Keep the stages separate

Completing identity verification does not itself appoint you as a director. Companies House issues the Personal Code after successful verification, while the company or its authorised professional must still complete the applicable appointment filing and ensure that the Companies House record reflects the appointment.

Proposed Director: Establish the Appointment Position

First establish which existing company you are joining and whether the proposed appointment has been properly authorised. The company, director or authorised professional should then establish whether identity verification remains incomplete, whether Companies House has issued your Personal Code, whether that code must be supplied with the appointment and whether the appointment filing is still outstanding.

These checks should be treated as a sequence rather than as one combined transaction. Successful identity verification does not itself appoint you as a director. The appointment remains a separate corporate event.

Establish the Director Appointment

Before the appointment filing is made, the proposed appointment should be properly authorised and the appointment information should be accurate. Where identity verification remains required, that stage should be completed through the applicable route and the Personal Code obtained from Companies House.

The Personal Code is then provided for the director role where required by the applicable Companies House process. The filing itself remains separate. Identity verification does not by itself update the company's register.

Director and PSC: One Individual, Two Roles

• The director role concerns appointment to the company's management structure.
• The PSC role concerns significant ownership or control.
• The same individual may hold both roles.
• Identity verification is not ordinarily repeated merely because the individual holds both roles.
• The Personal Code remains personal to the verified individual.
• The code must nevertheless be connected to each applicable role through the correct process.
• Completing the director appointment does not automatically complete the PSC requirement.

GOV.UK One Login: The Free Route

Many individuals can verify directly through the official GOV.UK One Login service. The route is free of charge and Companies House determines the available verification method according to the individual's circumstances and information.

Coddan as an Optional ACSP Route

Where professional assistance is appropriate, Coddan can provide identity verification as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). Support can be useful where the participant wants professional assistance with the applicable process, but it is not mandatory merely because the person is becoming a director.

How the Coddan-Supported Route Works

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

Coddan cannot direct the technology to pass an application, lower the Companies House standard, bypass GOV.UK or Companies House, guarantee verification, guarantee issue of a Personal Code, guarantee appointment or filing acceptance, or control Companies House processing times.

Companies House identity verification is separate from anti-money-laundering checks, know-your-customer checks and customer due diligence. Registration as an ACSP and supervision for anti-money-laundering purposes are also distinct regulatory matters.

Company-Form Context

For a natural-person director within the current regime, the company’s legal form does not remove the identity-verification requirement. The requirement can therefore apply to directors of private companies limited by shares, private companies limited by guarantee, unlimited companies, public companies and other registered company forms that appoint natural-person directors.

Do not assume that every corporate structure has directors or follows an identical appointment process. If the role is an LLP member, general partner or another officer rather than a company director, use the appropriate entity-specific route.

Verification, Personal Code and Appointment

1. Establish that the person is to become a director.
2. Complete identity verification if it remains required.
3. Receive the Personal Code from Companies House.
4. Provide the Personal Code for the director role where required.
5. Complete the separate director-appointment filing.
6. Address any separate PSC position where applicable.
7. Confirm whether another professional task remains or Nothing Further Required applies.

A person should therefore not infer from successful identity verification alone that they have been appointed, that the public register has been updated or that all connected corporate requirements have been completed.

If Verification Remains Incomplete

An unsuccessful or incomplete attempt does not automatically establish that the person cannot be verified, that Companies House has formally rejected them, that an ACSP route is compulsory or that the identical submission should simply be repeated.

The appropriate next step is to establish what failed or remains outstanding: the verification requirement itself, the information supplied, the Personal Code stage, the director-role connection or the separate appointment filing. Unresolved verification issues should be taken to the dedicated identity-verification reconciliation destination rather than converted into a package or escalation proposition.

Separate the Director and PSC Positions

A director is appointed to the company's management structure. A PSC is identified because of significant ownership or control. The same person may hold both roles, but the roles do not merge.

• The same individual may be both director and PSC.
• Identity verification is not ordinarily repeated merely because both roles are held.
• The Personal Code belongs to the individual.
• The code must be connected to each applicable role through the correct Companies House process.
• The director appointment and PSC process have different filing and timing requirements.

One Individual, Separate Corporate Roles

If an individual is both a director and a PSC, the applicable identity verification may concern the same verified person, but the Personal Code must be provided separately for the relevant roles through the correct Companies House procedures.

Companies House guidance states that a person who is both a director and a PSC of the same company must provide their Personal Code separately for each role. The director code is provided through the applicable director process, while the PSC code is provided through the separate PSC service within the role-specific period shown by Companies House.

This page therefore only establishes the interface between the roles. Detailed PSC verification and role-specific filing instructions belong on the dedicated PSC destination.

