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Coddan CPM Ltd. – Company Registration Agent in the UK

Assess the online verification route, establish what you need to check and proceed with the option that fits your circumstances.

Step 1
Understand Online Verification
Step 2
Assess Route Credibility
Step 3
Check Verification Requirements
Step 4
Compare Available Routes
Step 5
Complete Your Verification
Step 6
Review What Follows
Companies Registry's e-Services Portal Identity Verification Director ID Verification Trusted Online Director ID verification Service for Companies House

Trusted Online Director ID verification Service for Companies House

Online Director Identity Verification: Check the Route Before You Share Your Information

If you are considering online Companies House director identity verification, start by checking the route rather than assuming that a paid service is necessary. The key questions are whether the route is legitimate, who is responsible for the verification decision, what information will be requested, what the service actually covers and what happens afterwards.

1. Is This a Legitimate Companies House Verification Route?

Companies House identity verification is a legal requirement for applicable directors. There are legitimate ways to complete it, including the free official service through GOV.UK One Login and an alternative route through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) registered with Companies House.

Free official route

GOV.UK One Login provides a legitimate free route for eligible applicants. The service determines the available verification method from the individual's circumstances.

Use the official GOV.UK verification service

Optional ACSP route

An ACSP may verify an individual's identity on behalf of Companies House where that route is selected and suitable. An ACSP may charge a fee for its services.

Support being available does not mean support is required.

Companies House publishes an ACSP list so Participants can check registered providers. Companies House does not endorse or recommend the agents on that list, so registration should be treated as a factual status check rather than an assurance of service quality or outcome.

2. Who Performs the Checks and Who Makes the ACSP Decision?

If you choose an ACSP route, distinguish the technology used to perform checks from the ACSP's responsibility for deciding whether the Companies House identity-verification standard has been met.

1. Applicable checks Technology can perform the applicable identity and document checks used by the selected verification process.
2. Resulting information The resulting information and evidence form part of the ACSP's identity-verification process and records.
3. Coddan review Where Coddan-supported verification is selected, Coddan reviews the resulting information from the applicable process.
4. ACSP decision Coddan determines whether it is satisfied that the Companies House identity-verification standard has been met.

Following a successful outcome, Coddan performs its applicable notification responsibility to Companies House. The existence of verification technology does not transfer the ACSP's decision responsibility to the technology provider.

3. What Should You Check Before Submitting Your Information?

Before providing identity information online, assess the service on the facts that matter to your decision. The precise evidence and information required depend on the verification route selected.

What is requested?

Understand what personal information and identity evidence the selected route requires and why it is needed.

Who processes it?

Identify the provider involved, the role it is performing and where the information is being submitted or processed.

What is the privacy information?

Read the applicable privacy information before submission so you understand how the relevant information is handled.

What does the service cover?

Check exactly what the provider will and will not complete, including any separate company or filing work.

Does a fee apply?

The GOV.UK One Login route is free. An ACSP may charge, so check the provider's current fee position before proceeding.

Is the route suitable?

Choose the route that fits the task remaining. Paying for support is not itself evidence that a different verification standard applies.

4. What Happens After Verification?

Completing identity verification does not automatically complete every related Companies House task. Keep the following stages separate.

Identity verification

The applicable verification process establishes the individual's verified identity.

Personal Code

Companies House issues the Personal Code following successful verification. Coddan does not create or issue it.

Director role linkage

The verified identity must be connected to the applicable director role through the relevant Companies House process.

PSC role linkage

A PSC role is separate. If the individual holds both roles, the applicable PSC connection must also be considered separately.

Corporate event

Incorporation, appointment, Confirmation Statement, resignation or another corporate event is not completed merely because identity verification is complete.

Nothing Further Required

Nothing Further Required is a legitimate outcome where the applicable identity verification, Personal Code and relevant role-related steps are complete and no separate corporate event remains within the identity-verification question.

