Understand when a charity trustee is also subject to Companies House identity verification as a CLG director and distinguish the trustee role from the separate corporate director requirement before choosing the appropriate verification route.

Determine the Trustee-Director Verification Route.

Whether you are a charity trustee, a director of a charitable Company Limited by Guarantee or hold both roles, our professional team helps you identify the relevant capacity and Companies House identity-verification requirement and choose the appropriate route for the individual circumstances involved.

Distinguish the charity trustee role from the separate CLG director role before deciding whether Companies House identity verification applies.

Identify the individual's actual corporate capacity including whether the person is acting as a CLG director, trustee, or in another relevant capacity.

Check the applicable Companies House identity-verification requirement according to the person's role, circumstances and the relevant company procedure.

Prepare the identity information and supporting evidence required for the relevant verification route while keeping the identity-verification requirement distinct from the charity's wider trustee governance responsibilities.

Choose the appropriate verification pathway including the available Companies House route or professional support through an ACSP where appropriate to the individual's circumstances.

Complete identity verification for the relevant corporate role and obtain the applicable Companies House Personal Code following successful verification.

Keep the verification record connected to the correct individual and corporate capacity rather than treating trustee and director responsibilities as interchangeable.

Understand that identity verification is separate from charity governance, trustee appointment and the legal act of incorporation and that each matter may have its own requirements.

Coordinate the verified identity with the relevant Companies House procedure where the individual is becoming, remaining or acting as a CLG director.

Reduce avoidable administrative delays and incorrect route selection by establishing the individual's relevant capacity and verification requirement before the applicable Companies House stage is progressed.

Determine the Trustee-Director Verification Route

Coddan CPM is a UK-based legal and corporate services firm providing professional support with Companies House identity verification for CLG directors and individuals who may also hold charity trustee responsibilities through its ACSP framework.
Call us on: 033 0808 0089 to discuss the appropriate identity-verification route for your circumstances.

UK Charitable Company Director & Charity Trustee ID Verification Services

Charitable-company identity verification

Identity Verification for Directors of Charitable Companies and Charity Trustees

The same person may be both a company director and a charity trustee, but the two capacities remain separate. We help you identify which Companies House roles require identity verification and which charity, governance or regulator steps must be dealt with separately.

The outcome is a clear record of each person’s capacity, the appropriate verification route and the work that must follow. Identity verification does not decide charitable status, approve a trustee or validate an appointment.

Is this the right service for your organisation?

This service may help where a charitable company, or a CLG intending to seek charitable status, needs to establish who must complete Companies House identity verification without confusing company and charity requirements.

One person has several capacities

A person may be a director, charity trustee, member or guarantor and PSC. We consider each capacity separately.

The correct authority is unclear

Companies House and the relevant charity regulator keep different registers and control different processes.

A company event is approaching

Formation, a director appointment, a PSC event or a confirmation statement may make the verification position time-sensitive.

Is the person a director, trustee or both?

In a charitable company, the people responsible for the charity commonly act both as company directors and charity trustees. The descriptions may apply to the same people, but they do not merge into one legal capacity.

Company director

This Companies House role falls within the current director identity-verification framework. Charitable status does not remove that requirement.

Charity trustee

Trusteeship alone does not create the director requirement. The organisation’s structure, governing document and the person’s actual appointments must be checked.

Member or guarantor

These capacities do not automatically carry the director requirement. A member or guarantor may, however, also be a director or satisfy a PSC condition.

Individual PSC

PSC status depends on the applicable ownership and control conditions. A director or trustee is not automatically a PSC merely because of that office.

A trustee of an England and Wales charitable incorporated organisation, an unincorporated association or a charitable trust is not a charitable-company director merely because they are called a trustee. Equivalent structures and regulator arrangements differ in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Companies House and charity-regulator processes are separate

Companies House

Companies House controls the company register, its identity-verification services, Personal Codes and company filings. A charitable company remains subject to its company-law requirements.

Charity regulators

The Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR in Scotland and the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland control their respective charity registers and regulatory processes.

