identity-verification and Personal Code support route. Where verification is genuinely incomplete but neither available pathway suits the evidence, proceed to the individually assessed £220 option. This package provides verification-route flexibility, not ongoing code custody.



£220.00
+VAT

FlexiVerify Option™

Recommended for

4
package

Buy Now FlexiVerify Option™ (Expert Manual Director ID Verification Service) – Individually Assessed Verification Where No Personal Code Can Yet Be Issued for £220.
The FlexiVerify Option™ provides a professionally managed Individual Assessment Route where a director cannot progress through the standard digital pathway and identity verification genuinely remains incomplete. It may be appropriate where biometric verification is unavailable or unsuitable, documents are non-standard, personal information requires closer examination or the applicable evidence combination needs professional assessment. Experienced compliance professionals examine the information and evidence under the applicable Companies House standard rather than relying solely on an automated outcome. Depending on the prescribed route and evidence, verification may be completed remotely or may require an appropriate in-person element. Coddan can request and assess additional evidence, but cannot order a technology provider to pass the application, overturn a GOV.UK or Post Office outcome, reduce the verification standard or guarantee success. If Coddan becomes satisfied and completes its notification responsibility, Companies House separately controls whether and when the Personal Code is issued.

The fixed fee is £220 plus VAT for one individually assessed director identity-verification application. It reflects the additional professional work required to examine a non-standard evidence position and maintain the applicable verification record. It does not purchase a successful result, a replacement Personal Code or privileged access to Companies House. If a code has already been issued but cannot be located, first check the relevant Companies House account, email route and information supplied by the verifying ACSP. If the code has been shared or compromised, Companies House can cancel it and issue a replacement; that event should not be converted into another identity-verification application. Holding several companies or being both a director and PSC also does not ordinarily require repeat verification. Once access, security and every presently applicable role action are complete, Nothing Further Required may be the correct outcome. Where a digital or alternative route remains suitable, compare the two-pathway £125 package. FlexiVerify is an individual verification service, not Personal Code recovery, storage or replacement.





Manage your Companies House Personal Code with confidence after it has been issued.

Your 11-character Companies House Personal Code is personal to you. This page explains how to keep it accessible, decide when it may legitimately need to be shared, diagnose access or delivery problems, and respond appropriately if it has been disclosed or compromised.

Already have your Personal Code?

Keep access to the email address and Companies House account associated with your verification, and save the code using an appropriate secure method.

Cannot find or access it?

First identify whether the issue concerns delivery, email or account access, incorrect information, or a separate role-linkage or filing requirement.

Start by identifying your Personal Code position

Personal Code management begins with identifying what has actually happened. The appropriate next step is different where the code is available, where it was never received, where access has been lost, or where the code has already been supplied to someone legitimately filing on your behalf.

Your code is available

If you can access the code and there is no disclosure or access concern, the appropriate outcome may simply be to retain it securely and keep the relevant account or email access available.

Your code cannot be found

Establish which verification route you used and whether the code should be available through your Companies House account or the email address supplied during verification.

Your code was shared

Sharing with a trusted person who is legitimately filing on your behalf is different from an unexpected request, accidental wider disclosure or suspected compromise.

Support available does not mean support required. Use the appropriate free Companies House route where it resolves the issue. Professional support is relevant only where there is a genuine task for Coddan to perform.

Understand exactly what your Personal Code is — and is not

A personal Companies House identifier

Companies House issues a Personal Code after successful identity verification. It is an 11-character code belonging to the verified individual rather than to a company. The same person can use the same code in relation to relevant companies and roles.

The Personal Code is not a password, an identity document, a company asset or proof that every subsequent role-related or corporate requirement has been completed. Possessing the code does not itself complete director or PSC linkage, an appointment, a Confirmation Statement or another corporate filing.

Coddan uses the expression “digital passport” as an explanatory description. It is not the name of an official Companies House document or government term.

It belongs to you

The code is personal to the verified individual, not to a company or an adviser.

