Companies House – Company Law Reform 18 November 2025
On 5 August 2025, Companies House issued an update on the introduction of the new compulsory identity and verification (IDV) regime for all individuals who are or are to become directors, members of limited liability partnerships (LLP Members) and/or persons with significant control (PSCs) of UK companies.
Compulsory IDV is to come into effect from Tuesday 18 November 2025 and will be phased over a period of 12 months to ensure a smooth transition for companies and business owners.
The UK Government hopes these measures will result in more accurate and trustworthy register data and provide greater protection against fraud.
Trainee Solicitor, Lucy Tootill looks at the issue.
This article covers:
- What is the new IDV regime
- Requirements for directors
- Requirements for PSCs
- Director and PSC of the same company?
- How to verify
- Failure to verify
- Next steps?
What is the new IDV regime?
From 18 November 2025, IDV will become a compulsory legal requirement for the following individuals under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023:
- New directors, LLP Members and PSCs, who will each need to verify their identity to incorporate a new company or LLP, or when they are to be appointed to an existing company or LLP;
- Existing directors who will be required to confirm they have verified their identity at the same time as filing their next annual confirmation statement, during the 12-month transition period; and
- Existing PSCs who will need to verify their identity in line with an appointed day (see below) within the 12-months following 18 November.
Under this new IDV regime, identity verification will form a two-stage process:
- Stage 1 is to verify your identity and receive your Companies House personal code. This code is unique to you and should be kept secure.
- At stage 2, you can then link your verified identity to each company role you hold by providing your personal code and a verification statement for each role.
This means that most individuals should only be required to verify their identity once, regardless of the number of appointments they hold.
Requirements for Directors
From 18 November, if you are an existing director, you must provide your personal code and a verification statement at the same time as filing the company’s next annual confirmation statement.
This means your identity must be verified by Companies House before the company’s next annual confirmation statement date falls due, within the 12 months transition period. Please note, this information will be required for all the company’s directors in order to file the confirmation statement.
By way of example, if your company’s confirmation statement is due on 31 March 2026, all directors must be verified by that date.
If you’re a director of multiple companies, you’ll need to provide your personal code and a verification statement for each appointment separately, ensuring you use the same personal code each time.
If you’re registering to incorporate a new company, you’ll need to verify your identity at the time of incorporation, if not before.
Please note, upon incorporation you will also be asked to provide Companies House with the personal code and a verification statement for each appointed director as part of the registration filing, so you must ensure you also have this to hand.
Requirements for PSC only
If you are a current PSC, you must provide your personal code and a verification statement within the first 14 days of your birth month. For example, if your date of birth is 22 January, your 14-day period will begin on 1 January.
If you become a PSC after 18 November 2025, you must provide your personal code and a verification statement within 14 days of being added to the Companies House register.
Again, you will not need to verify your identity for each appointment however you will need to provide Companies House with your personal code and a verification statement for each PSC role you hold.
Director and PSC of the same company?
If you’re a director and PSC for the same company, you’ll need to provide your personal code separately for each role.
As a PSC who is also a director, you must provide your personal code using a separate online service within 14 days of your company’s confirmation statement date. This online service will be available when the IDV requirements come into force on 18 November 2025.
How to verify
Individuals can verify their identity with Companies House through GOV.UK One Login, or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP).
IDV through GOV.UK One Login is free and can be completed online.
Once you have successfully verified your identity you will receive a personal code from Companies House.
If you verified your identity through GOV.UK One Login, you’ll be able to view your personal code in the ‘manage account’ section of your Companies House account.
If you verified your identity using an ACSP, you’ll receive your personal code by email.
Even though compulsory IDV does not commence until 18 November you may wish to voluntarily complete the verification process in advance, and you can do this through the GOV.UK One Login.
It is important to keep a record of your personal code, as from 18 November 2025 all users will need to provide their personal code and verification statement confirming they have successfully verified their identity for each company role they hold.
Failure to verify
From 18 November 2025, you will not be able to file your company’s confirmation statement unless all directors have verified their identity.
It will also be an offence to act as a director without being verified once director duties commence.
Further reform
From 18 November 2025, all UK companies will also be obliged to file specified information regarding their directors, secretaries and PSCs at Companies House and it will also be mandatory for all companies to maintain their own register of members.
IDV requirements for limited partnerships, corporate directors of companies, corporate members of Limited Liability Partnerships, and officers of corporate PSCs, are set to be introduced at a later date.
Next steps?
It is important to protect yourselves and your business. Companies House CEO Louise Smyth is encouraging people to ‘verify as early as possible’ to avoid delays and ensure each officer has enough time to complete the IDV process, especially if your company has multiple directors and/or PSCs.
Therefore, it is integral this process is completed as soon as practicable, to make sure your company stays compliant and can continue to operate effectively. It is also advisable to check when your next confirmation statement is due to make sure your company is prepared.
Companies House are on hand to provide support and are in the process of actively contacting all companies with advice and guidance on how individuals can successfully complete their IDV checks.
For further advice contact the Corporate team at Wake Smith Solicitors on 0114 266 6660.