Companies House sign-in, ACSP status and sanctions screening

UK compliance update: Companies House sign-in, ACSP status and sanctions screening

Several operational changes were announced during the week commencing 17 August 2026. No new general UK identity-verification or AML obligation came into force during the period, but Companies House users and businesses performing sanctions checks should review the following developments.

Companies House is moving its company-information service to GOV.UK One Login

Companies House announced on 20 August that GOV.UK One Login will become the principal sign-in method for the Find and update company information service.

The sign-in screen is expected to change in late August 2026. Existing account holders will initially be able to continue using their current Companies House credentials, although the existing sign-in option will appear further down the page. New users will need to create a GOV.UK One Login.

Companies House has stressed that this is a change to account access and does not, by itself, require the user to verify their identity.

The most significant practical change concerns shared accounts. Every GOV.UK One Login must belong to one individual and use that person’s own email address and telephone number. Companies House warns that sharing an account after it has been linked to GOV.UK One Login can activate security controls and lock users out.

Accountancy practices, solicitors, company formation agents and registered office providers that currently share Companies House credentials should therefore begin moving staff to separate accounts. Companies House has not yet announced the date on which existing sign-in credentials will stop working, but says notice will be provided before the final change.

Further information is available in the Companies House announcement about GOV.UK One Login.

Companies House updates its active and restricted ACSP lists

Companies House published updated lists of active and ceased or suspended Authorised Corporate Service Providers on 20 August.

The active list only contains ACSPs that have consented to publication. An agent’s absence from that list does not necessarily mean it is unauthorised, and Companies House warns that the information may be incomplete or out of date.

The separate ceased and suspended list is more important when confirming whether an agent can currently perform ACSP functions. Companies House says an ACSP may be suspended while it investigates or requests further information about:

• the business or its AML supervision;

• filings submitted to Companies House; or

• the identity-verification process used by the ACSP.

ACSP status may be ceased where the provider requests removal or fails to comply with its legal requirements.

Companies House says the restricted list is reviewed every two weeks, but a recent suspension or cessation may take up to two weeks to appear. A list update is only published where changes have occurred.

Businesses appointing an ACSP should therefore check the current ceased and suspended ACSP list. The active ACSP list may provide additional information, but absence from it should not be treated as proof that a provider is unauthorised.

UK Sanctions List records changed again

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office made four variations to records under the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaeda sanctions regime on 17 August, followed by another 21 variations on 20 August.

These were variations to existing records rather than 25 newly designated people or organisations. Nevertheless, altered names, aliases, addresses or other identifying information can affect sanctions-screening matches and the review of previously screened customers.

The FCDO also updated its guidance for the UK Sanctions List search tool on 20 August. The official tool supports exact, partial and fuzzy searches, along with filters and result ranking. However, the government warns that using the search tool does not remove the obligation to undertake appropriate due diligence.

It also emphasises that prohibitions can apply to an unlisted entity where that entity is owned or controlled by a designated person. A search that produces no direct name match is therefore not necessarily sufficient to establish that sanctions restrictions do not apply.

The current records and downloadable data are available from the UK Sanctions List, while the search methodology is explained in the official search-tool user guide.