It can be changed

Companies House can change the Personal Code where its guidance provides for this, including where a code has been shared or compromised.

It does not complete every next step

Verification, code issuance, role linkage and corporate filings are separate parts of the Companies House process.

Find and retain access to your Personal Code

The route used for verification affects where you should look

Companies House provides different access arrangements depending on how identity verification was completed. The Post Office route is part of the GOV.UK One Login process; it is not a separate identity-verification regime.

GOV.UK One Login

Sign in to Companies House using the same email address used for verification and go to Manage account to view the Personal Code. For successful verification after 8 July 2026, Companies House also sends the code by email.

Post Office as part of One Login

If identity was proved at a Post Office through the GOV.UK One Login process, the successful result allows the participant to continue to the Companies House service and view the Personal Code in the Companies House account.

Authorised Corporate Service Provider

Where an ACSP completed the verification, Companies House issues the Personal Code to the email address supplied through the process. The ACSP does not create or issue the code.

If an ACSP supplied an incorrect email address, contact that ACSP because it may need to correct the verification details it provided. If the email address is correct but the code has not arrived, contact Companies House and ask for the ACSP team; Companies House can resend the email containing the code.

Read the current Companies House Personal Code guidance

Save and protect access without overcomplicating it

Practical Personal Code management

Companies House recommends keeping the Personal Code safe. A proportionate approach is to retain access to the relevant email address and Companies House account and save the code through an appropriate secure method that the individual can access when a legitimate Companies House process requires it.

  • Keep access to the email address associated with the verification process.
  • Where appropriate, save the code to the Companies House account so it remains accessible there.
  • Avoid unnecessary copying, publication or circulation of the code.
  • Keep the Personal Code distinct from GOV.UK One Login credentials.
  • Do not attach unnecessary identity-document information to a stored copy of the code.

There is no need to prescribe one universal technical storage method. The important distinction is between maintaining appropriate personal access and circulating the code unnecessarily.

Share your Personal Code only for a legitimate filing purpose

Trusted filing does not transfer ownership of the code

The Personal Code does not have to remain exclusively in the individual's hands in every circumstance. Companies House guidance permits a person to share the code with someone they trust when that person is legitimately filing on their behalf.

Before sharing it, establish:

  • who is requesting the code;
  • which company, role or filing is involved;
  • whether the recipient has proper authority;
  • whether the code is genuinely required for that Companies House process;
  • how the information will be transferred and stored; and
  • whether continued access is necessary after the filing task is complete.

An accountant, company secretary, formation agent or other adviser does not become the owner of the Personal Code merely because they receive it for an authorised filing.

Respond appropriately if your Personal Code has been shared or compromised

Different situations require different responses

Legitimate sharing

Sharing with a trusted person who is genuinely filing on your behalf is different from unauthorised disclosure.

Unexpected request

Establish who is requesting the code and why before disclosing it. Do not rely solely on contact details supplied in an unexpected message.

Possible compromise

If you believe the code has been shared or compromised, contact Companies House and follow its current process for changing the code.

Companies House controls the code. Where a code has been shared or compromised, Companies House can change it, sends the new code by email and cancels the previous code.

Coddan cannot replace, cancel, deactivate or reissue the Personal Code and cannot require Companies House to issue one.

Follow the current Companies House process for a shared or compromised Personal Code

Diagnose missing-code, access and record problems separately

Do not repeat identity verification simply because access has failed

A missing or unusable Personal Code does not automatically mean that identity verification must be repeated. Establish which part of the process has failed before choosing a remedy.

Verification was not completed

This is an identity-verification issue rather than a Personal Code management issue. Move to the appropriate verification route or reconciliation destination.

Verification succeeded but the code is missing

Check the route used, the relevant email address and the Companies House account. For ACSP verification, the ACSP should confirm the information supplied.

The code does not connect to the record

An incorrectly entered code, incorrect date of birth or incorrect details supplied through an ACSP can prevent the verified identity from being connected correctly.

