Companies House Identity Verification
Companies House identity verification: the latest changes and what they mean for UK businesses
Companies House has updated its timetable for implementing the remaining measures in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act. The revised plan provides greater clarity about identity verification, Authorised Corporate Service Providers and the future rules for agents filing documents on behalf of companies.
For accountants, solicitors, company formation agents and other professional service providers, the update contains an important distinction: identity verification is already compulsory for directors and people with significant control, but the wider requirement for all third-party filing agents to become authorised will not arrive before November 2027.
Identity verification is already compulsory
Identity verification became compulsory for new company directors and people with significant control on 18 November 2025. A 12-month transition period was also introduced for existing directors and PSCs.
According to the Companies House implementation timetable, existing directors and PSCs are required to provide their identity verification credentials as part of the company’s confirmation statement process during the transition period.
Companies House says it expects, no earlier than the end of 2026, to complete this transition and begin compliance activity against people who have failed to verify their identity.
This means the identity verification programme is now entering an important stage. Many straightforward cases will already have been completed, leaving a potentially more challenging group of people who may need additional support.
These could include overseas directors, people without suitable photographic identification, individuals whose documents contain inconsistent personal details and clients who have been unable to complete the GOV.UK One Login process.
Individuals can verify their identity directly through Companies House, or they can ask an Authorised Corporate Service Provider—usually known as an ACSP—to complete the verification for them. Companies House explains both routes in its official identity verification guidance.
For accountants, solicitors and other authorised agents, this creates an opportunity to help clients who would prefer professional assistance or who are unable to complete the direct process successfully.
Not every filing agent needs to be an ACSP yet
There has been some understandable confusion about whether every accountant or agent filing documents for clients must already be registered as an ACSP.
At present, a business must be registered as an ACSP if it wants to verify identities for Companies House. However, the broader requirement for all third-party agents filing on behalf of companies has not yet taken effect.
In its updated transition plan, Companies House says that, no earlier than November 2027, it expects to:
make identity verification compulsory for people presenting documents to Companies House;
require third-party agents filing on behalf of companies to be registered as ACSPs; and
provide businesses with at least six months’ notice before these requirements come into force.
The complete proposed timetable can be found in the Companies House outline transition plan.
This does not reduce the importance of ACSP registration. It simply means businesses need to distinguish between the requirements already in force and those planned for the future.
An accountant or solicitor wishing to verify a client’s identity for Companies House must already be registered as an ACSP. An agent that only submits other company documents is not yet subject to the wider compulsory ACSP requirement, although that is expected to change from November 2027 at the earliest.
Companies House updates its public list of ACSPs
Companies House also updated its public list of Authorised Corporate Service Providers on 7 August 2026.
The list can help directors and business owners find an authorised agent offering services such as company filing and identity verification. Companies House recommends that people compare the services offered, prices, terms and conditions, and whether checks can be completed remotely.
However, the Companies House list of ACSPs comes with an important qualification: publication is voluntary.
An authorised provider that does not appear on the list is not necessarily unregistered. Companies House expressly warns that the list may not include every ACSP and that it is not updated according to a fixed schedule.
Businesses should therefore not treat absence from the public list as proof that an agent is unauthorised. Companies House maintains a separate list of ceased and suspended ACSPs, which should also be checked before appointing a provider.
For registered ACSPs, appearing on the voluntary public list may be commercially useful. Companies House directs people to use it when looking for an agent, and its guidance specifically encourages potential customers to investigate whether a provider offers remote identity checks.
Greater scrutiny of identity checks and company information
The wider direction of travel is clear. Companies House is moving from being primarily a recipient of company information towards taking a more active role in checking, challenging and, where necessary, rejecting that information.
Companies House says its new powers allow it to query information suspected of being incorrect or fraudulent, remove inaccurate information more quickly, undertake greater analysis of the register and share more information with law-enforcement agencies and regulators.
Its updated timetable also anticipates greater cross-checking of information between Companies House and other public and private bodies.
For businesses providing identity verification or AML services, this makes a reliable audit trail increasingly important. It should be possible to demonstrate:
who was checked;
when the check took place;
which identity evidence was used;
how the check was completed;
whether PEP or sanctions results were found;
who reviewed any exceptions or referrals; and
what information was submitted to Companies House.
The ability to retrieve this evidence later may prove just as important as completing the initial check.
FCA supervision of professional services remains a future change
A separate but related reform concerns the supervision of businesses under the UK’s Money Laundering Regulations.
The government has decided that the Financial Conduct Authority will eventually assume responsibility for AML and counter-terrorist financing supervision across the legal, accountancy and trust and company service provider sectors. These responsibilities are currently divided between professional body supervisors and parts of HMRC.
According to the HM Treasury consultation on AML supervision reform, the proposed FCA role could include registering supervised firms, conducting gatekeeping checks, maintaining a public register and taking enforcement action where necessary.
This transfer has not yet taken place and should not be described as an existing FCA supervisory arrangement. The government has also said that the reform is primarily intended to change how compliance is supervised, rather than alter the underlying AML obligations firms must meet.
Nevertheless, a single regulator is likely to bring greater consistency to supervision and may place increased emphasis on properly documented procedures, risk decisions and customer due-diligence records.
Estate agents should note that the transfer is focused on legal, accountancy and trust and company service providers. It should not be interpreted as placing every profession currently covered by the Money Laundering Regulations under FCA supervision.
What should businesses do now?
For businesses affected by these developments, sensible actions include:
checking that existing directors and PSCs understand their identity verification responsibilities;
identifying clients who may need help before the transition period concludes;
ensuring ACSP registration is in place before offering Companies House identity verification;
checking whether the business should appear on the voluntary public ACSP list;
reviewing identity-check records and audit trails;
making sure marketing materials distinguish current requirements from future proposals; and
monitoring Companies House announcements about the eventual compulsory registration of all third-party filing agents.
There is no immediate requirement for every company filing agent to become an ACSP. However, firms that want to verify identities for Companies House must already be authorised, and the wider filing rules are now expected from November 2027 at the earliest.
For Mobunti and the professionals we support, the immediate priority is helping accountants, solicitors, registered office providers and other authorised agents complete secure, properly documented identity checks—particularly as the Companies House transition period moves towards its conclusion.