Choosing an online route is ultimately a decision about the specific process in front of you. In most cases, an individual verifies once and should not repeat verification unless Companies House instructs them to do so. If an existing company already has its own accountant, solicitor, company secretary or other adviser, it does not need to transfer to Coddan, move its registered office or replace those advisers merely to use a relevant standalone identity-verification service.


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) – Companies House Director Identity Verification for £40.
The Identity Verification Bundle™ provides a fast, secure and professionally managed online route for an eligible person requiring Companies House director identity verification. The standard online verification route uses secure Identity Document Validation Technology for eligible identity documents and may suit a straightforward UK or overseas application. Technology performs the applicable identity and document checks; Coddan reviews the resulting information and determines whether it is satisfied that the Companies House verification standard has been met. Before submitting personal information, applicants should understand who is processing it, why it is required and what the service covers. The free GOV.UK One Login route remains available for eligible applicants. Those requiring priority handling can compare our fast-track online verification route.

For a fixed fee of £40, this package provides a simple online verification process with professional ACSP support. Applicants can check Coddan's status against the official Companies House list of Authorised Corporate Service Providers. ACSP registration confirms an authorised status; it is not Companies House endorsement, recommendation or a guarantee of outcome. Following successful verification, Coddan performs its applicable notification responsibility, while Companies House separately issues the Personal Code. Director or PSC role linkage and any subsequent appointment, incorporation, Confirmation Statement or other corporate filing remain separate stages. Applicants who are already verified should establish whether another identity check is necessary before purchasing this service.



£65.00
+VAT

RapidVerify Pro™

Recommended for

2
package

Buy Now Fast-Track Expert Director ID Verification™ (Priority Director Identity Verification Service) – Priority Companies House Director Identity Verification for £65.
The Fast-Track Expert Director ID Verification™ service provides secure priority handling where an applicable online identity-verification task remains and the applicant has a genuine commercial or regulatory timetable. The priority online verification route combines Identity Document Validation Technology with expedited professional review through Coddan's Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) framework. It may suit an eligible director preparing for an appointment, incorporation, transaction or another time-sensitive event. Where the required information is complete, the documents are eligible and no additional enquiries arise, most applications are processed by Coddan within one business day. This timeframe concerns Coddan's handling of the verification application; it does not guarantee a successful result, Companies House processing, issuance of the Personal Code or completion of any separate corporate action.

For £65, eligible UK and overseas applicants receive priority review and prompt contact where further suitable information is required. The applicant submits information through the designated secure process rather than sending identity evidence through an informal or unexplained channel. Priority handling cannot make unsuitable evidence acceptable or allow Coddan to control the technology provider or Companies House decision. Applicants without an urgent timetable can return to the standard £40 online verification route. Where a previous app, security-question or Post Office attempt did not complete, Coddan may conduct a separate authorised ACSP verification if suitable, but it cannot overturn or bypass the earlier outcome. Review our fast-track service guidance.



£125.00
+VAT

VerifyFlex Solutions™

Recommended for

3
package

Buy Now Expert Director ID Verification™ (Professional Director Verification Service) – Two Companies House Director Identity Verification Pathways for £125.
The Expert Director ID Verification™ service provides two professionally managed online pathways where verification remains applicable but the applicant cannot confidently determine which method fits their identity evidence and circumstances. The two-pathway online verification route combines Fast-Track Digital Verification for eligible biometric documents with an alternative professionally supervised process where the standard digital pathway is unsuitable. It may assist an applicant with different document options, a previous incomplete attempt or UK or overseas circumstances requiring further consideration. Coddan explains the available process, reviews the resulting information and makes its own satisfaction decision under the applicable Companies House standard. The technology supports the checks but does not replace Coddan's ACSP decision responsibility. Applicants requiring complete individual assessment can compare the manual verification package.

