Understand Companies House identity verification requirements for individual PSCs and choose the most appropriate professionally managed verification pathway for your circumstances.

Professional Identity Verification for PSCs.

Whether you are a new individual PSC, an existing PSC, connected with several companies or LLPs, or dealing with an identity or Personal Code issue, our professional team helps you establish the affected role, applicable timing and appropriate verification route from £40 + VAT, while eligible individuals may use the free Companies House service.

Establish whether you are actually an individual PSC before treating identity verification as the next step, because PSC status arises from the applicable ownership or control conditions.

Understand the applicable verification requirement and timing for your particular PSC role and circumstances, including where you also hold another Companies House role.

Prepare the required identity and address evidence with professional review designed to identify missing, inconsistent or potentially unsuitable information before the verification route is progressed.

Choose between the free Companies House route and Coddan's professionally supported ACSP verification pathways according to your circumstances and the level of assistance required.

Compare four managed verification packages, from £40 + VAT for the standard route through £65 + VAT, £125 + VAT and £220 + VAT options for priority, flexible or more individually supported circumstances.

Understand the distinction between identity verification and your Personal Code, recognising that Companies House issues the Personal Code and that it must then be used through the applicable PSC process.

Coordinate PSC verification across several companies or LLPs where the same individual has multiple affected entities or roles, while keeping each entity's separate process clear.

Access enhanced professional support where overseas evidence, document compatibility, name or address history or an earlier incomplete verification requires closer individual assessment.

Keep PSC status, identity verification, Personal Code use and the entity's PSC notification as separate connected stages so that completing one does not incorrectly imply that the others are complete.

Reduce avoidable administrative errors and back-and-forth by establishing the correct individual, entity, PSC role, timing, evidence and verification pathway before the relevant procedure is progressed.

Compare Our 4 Managed Verification Packages

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

Person-centred Companies House identity verification

Identity Verification for People with Significant Control

If you are, may be or are recorded as a person with significant control, completing an identity check may not be the only action required. You may also need to obtain and use your Companies House Personal Code for the correct PSC role while the company or LLP completes its separate ownership, control and filing work.

Coddan can help establish whether you are the individual who must verify, which entity and PSC role are affected, what timing applies and which separate company, LLP, filing or corrective service is required.

When this service may help

You may know that Companies House identity verification is mandatory but still be unsure what applies to you personally. The answer depends on whether you are actually an individual PSC, when the role began, whether you hold another Companies House role and what the relevant company or LLP has already reported.

You may be a new PSC

The company or LLP is adding you, or a new ownership or control event may have made you a PSC.

You are an existing PSC

You need to establish your current 14-day period and whether another director or LLP-member role affects the timing.

You control several entities

The same code may be reused, but every affected company, LLP and PSC role must be addressed separately.

Something does not match

Your identity, Personal Code, date of birth, PSC entry or nature of control may not agree with the available records.

Five connected matters must remain separate

The work follows a logical sequence, but completing one matter does not automatically complete the next.

First

PSC status

Ownership or control determines whether the individual is a PSC.

Then

Identity verification

The person proves their identity through an available Companies House or ACSP route.

After verification

Personal Code

Companies House issues or makes the individual’s Personal Code available.

For the role

PSC code use

The code is provided for the particular PSC role within the applicable period.

Separately

Entity work

The company or LLP identifies, confirms and reports its PSC information.

Verification confirms identity; it does not create PSC status. A Personal Code cannot decide the nature of control, complete the entity’s PSC notification or correct an inaccurate register entry.

Who must verify as a PSC?

A living individual who is registrable as a PSC must complete the current identity-verification requirement and provide the Personal Code for the PSC role. The person must first meet at least one applicable ownership or control condition.

A director, shareholder, company member, guarantor, LLP member, designated LLP member, trustee, partner, adviser or person described generally as a beneficial owner is not automatically an individual PSC. A legal entity, RLE, trust or firm does not receive an individual Personal Code.

Common control routes

More than 25% of relevant ownership or voting rights, appointment or removal rights, other significant influence or control, or qualifying control through a trust or firm may be relevant.