Companies House incorporation does not automatically make every CLG a registered charity. Charity registration does not replace the company’s Companies House obligations. An England and Wales CIO is created through registration with the Charity Commission rather than incorporation at Companies House. The organisation’s structure and jurisdiction must therefore be established first.

Is a director or trustee also a PSC?

Not automatically. The answer depends on the company’s actual voting arrangements, rights to appoint or remove directors, constitutional powers and other forms of significant influence or control.

Use the actual arrangements

The number of members, voting rights, appointment powers, articles and actual control may affect the PSC analysis.

Provide the correct statement

The company must give Companies House the PSC information or statutory statement that reflects its real circumstances.

Do not use verification to decide control

Identity verification confirms identity within the Companies House framework. It does not resolve a disputed or unclear PSC position.

The Companies House position now

Information checked against current Companies House guidance on 19 September 2026. Requirements must be checked again if the relevant event occurs later.

Current requirements

Proposed and newly appointed charitable-company directors fall within the director framework. Existing directors and individual PSCs must comply through the applicable current process. A person who is both director and PSC uses the same Personal Code separately for each role.

Transition and individual dates

Mandatory identity verification began on 18 November 2025. Existing directors and PSCs have role-specific and individual timing linked to matters such as confirmation statements, appointments, birth months or PSC events. There is no single universal deadline for every trustee or charity.

Later requirements

Later requirements announced for people who file, corporate directors and officers of corporate PSCs must not be treated as operational until brought into force. Trusteeship alone does not create a future Companies House requirement merely because the person acts for a charity.

Choose how to verify

Free Companies House service

An eligible director or individual PSC may verify free through the official service. Professional ACSP assistance is not compulsory.

Review the free official route

Coddan’s supported ACSP route

Where agreed, Coddan coordinates a supported individual check, reviews the result and makes the authorised ACSP submission. Separate charity, governance and appointment work is not completed by the identity check.

How Coddan coordinates the supported Companies House check

Coddan CPM Limited is registered with Companies House as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, also known as a Companies House authorised agent, and is supervised by HMRC for anti-money-laundering purposes.

1. Identify the organisationWe establish its structure, jurisdiction and charity-registration position.
2. Separate the capacitiesWe record each director, trustee, member or guarantor and known or potential individual PSC.
3. Open the individual checkFor a supported case, Coddan uses the required name, date of birth, residential address, email address and telephone number.
4. Complete the secure stepsThe individual receives a secure link, supplies supported identity and address evidence and completes the required selfie or liveness check.
5. Review the resultCoddan reviews the outcome and any missing, inconsistent or exceptional evidence.
6. Make the ACSP submissionWhere the evidence is satisfactory and we are authorised, Coddan manually submits the required verification information through its Companies House ACSP account.
7. Receive and use the codeCompanies House sends the Personal Code to the individual’s supplied email address. It is then used through the correct director or PSC process.
8. Continue separatelyAny charity-regulator, HMRC, governance, formation or appointment work follows through its own agreed route.

Coddan is not Companies House or a charity regulator. A technology result does not itself complete Companies House verification. ACSP registration is not official endorsement and does not guarantee verification, appointment, incorporation or charity registration.

Coddan’s client onboarding and anti-money-laundering checks remain distinct from Companies House identity verification.

Where the Personal Code is used

Personal to the individual

Companies House issues the code to the verified person. It does not belong to the charitable company or charity.

Director role

The code must be supplied through the applicable process for the person’s company-director role.

Separate PSC use

If the person is also an individual PSC, the same code must be provided separately for that role.

Not a charity identifier

It is not a Charity Commission, OSCR or Charity Commission for Northern Ireland identifier and does not validate a trustee appointment.

Do not send an actual Personal Code through a general website enquiry. Verification, receiving a code and using it for the correct Companies House role are separate steps.

Identity, eligibility and appointment are different questions

Companies House identity verification does not establish that a person is eligible to act as a charity trustee, remove a company-law or charity-law disqualification, constitute a trustee declaration or prove that an appointment was validly made.