For £125, eligible applicants receive access to two verification pathways and practical guidance concerning suitable identity evidence. This package offers greater flexibility without suggesting that every incomplete online attempt requires manual verification. A trusted process explains its scope and limitations instead of promising that every document or applicant will pass. Coddan may request further suitable information where necessary, but it cannot order the verification technology to return a particular result. Verification remains separate from AML, KYC and customer due diligence, as well as Personal Code use and subsequent corporate filings. Applicants who want help identifying the appropriate route can review our guided director-verification page.



£220.00
+VAT

FlexiVerify Option™

Recommended for

4
package

Buy Now FlexiVerify Option™ (Expert Manual Director ID Verification Service) – Professional Manual Companies House Director Identity Verification for £220.
The FlexiVerify Option™ provides individual professional assessment where an applicable Companies House verification task remains but the applicant cannot use the standard biometric pathway with the available documents or technology. The manual verification route may suit an eligible UK or overseas applicant whose evidence or circumstances require closer assessment under the applicable Companies House standard. Depending on the prescribed route, the process may be conducted remotely or in person and may require suitable photographic identification and supporting evidence. Coddan explains what information is required, assesses the evidence supplied and determines whether it can be satisfied that the verification standard has been met. This is an authorised alternative—not a back door, an appeal against another verification route or a means of directing Companies House to accept an application.

For £220, this package provides Coddan's highest level of individual support for an eligible applicant requiring manual assessment. The service has a defined verification purpose and does not require the applicant to transfer an existing company, registered office, accountant, solicitor or company secretary to Coddan. Payment does not guarantee that the supplied evidence will satisfy the Companies House verification standard. Following a successful outcome, Coddan performs its applicable notification responsibility, while Companies House separately issues the Personal Code. Role linkage and any later company filing remain separate processes. Applicants who may be suitable for digital or alternative verification should first compare the two-pathway verification package or review our international online-verification guidance.





Assess an Online Director Identity Verification Route Before You Submit Your Information

Before providing identity evidence online, check the route itself. The important questions are whether the route is legitimate, whether the free Companies House service is suitable, who is responsible for the verification decision, what information and evidence will be requested, what the service covers and what remains after verification.

Start With the Legitimate Verification Routes

Companies House provides more than one legitimate route for applicable identity verification. Eligible individuals can use the free GOV.UK One Login service directly, while an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) can verify an individual's identity on their behalf. Using an ACSP is an alternative route, not a universal requirement.

Free GOV.UK One Login route

The official GOV.UK service is free of charge and determines the available verification method from the individual's circumstances.

Use the official Companies House verification service

Optional ACSP route

An ACSP may verify your identity on behalf of Companies House. The provider may charge for its services, so the fee and scope should be understood before you proceed.

Support being available does not mean support is required.

Confirm Whether Identity Verification Is Still the Task

Before selecting another online route, establish the Participant's present position. Companies House states that, in most cases, an individual only needs to verify once and must not verify again unless Companies House instructs them to do so. A missing Personal Code, an incomplete role connection or a separate company filing is not automatically a reason to repeat identity verification.

Verification remains

Choose between the free Companies House route and a suitable optional ACSP route.

Verification is complete

Identify whether the remaining question concerns the Personal Code, a director or PSC role, or another corporate event.

Every applicable step is complete

If no verification, role-linkage or corporate task remains, Nothing Further Required may be the correct outcome.

Check Who Is Authorised to Provide the Verification Service

Verify the Provider's Companies House Status

If you choose an ACSP route, check that the provider is registered with Companies House as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider. Companies House publishes an ACSP list and separately publishes information about ceased or suspended ACSPs.

Companies House registration

ACSP registration identifies an agent authorised within the Companies House framework to carry out applicable activities, including identity verification.

Separate AML supervision

To register as an ACSP, an agent must also be supervised by a UK anti-money-laundering supervisory body. AML supervision and Companies House ACSP registration are related requirements but are not the same status.

Companies House does not endorse or recommend the agents on its list. Publication is voluntary, so the list may not include every registered ACSP, and Companies House warns that it may be incomplete or out of date. Check the provider's current status, including the ceased and suspended ACSP information, as well as its services, fees, terms and whether it can provide the service remotely.