The remaining problem is role-related

If the code is available but director or PSC linkage remains incomplete, the issue concerns use of the code rather than management or recovery of it.

Where Coddan supplied incorrect information through its applicable ACSP notification process, Coddan may assist with the appropriate correction or Companies House contact process. It cannot guarantee the outcome or recover the code directly.

Move to the failed-verification and post-verification reconciliation destination

Know when Personal Code management is complete

Management is separate from using the code

Your Personal Code may later be needed for a director role, a separate PSC role, an appointment, a Confirmation Statement or another applicable Companies House process. Those uses belong to the relevant professional destination; they are not the same job as keeping the code accessible and appropriately controlled.

One individual may be connected with several companies and may hold both director and PSC roles. Identity verification is not ordinarily repeated merely because the individual has several companies or roles, but director and PSC requirements remain separate and the Personal Code does not automatically complete every linkage or filing.

If use is the remaining task

Move to the dedicated Using the Personal Code destination rather than repeating its complete instructions here.

Using the Personal Code

If receipt or meaning is the remaining task

Use the separate destination explaining what the Personal Code is and how it is received.

Understanding and receiving the Personal Code

If no professional task remains

Nothing Further Required may be the correct result where the Personal Code remains securely accessible, there is no inappropriate disclosure or access problem, all currently applicable role-related use is complete and no separate corporate event remains.

Multiple companies, overseas circumstances and later-stage requirements

Keep the Personal Code question proportionate

The Personal Code remains personal to the individual whether that person is connected with one company or several. Overseas residence does not change ownership of the code. An overseas participant may nevertheless have practical questions about access to the notified email, the verification route originally used, differences in personal information or a separate international documentary issue.

Genuine international identity or documentary problems should move to the appropriate specialist verification destination rather than turning Personal Code management into a general international-verification guide.

This director-silo page does not attempt to define every LLP or partnership obligation. Current official guidance separates directors or equivalent roles and PSCs from requirements that are due to be introduced later for limited partnerships, corporate members of LLPs and other filing Participants. An LLP member, general partner or other Participant should therefore follow the rule and implementation phase applying to that exact capacity rather than assume that the director timetable applies.

Dissolution, restoration, outstanding accounts, a Confirmation Statement, an appointment or another corporate event remains a separate professional task. A Personal Code does not itself restore a company or LLP, complete outstanding filings or reinstate an officer's role.

What Coddan can and cannot do with your Personal Code

Optional ACSP support where there is a genuine professional task

Coddan is registered with Companies House as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). That status does not make Coddan the issuer or controller of an individual's Personal Code, and it does not make professional support mandatory.

What Coddan cannot do

  • create or issue a Personal Code;
  • order Companies House to issue one;
  • control when Companies House sends it;
  • retrieve it directly from Companies House for the individual;
  • replace or cancel it;
  • guarantee access, resolution or a successful filing;
  • bypass GOV.UK or Companies House; or
  • lower the Companies House identity-verification standard.

Where Coddan-supported verification is relevant

The applicable process is separated into its respective responsibilities:

  1. technology performs the applicable identity and document checks;
  2. Coddan reviews the resulting information;
  3. Coddan determines whether it is satisfied that the Companies House standard has been met; and
  4. following a successful outcome, Coddan performs its applicable notification responsibility.

Companies House ACSP registration should also be distinguished from HMRC anti-money-laundering supervision. Personal Code management is separate from AML, KYC and CDD.

Keep the official route visible

Use the free route where it resolves the issue

Companies House and GOV.UK provide the primary routes for verifying identity, accessing and managing the Personal Code, and resolving code-related issues. Coddan support is optional and should be used only where there is a genuine professional task.

The identity-verification timetable is role-dependent. Current official guidance separates directors or equivalent roles and PSCs from roles scheduled for later introduction, so no universal November 2026 deadline should be applied to every Participant.