The Free GOV.UK Route

Companies House provides a free GOV.UK One Login identity-verification route. Depending on the person’s circumstances and evidence, the service identifies the available verification method.

The Optional ACSP Route

A person can instead ask an ACSP to verify their identity on their behalf. Companies House describes ACSPs as authorised agents and requires them to meet the applicable identity-verification standard.

Support Available does not mean Support Required.

Overseas Residence Is Not Automatically a Complication

A proposed director may live outside the United Kingdom and still join an existing UK company. Residence alone does not establish that special documents, paid support or a specialist route are required.

If the identity records contain substantial inconsistencies, unusual formats, transliteration differences or other genuinely cross-border complications, use the appropriate international director guidance rather than assuming that every overseas director belongs there.

Practical Checklist

What the Personal Code Does

Companies House issues an 11-character Personal Code following successful identity verification. The code belongs to the verified individual, not to a company. The same code is used when the person needs to confirm their verified identity for relevant roles and companies.

For a proposed director joining an existing company, receiving the code is one stage of the journey. The person, company or authorised professional must still provide the code for the director role where required and complete the separate appointment filing.

Keep the Personal Code Secure

The code should be kept secure. It may need to be shared with a person the individual trusts to complete an authorised filing on their behalf. Detailed access, recovery, security and management instructions belong on the dedicated Personal Code pages.

Continue to the dedicated Director's Digital Passport / Personal Code guidance where the remaining question concerns understanding the code itself.

Director Appointment and Personal Code

When an existing company appoints a new director, the filing requires the Companies House Personal Code received by that person after identity verification. If the person is instead becoming a director through a new-company registration, the code is supplied through the incorporation filing.

The practical sequence is therefore: verify the individual where required, obtain the Personal Code, provide it through the applicable director appointment process and ensure that the resulting appointment is correctly registered.

Appointment Completion Checklist

1. Confirm that the proposed appointment is validly authorised.
2. Confirm that the appointment information is correct.
3. Confirm that identity verification has been completed if required.
4. Confirm that the Personal Code has been issued.
5. Provide the Personal Code where the appointment process requires it.
6. Submit the appointment through the applicable filing channel.
7. Confirm that the Companies House record reflects the completed appointment.

If the company has not yet been incorporated, this is instead a formation interface. Do not use this page as a substitute for the company's incorporation process.

Possible Next Positions

Existing Director Interface

If the Participant is already shown as a director rather than being newly appointed, the remaining identity-verification task may instead connect to the company’s next applicable Confirmation Statement. Existing directors must provide their Personal Code through the relevant Confirmation Statement process, and must do so separately for each company of which they are a director.

This page does not replace the dedicated Confirmation Statement identity-verification destination. Use that route when the Participant’s unresolved task is the Confirmation Statement rather than a new director appointment.

The Personal Code Is Not a Universal Filing Credential

The Personal Code belongs to the individual and is used to confirm verified identity for specified Companies House purposes. Possessing or storing the code does not itself complete a director appointment, PSC linkage, Confirmation Statement or another corporate filing.

Optional Support May Be Relevant Where

• You prefer professional assistance rather than completing the verification route independently.
• You want help understanding which legitimate verification route applies to your circumstances.
• You need professional coordination between verification and a proposed director appointment.
• Your circumstances require additional professional consideration without implying a lower verification standard.

Use Another Route Where Appropriate

LLP, Partnership and Restoration Interfaces

An individual LLP member may participate in managing an LLP’s affairs in a function comparable to a director’s management role, and a general partner may manage a limited partnership’s affairs. They must not, however, be described as company directors: their legal roles, filing processes and commencement provisions remain distinct.

Current Companies House guidance states that identity verification for limited partnerships and corporate members of LLPs will be introduced at a later date. Functional similarity in managing an organisation does not make the company-director route or timing automatically applicable, so these Participants should be routed to the appropriate entity-specific guidance.

Likewise, identity verification does not restore a dissolved company or LLP. Restoration, outstanding accounts, Confirmation Statements, appointments, PSC matters and other filings remain separate professional jobs and should be routed to the appropriate restoration destination.

Verification Supports a More Reliable Register

Companies House explains that identity verification is intended to reduce fraud and improve transparency, trust and the accuracy of information on the register.

For a proposed director, the practical consequence is that identity verification becomes one part of establishing the person's verified identity before the applicable corporate role is connected to that identity. The Personal Code then provides the mechanism for confirming that verified identity in the relevant Companies House process.

The commencement date did not create one universal November 2026 deadline for every Participant. The applicable timing depends on the individual’s role, when that role began and the relevant Companies House process. Existing directors, new directors and PSCs must therefore follow their own applicable route and due date.