Understand how identity verification fits into the formation of a CLG and follow the connected stages from proposed directors through to Companies House incorporation.

Follow the CLG Formation & Verification Journey.

Whether you're establishing a new Company Limited by Guarantee, preparing proposed directors or coordinating identity verification, our professional team helps you understand the correct sequence and prepare each connected stage before incorporation.

Understand how CLG formation and applicable identity verification work together rather than treating verification as a separate post-formation task.

Prepare the proposed company and its relevant individuals including directors and, where applicable, Persons with Significant Control (PSCs) before the formation process progresses.

Identify the applicable Companies House identity-verification route according to the individuals involved, their circumstances and the available verification pathway.

Prepare the required identity information and supporting evidence so that avoidable inconsistencies or missing information can be addressed before the relevant stage.

Complete the applicable identity verification process and, following successful verification, obtain the relevant Companies House Personal Code for the individual.

Connect the verified identity and Personal Code with the formation process without confusing identity verification with the separate legal act of incorporation.

Use the appropriate verification route for UK or overseas applicants where individual circumstances, identification documents or available verification methods require additional consideration.

Coordinate the formation information with the applicable verification requirements before the incorporation application is progressed to Companies House.

Understand what happens after incorporation and how the verified identity and Personal Code remain relevant to future Companies House procedures, where applicable.

Build a clearer formation pathway with professional support from an ACSP where assistance is required with identity verification, formation preparation or connected Companies House procedures.

Follow the CLG Formation & Verification Process

Coddan CPM is a UK-based legal and corporate services firm providing professional support with Companies House identity verification and CLG formation preparation through its ACSP framework.
Call us on: 033 0808 0089 to discuss the appropriate formation and verification route for your circumstances, whether you are based in the UK or overseas.

How to Complete Director & PSC Identity Verification During CLG Setup

Identity verification in CLG formation

Identity Verification Before and During CLG Formation

Forming a Company Limited by Guarantee now requires identity-verification planning as well as the usual company information. Coddan can identify who needs to verify, coordinate the supported route and make sure the Personal Code is used at the correct stage of the formation work.

Verification is one part of formation. It does not create the CLG. Companies House examines the completed application, decides whether it can be registered and incorporates the company only when registration takes place.

Is this the right service for you?

Use this service when a new CLG is being prepared and you need to coordinate identity verification with the incorporation application. It focuses on the point at which the people, their roles and their Personal Codes must be ready.

A new CLG is being prepared

You are preparing to form a CLG and need to organise the proposed directors, members or guarantors and any PSC information before submission.

One person has several capacities

A founder may be a director, member or guarantor and PSC. The same person may verify once, but each affected role must be dealt with correctly.

Verification must be coordinated

You need to know whether to use the free Companies House service or Coddan’s supported ACSP route and what formation work remains afterwards.

For structural suitability, the company name, the guarantee, objects, articles, registered-office arrangements and formation packages, use Company Limited by Guarantee Formation.

Who must be considered before submission?

List every person and every proposed capacity before arranging verification. A capacity that affects the incorporation application is not automatically a capacity that creates an individual identity-verification requirement.

Proposed directors

Each proposed director must have completed identity verification and provide their Personal Code for the new-company application.

Individual PSCs

An individual who will be a PSC must be identified and dealt with under the applicable PSC verification and code-use process. A director who is also a PSC has two distinct roles.

Members and guarantors

A person does not automatically have the same current Companies House verification requirement merely because they are a guarantor or ordinary member. Check whether they are also a director or PSC.

Legal entities and other control arrangements

Where a legal entity or another non-individual arrangement may be registrable, its status and control information must be assessed separately. A body corporate does not complete an individual selfie or liveness check.

If the PSC position is incomplete or uncertain, do not guess. The application must contain the PSC information or statutory statement appropriate to the actual circumstances, and further ownership or control analysis may be required before submission.

The current position for a new CLG

What applies now

For a new company, the registration application must include the Personal Code for each proposed director. Individual PSCs are also within the mandatory framework and must provide their code through the process and period applying to the PSC role. If one person is both director and PSC, the same Personal Code is used but must be provided separately for each role.

Transition does not create one universal deadline

Mandatory identity verification began on 18 November 2025, with transitional arrangements for existing directors and PSCs. A new CLG application follows the current new-company requirements; 18 November 2026 must not be treated as one deadline for every person or role.

Later requirements remain separate

Companies House lists later requirements for people filing on behalf of companies, corporate directors and officers of corporate PSCs. These must not be treated as operational formation procedures until the relevant commencement and current guidance have been confirmed.