Company and LLP distinctions

Companies use share, board and company-right concepts. LLPs use member, management and surplus-asset concepts. The tests must not be mechanically substituted.

When the answer is uncertain

Indirect ownership, agreements, trusts, firms and disputed control may require documents and separate professional or legal analysis before the verification subject is selected.

Who Must Verify as a PSC? Ownership, Voting Rights and Significant Influence or Control

When must an individual PSC act?

Every living PSC subject to the current requirement has a 14-day period for providing the Personal Code, but the trigger depends on the individual’s situation. There is no single universal deadline for all PSCs.

Became a PSC after 18 November 2025

The code can be provided when the person is first added to the Companies House register or within 14 days after being added.

Existing PSC who is also a director

For the same company, the PSC period begins on the day after its confirmation-statement date. Filing the confirmation statement early does not change the period.

Existing PSC who is not a director

The code must be provided within the first 14 days of the individual’s birth month.

The equivalent LLP-member position, exact code route, extensions and protected-information cases require the current specialist timing treatment.

Companies House Personal Codes, PSC Timing and Separate Role Connection

If you hold more than one role

An individual normally completes identity verification once and keeps one Companies House Personal Code. The same code may be reused, but every affected entity and role must still be dealt with through its applicable process.

Situation	What remains separate
Director and PSC	The code is provided separately for the director role and the PSC role. One role connection does not complete the other.
LLP member and PSC	The member and PSC processes remain separate. Designation as an LLP member does not itself create another Personal Code.
PSC of several companies or LLPs	The same personal code is normally reused, but it must be supplied through each applicable PSC process.

If you are a proposed PSC during company formation

A proposed company must identify its ownership and control position as part of preparing the company-registration application. Where an individual will be a PSC, the person’s identity-verification and Personal Code work must be coordinated with—but must not be confused with—the incorporation process.

Verification does not allocate shares, establish voting rights, approve the articles or incorporate the company. The formation service remains responsible for the complete entity application and implementation.

PSC work supports registration

Correct classification and verification help ensure that the appropriate individual and Personal Code are addressed.

Formation owns the company event

Company type, name, constitution, officers, members, capital or guarantee, addresses and registration remain formation work.

For a Company Limited by Guarantee, continue with Company Limited by Guarantee Formation. For an LLP, continue with LLP Formation.

Choose the verification route that fits the individual

An eligible individual may use the free Companies House service. Professional support from an ACSP is optional. Different PSCs connected with the same entity may use different suitable routes.

Free Companies House route

Where eligible, the individual can verify without a Coddan professional verification charge. The PSC code step and the entity’s own work still remain to be completed.

Coddan’s supported route

Where selected and agreed, Coddan identifies the person and role, creates the secure verification file, coordinates identity and address evidence and liveness, reviews the result and manually submits the required information through its Companies House ACSP account where satisfactory and authorised.

Companies House—not Coddan or Coddan’s secure identity-verification provider—issues the Personal Code. Coddan’s onboarding and anti-money-laundering checks are separate from Companies House identity verification.

Current, transitional and future position

Current-position wording checked on 20 September 2026.

Current

Individual PSC requirement

Living individual PSCs must verify and provide the Personal Code for the PSC role. The entity separately reports its PSC information.

Transitional

Existing PSC timing

Mandatory identity verification began on 18 November 2025. Existing PSCs follow individual and role-specific periods, not one universal end date.

Future

Corporate officers and general filers

Requirements for officers of corporate PSCs and people filing at Companies House remain later requirements unless formally commenced and supported by an operational procedure.

Current Companies House guidance states that a PSC who has died does not need to complete identity verification. The register position and estate evidence must be handled through the applicable separate process.

What Coddan can coordinate

Coddan can identify the practical question before verification or filing work begins and keep the individual’s duty distinct from the entity’s obligations.

Identify the person and entity

Confirm the individual, company or LLP, current register position and every relevant role.

Establish the likely requirement

Separate an individual PSC from an RLE or other structure and identify where control analysis is needed.

Coordinate verification

Support the selected route and identify the later Personal Code and PSC role step.

Route the entity work

Identify separately required formation, PSC notification, change, confirmation-statement, secretarial or corrective work.