Check the official Companies House ACSP list

Decide Whether an Optional ACSP Route Is Appropriate

Free Self-Service and Professional Support Are Different Route Choices

The free GOV.UK One Login route remains a complete official route for eligible individuals. An ACSP route may be appropriate where the Participant wants professional involvement or where using an authorised agent is otherwise suitable for the circumstances.

Choose the free route

If the official GOV.UK route fits your circumstances and you are comfortable completing the process yourself, there is no requirement to purchase professional support.

Consider an ACSP

Professional support is an alternative route. An ACSP may charge a fee, and the decision to use one should be based on the task remaining and the service actually being offered.

Keep the standard separate

Choosing a paid route does not lower the Companies House standard, create privileged access or make successful verification more likely by itself.

Understand What an Authorised Corporate Service Provider Actually Does

ACSP Status Is About Responsibility, Not a Different Verification Standard

An ACSP is a Companies House-authorised agent. When an ACSP verifies an individual's identity, it must meet the Companies House identity-verification standard and retain appropriate records. Its role should not be confused with simply providing an online document-upload service.

Ask for information

The ACSP obtains the information needed about the person being verified.

Obtain evidence

Appropriate evidence is obtained and checked using the verification process being used.

Keep records

The ACSP retains the records required for its legal responsibilities.

Make the decision

The ACSP decides whether it is satisfied that the Companies House identity-verification standard has been met.

Check Whether the Route Can Use the Evidence You Can Provide

A legitimate online route is not automatically suitable for every person or every document. Confirm the evidence requirements before submitting documents or paying for support. The free service uses the Participant's answers to identify the available method, while an ACSP must obtain suitable evidence from the applicable approved list.

Free Companies House route

Use the official service to establish which GOV.UK One Login verification method is available for your circumstances.

Optional ACSP route

Ask which evidence the provider can use, what the service includes and what happens if the supplied evidence cannot support a satisfactory decision.

An attempt does not complete

Identify whether the issue concerns route access, evidence suitability, a document check, identity matching or the ACSP's satisfaction decision before choosing the next action.

Check the Information, Evidence, Fee and Scope Before You Proceed

Make the Service Boundaries Clear Before Submission

Before submitting identity evidence, establish exactly what you are being asked to provide, who will receive it, why it is required and what the provider will actually complete. The precise evidence required depends on the applicable verification route and the individual's circumstances.

Information and evidence

Confirm what personal information and identity evidence the route requires and why it is needed.

Who handles it?

Identify the technology provider and the ACSP responsible for the verification service and decision.

Privacy information

Read the applicable privacy information so you understand how relevant personal information is handled.

Fee and scope

Confirm the current fee, what is included and what remains outside the identity-verification service.

What happens afterwards?

Establish whether the service ends with verification or whether a separate Personal Code, role-linkage or corporate step remains.

Treat Overseas and Non-Standard Circumstances as a Separate Question

Location Does Not Automatically Make a Paid Route Necessary

A director can be resident outside the UK and still use an applicable online verification route. The appropriate route depends on the individual's circumstances and the available verification method, not simply on residence.

If the question is specifically about an overseas director's identity-verification circumstances, use the specialist route rather than treating this trust-assessment page as a detailed overseas guide.

Continue to the overseas director identity-verification destination

Keep Existing Companies and Separate Corporate Events in Context

Identity Verification Is Not Company Formation or Filing Administration

An existing company does not need to transfer to Coddan, move its registered office or replace its accountant or other adviser simply because a director needs to complete identity verification.

Identity verification, the issue of a Personal Code, connection of that verified identity to a director role and any separate incorporation, appointment, Confirmation Statement, resignation or correction are distinct matters. The completion of one does not automatically complete the others.

Existing company The company can retain its existing advisers and arrangements.
Director role The verified identity must still be connected to the applicable director role.
Corporate event Appointment, incorporation or filing work remains a separate corporate process.

