Companies House Identity Verification: What Enforcement Means

Companies House Identity Verification: What Enforcement Means

Companies House identity verification is about to get teeth. Since 18 November 2025, new directors and people with significant control (PSCs) have had to prove who they are before taking up their roles, and existing officeholders were given a year to catch up. That grace period ends in November 2026, and recent figures show a large number of people have yet to comply. For solicitors, insolvency practitioners and anyone who relies on the register to understand who really sits behind a company, this is a change worth watching closely.

Why Companies House identity verification was introduced

The requirement comes from the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which handed Companies House new powers to test the accuracy of the register rather than simply accept what was filed. For decades, almost anyone could be named as a director under almost any identity, which made the register an easy tool for fraud, money laundering and the hiding of assets. Companies House identity verification is the central plank of the reform. Every director and PSC must confirm their identity, either directly through GOV.UK One Login or through an authorised agent such as an accountant or solicitor.

The verified status attaches to the individual rather than the company, so once a person has been checked they do not need to repeat the process for every appointment they hold. You can read the official position on the GOV.UK changes to company law pages.

 

The numbers behind the November 2026 deadline

Companies House has been writing to those who have not yet acted. Between November 2025 and May 2026 it sent around 983,000 letters to companies whose directors or controlling shareholders had not completed the checks, and by May 2026 roughly 183,000 people with significant control were still in default. The register holds several million active companies, so the compliance gap is considerable.

The current position is transitional. Companies House received its verification powers in November 2025 but agreed not to pursue firm sanctions during the first twelve months. From November 2026 that changes. Failing to verify is a criminal offence, and persistent non-compliance can lead to fines of up to £5,000, disqualification as a director and the company being struck from the register. The detail of how to comply sits in the GOV.UK verification guidance.

What Companies House identity verification means in practice

The practical consequences arrive sooner than the enforcement date. An unverified director already cannot file a confirmation statement, and failing to file that statement is itself an offence that can trigger fines and strike-off. In other words, a company with an unverified officer can quietly drift towards removal from the register without any prosecution ever taking place.

For asset tracing and due diligence work the reform cuts both ways. A verified register should make it harder for someone to sit behind a shell company under a false name, which supports cleaner searches and more reliable ownership trails. At the same time, a coming wave of strike-offs and register annotations may change what a search turns up about a target, and a company flagged as non-compliant may itself be a signal worth investigating. Anyone reading the register as part of a fraud inquiry or an asset search should understand what the new markers mean.

Solicitors and insolvency practitioners have a direct interest too. A practitioner appointed over an insolvent company may find that unverified directors have been unable to file, leaving the record incomplete, and officeholders should factor verification status into their early enquiries. Firms that act as authorised agents also carry new responsibilities for the checks they perform on behalf of clients.

If you need to confirm who really controls a company, or to trace assets held behind a corporate structure, Tremark’s asset tracing team can help. Fill in the form below to get in touch with the Tremark team.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does Companies House identity verification become compulsory for existing directors?

New directors and PSCs have had to verify since 18 November 2025. Existing officeholders were given a twelve-month transition period that ends in November 2026, after which firmer enforcement begins.

What happens if a director does not verify their identity?

An unverified director cannot file a confirmation statement, which is itself an offence. From November 2026, continued non-compliance can lead to fines of up to £5,000, disqualification and the company being struck off.

Does identity verification make asset searches more reliable?

It should make it harder to hide behind a false identity, but it does not remove the need for professional checks. A thorough asset search still draws on many sources beyond the register alone.