Official position checked: 19 September 2026.

Individuals who can use the official service may verify directly without buying Coddan’s supported service. Review the free Companies House route.

How Coddan can coordinate the supported 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. Review the formationCoddan identifies the proposed directors and any individual PSCs whose verification must be coordinated.
2. Create the secure fileWe use the person’s required name, date of birth, address, email address and telephone number to create the individual verification file.
3. Complete the checkThe individual receives a secure link by email or text message, supplies a supported identity document and proof of address, and completes the required selfie or liveness check.
4. Review the resultCoddan reviews the result and any exceptional evidence before deciding whether the supported ACSP submission can proceed.
5. Submit through the ACSP accountWhere the check is satisfactory and Coddan is authorised, we manually submit the required identity-verification information through our Companies House ACSP account.
6. Receive the Personal CodeCompanies House sends the Personal Code to the individual using the email address supplied. The code is then used through the correct formation or role-related process.

Coddan is not Companies House. Our secure provider’s result does not itself complete the Companies House process. ACSP registration does not imply official endorsement, guarantee incorporation or remove the possibility of further evidence, delay or rejection.

Coddan’s client onboarding and anti-money-laundering checks are related to, but distinct from, Companies House identity verification.

Verification, the Personal Code and the role are separate steps

1. Verify the individual

The individual completes the free Companies House route or an agreed ACSP check.

2. Receive the code

Companies House issues one Personal Code to the individual. It belongs to the person, not to the proposed CLG.

3. Use it for the director role

The code for every proposed director is supplied through the new-company application.

4. Deal with any PSC role

Where the person is also an individual PSC, the same code is provided separately through the process applying to that PSC role.

Protect the code. Do not place an actual Personal Code in a general enquiry, ordinary email or information card. Coddan will identify the correct secure process when the agreed work reaches that stage.

How verification fits into formation and incorporation

Formation preparation

The proposed name, people, guarantee, PSC position, registered office, constitution and application information are prepared.

Identity verification

Affected individuals complete the appropriate verification route and receive their Personal Codes.

Submission and examination

The completed application is submitted. Companies House examines the information and decides whether it can be registered.

Registration and incorporation

The company is incorporated when the registrar registers it. The certificate of incorporation confirms that the CLG legally exists.

After incorporation

Role connection, first decisions, company records, tax, charity or other regulatory work may still be required after incorporation.

Completing Coddan’s order process, passing an identity check, receiving a Personal Code or supplying that code does not by itself form, register or incorporate the CLG. Nor does incorporation complete every continuing governance or regulatory responsibility.

Your formation-stage verification journey

Identify the proposed CLGConfirm the intended company, jurisdiction, activities and formation requirement.
Record every capacityList the proposed directors, members or guarantors and known or potential PSCs.
Establish who must verifyApply the current requirement to each person and role without assuming that everyone follows the same route.
Complete the chosen routeUse the free Companies House service where suitable or Coddan’s agreed ACSP service.
Receive and use the codeCompanies House issues the Personal Code; it is then supplied through the correct director and, where applicable, PSC process.
Prepare and submitComplete the incorporation information and submit the application within the agreed formation scope.
Companies House decidesThe registrar examines the application and controls acceptance, registration and incorporation.
Complete later workAddress any separate role connection, first decisions, records, tax, charity, regulatory or continuing compliance work.

Documents and information to provide

Provide what you know. “Not known” is an acceptable answer and allows Coddan to identify what still needs to be established. Do not send an actual Personal Code through a general website enquiry.

The proposed CLG

Proposed name, jurisdiction, intended activities, registered-office arrangements and the reason the CLG is being formed.

People and capacities

Every proposed director, member or guarantor, the guaranteed amount, each known or potential PSC, and all capacities held by the same person.

Identity and address details

Required name, date of birth, address, email address and telephone number for each person using the supported route.

Available evidence

Supported identity document, proof of address, issuing country and details of any missing, expired or inconsistent evidence.

Overseas circumstances

Country of residence, overseas documents and any practical timing, language or address-evidence issue already known.

Wider context and timing

Relevant formation timing and any Charity Commission, CIC, property-management, funding or other regulatory context.

When you are ready, contact Coddan using our normal website contact details. Please do not send sensitive identity documents in a general enquiry.

What happens after verification?

The Personal Code is used for the appropriate role-related step, and the incorporation application is completed with the required company information. Passing verification does not mean that Companies House has accepted the application.

