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, describe access or delivery problems, and respond appropriately if it has been disclosed or compromised.

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.

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.

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.

If an ACSP supplied an incorrect email address, contact that ACSP and ask it to contact Companies House through the appropriate correction process. If the address supplied is correct but the code has not arrived, follow the current Companies House contact guidance. This does not automatically require another verification check.

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

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

Get help with missing-code, access and record problems

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. Describe the route used, the last completed step and any message received so the appropriate next action can be explained.

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.

Get help with a verification or personal-code issue

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. Follow the relevant role or filing guidance for those tasks; they are separate from keeping your 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.

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.

If verification is still outstanding and document suitability is unclear, tell Coddan the document type, issuing country and any genuine record differences. Living overseas alone does not mean specialist verification is required.

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.

Companies House ACSP registration should also be distinguished from HMRC anti-money-laundering supervision. Companies House identity verification establishes the individual’s verified identity for applicable official requirements. AML, KYC and CDD customer checks concern the provider’s customer relationship and relevant evidence or risk. A personal code does not automatically satisfy those checks, nor does an earlier customer check automatically complete Companies House verification. Coddan explains the information needed and whether evidence can appropriately be reused.

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.

If verification itself is still outstanding, the free GOV.UK One Login route and Coddan’s supported verification services and ordering options remain available. Each route has its own supported evidence and personal-participation requirements. Ask about document suitability before ordering if unsure; code access alone is not a reason to repeat accepted verification. Charges for selected verification concern the individual, not each role or company.

If a separate appointment, Confirmation Statement, formation or other supported company task remains, Coddan can explain the work, prepare and check agreed information, coordinate your approval and handle authorised submission. You need not have formed the company through Coddan. Scope, authority and charges are agreed separately; receiving or managing a code does not place that instruction.

Do I need to verify again if I cannot access my code?

Not automatically. Describe the route used, last completed step and any message received. A delivery, account-access or record issue may require a different action from an incomplete verification check.

Can Coddan retrieve or replace the personal code?

Coddan does not retrieve it on demand, issue it or replace it. Companies House controls code issue and change. Coddan can review a relevant issue involving information supplied through its verification process and explain appropriate correction or contact assistance.

Can I share my personal code with an accountant or agent?

You may share it with someone you trust who legitimately needs it to file on your behalf. Confirm the task and authority, and agree secure handling. Sharing for one filing does not itself give unlimited permission for unrelated work.

What should I do if I think it has been compromised?

Follow the official Companies House contact process to request a change. Companies House sends the replacement and cancels the previous code. Do not buy another identity check simply because the code may have been disclosed.

Is ongoing code management included with verification?

Normal email and telephone personal-manager assistance accompanies every verification order. Additional investigation, priority handling, continuing company work or another defined instruction retains its agreed scope and charges. Ask what assistance is appropriate before ordering.

What can I send in a pre-order enquiry?

Explain your role, verification position, last completed step and any relevant date. Do not attach identity documents or send confidential codes, passwords or payment-card details. Required confidential information follows separately agreed secure arrangements. An enquiry creates no obligation to order.

What if nothing remains to be done?

If your code is accessible and protected, no management concern remains and all applicable role and company tasks are complete, no further verification service may be needed. Keep the code secure and address any future requirement when it applies.