Companies House identity verification for existing directors and PSCs (2026)

The short version

Directors give their Companies House personal code in the company’s next confirmation statement. Companies House won’t accept the confirmation statement until every director has verified and their code is included.
PSCs who are also directors give their code a second time, using a separate PSC service, within 14 days starting the day after the confirmation statement date.
PSCs who aren’t directors give their code within the first 14 days of their birth month.
The transition period is the 12 months beginning with 18 November 2025, so it runs to 17 November 2026. Your own due date depends on your role and your company’s confirmation statement date, and it’s shown on the Companies House register.

1. Check your due date on the Companies House register

Don’t work out your date from memory. Companies House shows the due dates for each role on the public register:

Search for your company on Find and update company information (the Companies House register).
Note the company’s confirmation statement date and the date the next statement is due.
Open the People tab. Companies House shows identity verification due dates for each director and PSC role there, including PSC 14-day windows.
Check every director’s and PSC’s name and date of birth match their photo ID. Companies House says a director or PSC can’t complete verification while their date of birth on the register is wrong, and corrections can take up to 20 working days.

2. Existing directors: it goes with the next confirmation statement

GOV.UK says directors provide their Companies House personal code as part of the company’s next confirmation statement. If you’re a director of more than one company, you do this for each company.

The legal detail is in regulation 4 of SI 2025/1118. For anyone who became a director before 18 November 2025, the company must deliver an identity verification statement for them with its next confirmation statement during the transition period. If the company doesn’t deliver a confirmation statement in that period, the statement goes with its next one.

Companies House’s own help pages say that before you file your next confirmation statement you must make sure every director has verified and include each director’s personal code, and that the statement will be rejected if you haven’t. If someone else files for you, such as your accountant, each director needs to share their personal code with them. Company secretaries don’t need to verify.

3. PSCs: a separate 14-day window

PSCs verify too, but they provide their code through a separate service, ‘Provide identity verification details for a PSC’. GOV.UK sets out the window:

Your situation	When you provide your PSC code
Director and PSC of the same company	As a director, in the confirmation statement. As a PSC, separately, within the 14 days starting the day after the company’s confirmation statement date. Filing the confirmation statement early doesn’t change these dates.
PSC but not a director	Within the first 14 days of your birth month. For example, if you were born on 22 January, your window starts on 1 January.
Became a PSC after 18 November 2025	When you’re first added to the register, or within 14 days of being added.

You only verify your identity once, but you provide your personal code for each role you hold.

4. How to verify

There are two routes, both described on GOV.UK’s ‘Verify your identity for Companies House’ page:

Online with GOV.UK One Login. You need one of: a biometric passport from any country, a UK photo driving licence (full or provisional), a UK biometric residence permit (BRP), a UK biometric residence card (BRC) or a UK Frontier Worker permit. You also need your current address and the year you moved in. If you live in the UK and don’t have these, the service may let you verify with bank or building society details, or in person at a Post Office.
Through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), such as an accountant or solicitor registered with Companies House. They may charge. Ask your existing adviser, or use the official list of ACSPs.

Two practical points from GOV.UK: an email address can only be used once to verify an identity, so co-directors sharing an inbox each need their own GOV.UK One Login with a different email address. And if someone isn’t confident online, another person can help them use GOV.UK One Login. GOV.UK also warns never to let anyone else use your identity.

When you’ve verified, you get an 11-character Companies House personal code. Keep it safe, and only share it with people you trust to file for you.

5. What happens if it isn’t done

The confirmation statement can’t be filed. GOV.UK says that if you don’t file your confirmation statement, you can be fined up to £5,000 and your company may be struck off.
Acting as a director while unverified is an offence under section 167M of the Companies Act 2006. The company and its officers in default can also commit an offence. Under the transitional rules, for existing directors this starts to apply once the company’s confirmation statement is filed, or the filing deadline passes.
Companies House has published its approach to non-compliance, including letters to companies and possible referral to the Insolvency Service. PSCs who don’t verify may also be committing an offence.

None of this is a reason to panic. Check the register, note your dates and get it done in good time before your confirmation statement is due.

Checklist

Look up your company on the Companies House register
Note the confirmation statement date and due date
Check each director’s and PSC’s date of birth matches their ID
Each director and PSC verifies (GOV.UK One Login or an ACSP)
Each person uses their own email address
Collect every director’s personal code before filing
File the confirmation statement with all directors’ codes
Directors who are PSCs: provide the PSC code within 14 days
Other PSCs: provide your code in the first 14 days of your birth month

While you’re on the register: does your website match it?

A confirmation statement is a good moment to check something else that comes from the register. UK company websites must show the company’s registered name, and the trading disclosure rules also require the company number, place of registration and registered office address. Our UK website legal requirements guide covers the details.

FAQ

When does an existing director have to verify their identity?

GOV.UK says directors provide their Companies House personal code as part of the company’s next confirmation statement. Under the transitional rules, for someone who was already a director before 18 November 2025, that means the next confirmation statement the company delivers during the 12-month transition period. If you’re a director of more than one company, you provide your code for each one.

Is 17 November 2026 a deadline for every director?

Not exactly. The transition period is the 12 months beginning with 18 November 2025, so it runs to 17 November 2026, and GOV.UK says 18 November 2025 was not itself a deadline. Each director’s due date is tied to their company’s confirmation statement, and PSCs have their own 14-day windows. The regulations also say that if a company doesn’t deliver a confirmation statement during the transition period, the identity verification statement goes with its next one. Check the dates shown on the Companies House register.

I’m a director and a PSC of the same company. Do I verify twice?

You verify your identity once, but you provide your personal code twice: once as a director in the confirmation statement, and once as a PSC using the ‘Provide identity verification details for a PSC’ service, within the 14 days starting the day after the company’s confirmation statement date. Filing the confirmation statement early doesn’t move that 14-day window.

Can I verify without a passport?

Yes, if you have another accepted photo ID: a UK photo driving licence (full or provisional), a UK biometric residence permit or card, or a UK Frontier Worker permit. GOV.UK also lists routes for some UK residents without these: using bank or building society details, or in person at a Post Office after entering your photo ID details online. You can also use an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP).

Will Companies House accept our confirmation statement if one director hasn’t verified?

No. Companies House says the confirmation statement will be rejected unless every director has verified and their personal code is included. It also says you can’t file if a director’s date of birth on the register doesn’t match their ID, and that corrections can take up to 20 working days.

Can Rhinehart Studio verify my identity or file for me?

No. We’re not an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, and we don’t verify identities or file anything at Companies House. Use GOV.UK One Login yourself, or ask your accountant or solicitor whether they’re an ACSP, or use the official ACSP list on GOV.UK. What we do offer is a check that your website’s company details match the register.

Is this legal advice?

No. It’s a general summary of the official guidance, with links to the sources so you can check for yourself. For advice on your own situation, speak to your accountant or a solicitor.

Official sources (checked 5 November 2026)

Laws and guidance change. Check the sources above for the latest position. For advice on your own circumstances, consult your accountant or a solicitor.

Companies House identity verification: what existing directors and PSCs need to do