If the company is registered, the certificate of incorporation confirms its legal existence. Separate work may still be required for PSC role connection, first decisions, registers, HMRC, the Charity Commission, the CIC Regulator or another competent authority.

What this service does not do

Identity verification does not choose the legal structure, approve the proposed name, create a directorship, membership, guarantee or PSC status, correct inaccurate information, prove that an appointment was authorised or decide a disputed control question.

It also does not replace the incorporation application or complete tax, charity, CIC, property-management or other regulatory requirements. Those matters remain with the appropriate formation, governance, filing, correction, legal or official process.

Who is responsible for each stage?

The individual

Each person must provide genuine information and evidence, complete their own check and protect their Personal Code.

Coddan

Within the agreed scope, Coddan reviews the formation, coordinates the supported verification, reviews the result, makes the authorised ACSP submission and prepares or submits agreed formation work.

Companies House and other bodies

Companies House controls its verification service, Personal Codes, examination, register, registration and incorporation. HMRC, the Charity Commission, the CIC Regulator and other bodies control their own processes.

What affects the work, cost and timing?

The free Companies House route is available where the individual can use it and does not require Coddan’s supported service. Any Coddan charge depends on the agreed work; no price, official fee or completion time is assumed on this page.

The number of proposed directors and individual PSCs, and whether one person holds several capacities.
UK or overseas residence, supported identity documents and the availability of suitable proof of address.
Missing, expired or inconsistent evidence and any exceptional review needed before the ACSP submission.
Whether standard or tailored constitutional, formation, charity, governance, regulatory or legal work is separately required.
Coddan’s professional charge, VAT, applicable Companies House charges and any separately agreed related service.

Frequently asked questions

Must directors verify before a CLG is incorporated?

Each proposed director must have completed identity verification and provide their Personal Code in the new-company registration application. Verification remains separate from the registrar’s examination and decision.

Must every guarantor or member verify?

Not merely because the person is a guarantor or ordinary member. The person must be considered separately if they will also be a director, individual PSC or hold another capacity affected by a current requirement.

What if the same person is a director, guarantor and PSC?

The capacities remain distinct. The individual normally verifies once and uses the same Personal Code, but the code must be provided through the process for the director role and separately for the PSC role.

When is the Personal Code issued?

Companies House issues the code after it accepts completion of the identity-verification process. Where an ACSP verifies the person, Companies House sends the code to the email address supplied through that process.

Where is the Personal Code used during formation?

The code for each proposed director is included through the new-company application. A person who is also an individual PSC provides the same code separately through the process applying to that PSC role.

Does identity verification mean Companies House will accept the application?

No. Verification addresses the individual’s identity. Companies House still examines the incorporation application and controls acceptance, registration and incorporation.

Can Coddan coordinate verification and formation?

Yes, where the supported ACSP route and formation service are confirmed within the agreed scope. Coddan coordinates its work, but Companies House controls the official verification result, Personal Code and incorporation decision.

Can an overseas director complete verification?

Overseas residence does not by itself prevent verification or appointment. The available route depends on the person’s identity document, proof of address, country and any exceptional evidence issue.

What if a proposed director cannot complete verification?

Do not submit on the assumption that verification will be resolved later. The evidence and available route should be reviewed, and any mismatch or exceptional case addressed before the person is included as a proposed director.

Does incorporation complete Charity Commission or HMRC requirements?

No. Companies House incorporation, HMRC matters and Charity Commission or CIC Regulator processes are separate. The applicable later work depends on the organisation’s status and activities.

What happens after the CLG is incorporated?

The company may need role-connection work, first decisions, company and membership records, accounting and tax arrangements, confirmation statements and any separate charity or regulatory action. These are not completed merely by incorporation.

What information should I provide?

Provide the proposed company and formation details, every person and capacity, known PSC information, relevant contact details, identity and address evidence, overseas circumstances and timing. “Not known” is acceptable; do not send an actual Personal Code through a general enquiry.

Coordinate verification before the application is submitted

Tell Coddan about the proposed CLG, its directors, members or guarantors and known PSCs. We can identify the verification work, confirm the appropriate route and coordinate it with the agreed formation service.

Discuss CLG formation verification

Company Limited by Guarantee Identity Verification & Formation Process.

Understand how identity verification fits into the formation of a CLG and follow the connected stages from proposed directors through to Companies House incorporation.

Whether you're establishing a new Company Limited by Guarantee, preparing proposed directors or coordinating identity verification, our professional team helps you understand the correct sequence and prepare each connected stage before incorporation.

Follow the formation-stage journey from preparing the proposed CLG and its people through identity verification, Personal Code use and incorporation submission.