Identify mismatches

Recognise apparent differences involving identity details, code use, PSC information or the entity’s records.

Escalate disputed matters

Direct disputed ownership, authority or control to the appropriate professional, registrar or legal route.

What information should you provide?

“Not known” is an acceptable answer. You do not need to decide whether you are legally a PSC before asking Coddan to identify the proper route.

The entity

Name, company or LLP number, entity type, jurisdiction and whether it is proposed, active or dissolved.

The individual

Full name, date of birth, country of residence and all current or proposed roles with the relevant entity.

Ownership or control

Known shares, voting rights, LLP rights, appointment rights, ownership chain, trust or firm arrangements and relevant dates.

Verification position

Whether verification has been attempted or completed, the route used and whether the Personal Code has been received.

Relevant dates

PSC addition date, confirmation-statement date, birth month, formation or change date and any displayed deadline.

Any problem or dispute

Mismatch, protected-information issue, inaccurate entry, disputed control, possible misuse or other process already started.

This section does not transmit an enquiry. Use Coddan’s normal website contact details. Do not place an actual Personal Code, password, company authentication code or sensitive unredacted identity evidence in a general enquiry.

What this service does not do

Identity verification and Personal Code use do not create or end PSC status, determine ownership or control, validate a company or LLP decision, appoint or remove a director or member, or complete the entity’s PSC notification.

They do not correct an inaccurate register, resolve a disputed control position, restore a dissolved entity, complete company or LLP formation, replace internal records or guarantee Companies House acceptance. Those matters require the appropriate separate service or official route.

Frequently asked questions

Who needs identity verification as a PSC?

A living individual who is registrable as a PSC must verify. The ownership or control conditions must be established separately before selecting the person.

Does identity verification make me a PSC?

No. PSC status arises from the applicable ownership or control conditions. Verification confirms the person’s identity.

Does every director, shareholder or LLP member verify as a PSC?

No. Those roles may have separate requirements, but PSC status must be tested independently against the entity’s ownership and control arrangements.

What happens after I verify?

Companies House issues or makes your Personal Code available. You must then provide it for the relevant PSC role during your applicable period.

Does verification notify Companies House that I am a PSC?

No. The entity’s PSC notification and the individual’s verification-detail requirement are separate processes.

Do all PSCs have the same deadline?

No. Every PSC has a 14-day period, but the trigger depends on whether the person is new or existing and whether they hold another relevant role.

Can I use the same Personal Code for several PSC roles?

Normally, yes. The code belongs to you, but it must be supplied separately through every applicable entity and role process.

What if I am both a director and PSC?

You normally use the same Personal Code but provide it separately for each role. Completing the director step does not automatically complete the PSC step.

Can I verify free of charge?

An eligible individual may use the free Companies House route. Coddan’s supported ACSP service is optional.

Does a corporate PSC or RLE receive a Personal Code?

No individual Personal Code is issued to the legal entity. The corporate entry and any individual higher in the ownership chain must be considered under the applicable rules.

What if the PSC has died?

Current Companies House guidance states that a deceased PSC does not need identity verification. The register and estate-evidence position must follow the separate official process.

Can verification correct the wrong PSC entry?

No. The original filing, actual control position and appropriate corrective or legal route must be examined separately.

What should I provide to Coddan?

Provide the entity, individual, roles, known ownership or control information, relevant dates and verification position. “Not known” is acceptable; do not send the actual Personal Code in a general enquiry.

Start with the individual, the entity and the real control position

Tell Coddan who may be the PSC, which company or LLP is involved, what other roles the person holds and what has already happened. We can identify the appropriate verification route and the separate entity work without asking you to decide the legal conclusion first.

Discuss the PSC verification route

PSC Identity Verification Through an ACSP.

Understand Companies House identity verification requirements for individual PSCs and choose the most appropriate professionally managed verification pathway for your circumstances.

Follow these six steps to understand your PSC obligations, choose the appropriate identity verification route, and maintain ongoing Companies House compliance.

Streamline your Companies House compliance with fast, secure ID verification for PSCs. Complete the process online with an authorized ACSP today!

£40.00

£65.00

£125.00

£220.00