Eligibility or disqualification

The applicable company, charity and tax position must be checked separately. Requirements may depend on the role, organisation and jurisdiction.

Appointment and governance

A director or trustee appointment must be supported by the correct governing document, decision and records. A Personal Code does not create the appointment.

Conflicts and safeguarding

Identity verification does not decide suitability, manage conflicts, satisfy safeguarding duties or establish HMRC fit-and-proper-person status where relevant.

How we identify the appropriate next step

Identify the organisationConfirm its legal structure, jurisdiction, incorporation and charity-registration position.
Record each capacityIdentify directors, trustees, members or guarantors and known or potential individual PSCs.
Check the company eventEstablish whether formation, appointment, a PSC event or a confirmation statement affects timing.
Choose the verification routeUse the free official service where suitable or agree Coddan’s supported ACSP route.
Use the code correctlyConnect the verified identity to each affected Companies House role through its proper process.
Continue with separate workComplete any valid appointment, filing, charity-regulator, governance, HMRC or professional step still required.

Documents and information to provide

Provide what you know. “Not known” is an acceptable answer and helps us identify what must still be established. Do not send an actual Personal Code through a general enquiry.

The organisation

Name, company number, charity number where applicable, legal structure, jurisdiction and whether incorporation or charity registration is intended or complete.

People and capacities

Every proposed or existing director, person described as a trustee, member or guarantor and known or potential individual PSC, with all capacities held by each person.

Dates and events

Formation, appointment, confirmation-statement and PSC dates, together with any relevant regulator request or notice.

Identity and address evidence

Required identity and residential-address information, available identity documents and proof of address, including overseas residence or evidence.

Appointments and governing records

Available articles or governing document, appointment records and any trustee declaration relevant to understanding the position.

Uncertainty or differences

Any doubt about structure, status, appointment, eligibility or PSC status, and any difference between company, charity or internal records.

When you are ready, use Coddan’s normal contact details. Please do not send sensitive identity documents in a general enquiry.

When another service is required

Identity verification cannot repair uncertainty about the organisation, its governing document, a person’s authority or an inaccurate register. Another route may be needed where:

the legal structure, charity jurisdiction or registration position is unclear;
charitable objects, articles or another governing document require preparation or amendment;
the validly appointed directors or trustees cannot be established;
the person may be disqualified or the appointment, authority or PSC position is disputed;
Companies House, charity-regulator and internal records conflict or a filing is inaccurate;
the organisation is dissolved or requires legal, tax, accounting, safeguarding or governance advice.

Who is responsible for each stage?

The organisation

Its authorised decision-makers control valid appointments, governing decisions, records and instructions.

Coddan

Within the agreed scope, we identify capacities, coordinate supported verification, review evidence and connect the result with agreed company work.

Companies House

It controls official verification, Personal Codes, the company register and acceptance of company filings.

Regulators and advisers

Charity regulators, HMRC, courts and relevant professionals control their own decisions, registrations and advice.

What affects the work, cost and timing?

The free Companies House route remains available where suitable. Not every trustee requires a separate Companies House verification service, and identity-verification work does not automatically include charity, formation or governance services.

Structure and jurisdictionThe legal structure, UK jurisdiction, incorporation and charity-registration status.

People and recordsThe number of directors and individual PSCs, multiple capacities and completeness of appointment records.

Evidence and analysisOverseas evidence, inconsistencies, exceptional review and any separate PSC analysis.

Separate work and chargesCoddan’s professional charge and VAT, applicable official charges, and separately agreed legal, accounting, tax, charity, governance or corrective work.

Frequently asked questions

Is a charitable-company director also a charity trustee?

Commonly, yes: the same people who direct a charitable company also have responsibility for the charity. The governing document and valid appointments must confirm the actual position, and the two capacities remain legally distinct.

Must every charity trustee complete Companies House identity verification?

No. Trusteeship alone does not create the director requirement. The person must hold an affected Companies House role, such as director or individual PSC, for that framework to apply.

Does every charitable-company director need to verify?