Understand What Companies House Issues After Successful Verification

The Personal Code Is Issued by Companies House

Following successful identity verification, Companies House issues the individual with an 11-character Personal Code. The code is personal to the individual, not to a company, and the same code can be used when the individual needs to confirm verification for multiple applicable roles or appointments.

Identity verification

The applicable route establishes the individual's verified identity.

Personal Code

Companies House issues the Personal Code. Coddan does not create or issue it.

Director linkage

The code is used through the applicable Companies House process to connect the verified identity to the director role.

PSC linkage

A PSC role is separate. Where an individual holds both roles, the applicable PSC connection must also be completed separately.

Read the current Companies House Personal Code guidance

Keep Identity Verification Separate From AML, KYC and CDD

Data-Handling and AML Responsibilities Should Not Be Merged With the Identity-Verification Question

An ACSP's AML supervision is a separate regulatory requirement from its Companies House registration as an ACSP. Similarly, identity verification is a distinct Companies House process and should not be presented as though it were the same thing as a provider's wider AML, KYC or CDD work.

Identity verification

The Companies House process establishes whether the individual's identity-verification standard has been met.

AML supervision

UK AML supervision is a separate requirement relevant to ACSP registration and the provider's wider regulatory responsibilities.

Other compliance work

KYC, CDD, corporate administration and record corrections are separate professional tasks unless specifically included within another service.

Evaluate the Route by Responsibility, Scope and Transparency

A Suitable Online Provider Should Make the Process Understandable

A useful trust assessment is factual rather than promotional. Before choosing an online provider, establish its Companies House status, the role of its verification technology, who makes the ACSP decision, what information is requested, how the relevant privacy information is presented, what the service costs and what the service does not cover.

Status

Can you verify the provider's Companies House ACSP registration?

Responsibility

Is it clear who performs the checks and who decides whether the Companies House standard is met?

Scope

Are the evidence requirements, service limitations, fee and post-verification steps clearly stated?

No implied endorsement

ACSP registration is not a Companies House endorsement of a provider's service quality or outcome.

If the information is unclear, establish the provider's actual status, responsibility, scope and terms before submitting identity evidence rather than relying on promotional descriptions.

Understand the Coddan-Supported ACSP Responsibility Model

Technology Checks, Participant Evidence and ACSP Decision-Making Remain Distinct

Where Coddan-supported online verification is selected, the process should be understood by responsibility rather than by marketing labels.

Participant Provides suitable and accurate information and evidence for the applicable verification process.
Technology Performs the applicable identity and document checks within the selected route.
Coddan review Coddan reviews the resulting information from the applicable verification process.
ACSP decision and notification Coddan determines whether it is satisfied that the Companies House standard has been met and, following a successful outcome, performs its applicable notification responsibility.

Resolve a Problem or Confirm That Nothing Further Is Required

Choose the Next Destination From the Task That Remains

A difficulty with an online attempt does not turn this trust-assessment page into a failed-verification guide. If a problem remains, move to the specialist destination that deals with the actual issue.

Verification problem remains

Use the specialist reconciliation route when an attempted verification has failed or remains unresolved.

Resolve an identity-verification issue

Personal Code question

Use the dedicated guidance where verification is complete but the Personal Code or its use is the remaining task.

Continue to Personal Code guidance

Another corporate task remains

Appointment, Confirmation Statement, PSC linkage, correction, resignation and other corporate events remain separate from identity verification.

Nothing Further Required

If the applicable identity verification, Personal Code and relevant role-linkage steps are complete, and no separate corporate event remains within the question being assessed, Nothing Further Required may be the correct outcome.

If you are still deciding whether professional support is appropriate, return to the facts: the free GOV.UK route is available, an ACSP is an alternative, ACSP registration and AML supervision are distinct requirements, and the verification standard remains the Companies House standard whichever legitimate route is used.