Director ID Verification: Why It's Essential for Your Company

Director ID verification is now part of running any UK company. Since 18 November 2025, every new director must prove their identity to Companies House before they can be appointed, and existing directors must confirm they are verified when their company files its next confirmation statement. It can feel like one more piece of admin, but director ID verification protects your company, your name and the people you do business with. This guide explains why it is essential, what happens when it is ignored, and how to make it painless for your board.

What director ID verification means

Director ID verification is a one-off check that you are who you say you are. You verify once, either directly with Companies House through GOV.UK One Login or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), and receive a personal code. That code is then linked to each directorship you hold. For a step-by-step explanation of the routes and deadlines, see our guide to the new ID verification requirements.

Why the government introduced it

The UK register has long been one of the most open in the world, which made it easy to use for the wrong reasons. People set up companies in other people's names, used made-up identities, or registered companies at addresses they had no right to use. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 gave Companies House new powers to tackle this, and director ID verification is the centrepiece. The aim is a register that banks, investors, customers and the public can trust.

How we got here: the timeline

• 4 March 2024: the first Companies House changes under the Act begin, including registered email addresses, appropriate registered office addresses and the lawful purpose statement.
• 8 April 2025: voluntary identity verification opens, and over a million people verify early.
• 18 November 2025: director ID verification becomes a legal requirement for new directors and PSCs, and the 12-month transition for existing directors and PSCs begins.
• By November 2026: existing directors and PSCs should have provided their personal codes at their due dates.
• Later phases: rules for corporate directors, filing agents and limited partnerships follow, with advance notice.

Reason 1: It is a legal duty

Director ID verification is not optional. Once the requirement applies to you:

• it is an offence to act as a director without being verified
• the company commits an offence if it allows an unverified person to act as a director
• a new director cannot be appointed until they are verified
• financial penalties can be imposed on directors who do not comply

These duties sit alongside the long-standing duties of directors under the Companies Act 2006. Our guide to director responsibilities covers the wider picture.

Reason 2: Your filings depend on it

The most immediate effect for existing companies is on the confirmation statement. Companies House will reject a confirmation statement that does not include the personal code of every director. A company that cannot file its confirmation statement is in breach of the Companies Act, and if the problem continues, it can be struck off the register.

The same applies when you appoint someone: the appointment cannot be registered without their verification. So director ID verification is now part of the critical path for incorporating a company, adding a director, and keeping a company in good standing.

Reason 3: It protects you from identity misuse

Before verification, someone could be appointed as a director of a company without their knowledge, using their name and a made-up address. That could drag an innocent person into debts, investigations or credit problems. Director ID verification makes that much harder, because nobody can be added as a director unless they have proven their own identity and provided their own personal code.

It also protects your company. A rogue filing that tries to change your directors or registered office is far less likely to succeed when every director must be verified.

Reason 4: Banks, lenders and partners check

The public register now shows whether directors and people with significant control have verified, and when their statements are due. Banks opening business accounts, lenders assessing credit and larger customers onboarding suppliers routinely check the register. A company with unverified directors, or overdue filings because of it, looks risky. A fully verified board is a simple signal that the company is run properly.

Reason 5: It makes the register more reliable for everyone

Every business relies on the register when it checks a new customer, supplier or competitor. If the register is full of fake directors and false addresses, those checks are worth little. Director ID verification raises the quality of the information everyone uses, including you.

What happens to companies that ignore it?

A company whose directors do not verify can quickly find itself in trouble:

1. The confirmation statement is rejected because personal codes are missing.
2. The company goes overdue on the register, visible to anyone who looks.
3. Companies House can begin action to strike it off, freezing bank accounts and passing assets to the Crown if it is dissolved.
4. Directors can face penalties and, in serious cases, prosecution.
5. Business suffers as banks, lenders and customers see the warning signs.

Companies House has said it will take a proportionate approach during the transition, but that is no reason to wait.

New companies and new appointments

For anyone forming a company now, director ID verification comes first. Every proposed director must have a personal code before the company can be incorporated, and the same applies when you add a director later. If you are planning to bring someone onto the board, ask them to verify as soon as they agree, so the appointment can be filed the day it takes effect rather than waiting on paperwork.

Directors with several companies

If you are a director of more than one company, director ID verification only happens once. Your personal code then needs to be provided for each directorship, at each company's own deadline. For existing directors, that is usually each company's next confirmation statement after 18 November 2025. Keep a list of your appointments and their confirmation statement dates, so none is missed.

Directors who are also PSCs

Many small company directors are also people with significant control because they own more than 25% of the shares. Those people need to provide a statement for each role. As a PSC who is also a director, your 14-day window starts the day after the company's confirmation statement date, so the two deadlines sit close together. Doing both at the same time keeps it simple.

Making director ID verification painless

For a small company with one or two directors

• Check your confirmation statement date on the register.
• Verify a few weeks before it, using GOV.UK One Login or an ACSP.
• Store your personal code with the company's records.
• File the confirmation statement with the code included.

For a larger board

• Appoint one person to coordinate director ID verification for everyone.
• Collect each director's preferred route, especially directors overseas or without accepted photo ID.
• Track personal codes in a secure list, not in email chains.
• Add verification to the onboarding checklist for any new director, so appointments are never delayed.

An example

A design studio limited company has two directors, who each own half the shares. Its confirmation statement date is 30 April 2026. One director verifies through the GOV.UK ID Check app in ten minutes using her passport. The other lives in Spain and verifies through an ACSP using his Spanish identity card. Both send their personal codes to the director who handles the filings. The confirmation statement goes in on 20 April with both codes, and both directors' PSC statements are provided in the 14 days after 30 April. The company stays fully compliant, and the register shows both directors as verified.

Myths about director ID verification

• "Dormant companies are exempt." They are not. Directors of dormant companies must verify too.
• "It puts my home address on the register." It does not. Verification is a check, not a disclosure.
• "I have 12 months from November 2025." For existing directors, the real deadline is the company's next confirmation statement within the transition, which could be much sooner.
• "My accountant can verify for me." An ACSP can check your identity, but you are the person being verified; nobody can do it without you.

Director ID verification: key points

• It is a legal duty for every director, new and existing.
• Your company's filings, especially the confirmation statement, depend on it.
• It protects you and your company from identity misuse.
• Banks and partners can see whether your board has verified.
• Verify once, then use your personal code for every role.

Companies House guidance is on GOV.UK: when you need to verify your identity for Companies House.

Get your directors verified

Our identity verification is carried out through our authorised ACSP. We can verify every director and PSC, including those living abroad, and make sure their personal codes are ready for your next filing. See our director ID verification service.