Directors fall within the current Companies House framework. The timing and role-related step depend on whether the person is proposed, newly appointed or an existing director.

Must members or guarantors verify?

Not merely because of membership or guarantor status. A person may still need to verify if they are also a director or individual PSC.

Is every trustee or director a PSC?

No. PSC status depends on the statutory control conditions and the company’s actual arrangements. An office title alone does not decide the question.

Does Companies House verification register someone as a charity trustee?

No. Charity-regulator information, trustee declarations and any appointment requirements follow separate processes.

Does charity registration complete Companies House verification?

No. Acceptance or registration by a charity regulator does not complete the Companies House identity-verification requirement for an affected company role.

Does a CIO trustee verify through Companies House?

Not merely because they are a trustee of an England and Wales CIO, which is registered with the Charity Commission rather than incorporated at Companies House. Another affected Companies House role could create a separate requirement.

What if the organisation is in Scotland or Northern Ireland?

The charity legislation, structures and regulator process differ. If the organisation is also a Companies Act company, its Companies House director and PSC requirements remain separate and must still be considered.

Does verification prove that a trustee is eligible or properly appointed?

No. Eligibility, disqualification, appointment validity and governance records must be considered separately.

When is the Personal Code used?

It is supplied through the applicable Companies House process for the director role and, if relevant, separately for the individual PSC role. It is not a charity-regulator identifier.

Can Coddan coordinate verification?

Yes, where Coddan’s supported ACSP route is suitable and agreed. The free Companies House route remains available, and separate charity or governance work must be expressly included if required.

What if the company and charity records disagree?

Coddan can identify the difference and the authority or professional route that must address it. Identity verification does not correct either register.

What information should I provide?

Provide the organisation’s identifiers and structure, every person and capacity, relevant dates, available governing and appointment records, identity evidence and any uncertainty. “Not known” is acceptable.

What affects the work, cost and timing?

The structure and jurisdiction, number and capacities of affected people, evidence available, record differences and any separately required PSC, charity, governance, formation or corrective work all matter.

Establish each role before choosing the next step

Tell us about the organisation, its jurisdiction and the capacities held by each person. We can identify which Companies House verification work may be required and which charity, governance or professional work remains separate.

Contact Coddan about your organisation

Charity Trustee and Company Limited by Guarantee Director Identity Verification.

Understand when a charity trustee is also subject to Companies House identity verification as a CLG director and distinguish the trustee role from the separate corporate director requirement before choosing the appropriate verification route.

Follow the charity-trustee director identity-verification journey from identifying the individual's roles through determining the applicable requirement, completing verification and connecting the result to the relevant CLG responsibilities.

UK Charitable Company Director & Charity Trustee ID Verification Services

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

£40.00

£65.00

£125.00

£220.00

Identity Verification for Directors of Charitable Companies and Charity Trustees

Is this the right service for your organisation?

One person has several capacities

The correct authority is unclear

A company event is approaching

Is the person a director, trustee or both?

Company director

Charity trustee

Member or guarantor

Individual PSC

Companies House and charity-regulator processes are separate

Companies House

Charity regulators

Is a director or trustee also a PSC?

Use the actual arrangements

Provide the correct statement

Do not use verification to decide control

The Companies House position now

Current requirements

Transition and individual dates

Later requirements

Choose how to verify

Free Companies House service

Coddan’s supported ACSP route

How Coddan coordinates the supported Companies House check

Where the Personal Code is used

Personal to the individual

Director role

Separate PSC use

Not a charity identifier

Identity, eligibility and appointment are different questions

Eligibility or disqualification

Appointment and governance

Conflicts and safeguarding

How we identify the appropriate next step

Documents and information to provide

The organisation

People and capacities

Dates and events

Identity and address evidence

Appointments and governing records

Uncertainty or differences

When another service is required

Who is responsible for each stage?

The organisation

Coddan

Companies House

Regulators and advisers

What affects the work, cost and timing?

Continue with the service that matches your requirement

Frequently asked questions

Establish each role before choosing the next step