Companies House ID Verification: The Director vs PSC Trap to Avoid

Key terms in this article

What is a person with significant control?

A person with significant control (PSC) is anyone who owns more than 25% of a UK company’s shares, holds more than 25% of the voting rights, or has the right to appoint or remove the majority of the board. Most small-company directors are also PSCs of their own company.

GOV.UK One Login is the unified sign-in for UK government services, including the new Companies House identity verification process. It is the free, official route to verify your identity for company filings.

What is an Authorised Corporate Service Provider?

An Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) is a third party, typically an accountant or formation agent, registered with Companies House to verify identities on behalf of company directors and PSCs. ACSPs may charge a fee for the service.

What Is Companies House Identity Verification?

Companies House identity verification became mandatory on 18 November 2025 (changestoukcompanylaw.campaign.gov.uk, 2025). Every UK company director, every person with significant control, and every LLP member must verify their identity, either directly with Companies House through GOV.UK One Login or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider.

The transition runs for twelve months. New directors must verify at the point of appointment. Existing directors must verify by the time their next confirmation statement is due. Verification is free if you do it yourself through the GOV.UK app.

Key Takeaways

Mandatory from 18 November 2025; 12-month transition period for existing directors (Companies House guidance, GOV.UK, 2025)

Applies to all UK directors, all PSCs, and all LLP members, including overseas individuals

GOV.UK One Login through the official app is free; third-party ACSPs may charge

Verification deadlines for non-director PSCs are tied to their birth month, not the confirmation statement

Non-compliance can block confirmation statement filings and trigger enforcement

If you are both a director and a PSC, your identity is checked only once, but the personal code that confirms it must be provided to Companies House separately for each role. This is the trap most easily missed

How the Process Works

For most small-company directors, the route is the GOV.UK One Login app. The flow is:

Download the GOV.UK One Login app.
Sign in or create an account.
Verify your identity by scanning a UK passport, driving licence or other accepted document and matching it to a live selfie.
Receive a Companies House personal code.
Use the personal code on your next Companies House filing.

The whole process takes about ten minutes if your documents scan cleanly. It takes longer if the app does not like your passport photo or your selfie. Allow more time if you are doing it on a slow connection.

For overseas directors and PSCs, the GOV.UK app supports a range of international passports and there is a route through Authorised Corporate Service Providers if the app does not work for your document type.

The Director vs PSC Trap

This is the part worth sitting with for a moment. In a small, family-run company, the directors are often also the people with significant control. The natural assumption is that verifying as a director covers everything. It does not. Ask us how we know.

You only verify your identity once, and you only get one personal code. But that personal code has to be provided to Companies House as part of a separate verification statement for each role you hold: once as a director, again as a PSC. Filing the director statement does not automatically cover the PSC side. Companies House will eventually catch the gap, but typically only after a confirmation statement cycle or two have passed and a chase-up has gone out. Entirely avoidable, if you know to look for it.

From our experience: if you own more than 25% of the company you direct, you are both a director and a PSC, and you need to give your personal code in both capacities. The identity check itself only happens once, but the statement to Companies House is per role. The GOV.UK One Login flow does not nudge you about this. The confirmation statement filing might catch it, but the comfortable assumption that “verifying as a director covers everything” is wrong.

If your accountant is filing your confirmation statement for you, ask them explicitly whether the PSC verification statement has been provided. The identity check itself is shared; the role statements are not.

Deadlines, Practically

A summary that should cover most small UK companies.

New directors of new companies: verify at incorporation.
New directors appointed to an existing company: verify at the time of appointment.
Existing directors: verify before the next confirmation statement is due.
Non-director PSCs (rare in small companies but common in larger ones): provide your personal code within the first 14 days of your birth month, separately from the confirmation statement cycle.
LLP members: same rules as company directors.

If you are unsure when your confirmation statement is due, log into Companies House WebFiling and check. The “Filings overview” screen lists the next due date.

Non-Compliance Consequences

If verification is not done, Companies House can:

Block your next confirmation statement filing.
Prevent further filings that require a verified identity.
Pass the matter to enforcement for repeated non-compliance.

In the worst case, repeated non-compliance can lead to financial penalties or, in extreme cases, action against the company itself. The realistic risk for most small companies is that filings get blocked at exactly the wrong moment, typically when you are trying to raise capital, sign a major contract, or close the year.

What This Has to Do With Telecoms Billing

Directly, very little. We are writing about it because most of our customers are also small UK companies, the verification window has caught a lot of people out, and the director-vs-PSC trap is genuinely easy to miss. If you wear both hats and have not consciously verified in both capacities, it is worth checking before your next confirmation statement.

For the wider compliance picture covering Ofcom, GDPR, MTD and the rest, see our UK telecoms compliance guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to verify as both a director and a PSC?

If you are both a director and a person with significant control (PSC) in your company, you verify your identity once, but you must provide your personal code to Companies House separately for each role. Filing the director verification statement does not automatically cover the PSC statement. Most small-company founders hold both roles, so check explicitly that both have been submitted.

Is Companies House identity verification free?

It is free if you do it yourself through the GOV.UK One Login app. You download the app, scan an accepted identity document such as a UK passport or driving licence, match it to a live selfie, and receive a personal code. Authorised Corporate Service Providers can do the verification on your behalf but may charge a fee. The direct route through GOV.UK is the no-cost option.

What happens if I miss the verification deadline?

If you miss the deadline, Companies House can block your next confirmation statement filing and prevent further filings that require a verified identity. Repeated non-compliance can trigger enforcement. In practice the most common impact for small companies is that filings get blocked at exactly the wrong moment, typically when raising capital or signing a contract. The deadline for existing directors is tied to their next confirmation statement due date.

Where to Start

If you have not yet verified: download the GOV.UK One Login app, allow ten minutes, and do it. If you have already verified as a director and you also own more than 25% of the company: check whether the PSC verification has been done too. If your accountant handles your filings: ask them in writing which verifications have been completed for which people.

That is the whole list. It is not a long job. It is just a job you have to remember to do twice if you are both director and PSC, which is most small-company founders. For common compliance questions covering Companies House, HMRC and Ofcom, our FAQ has a useful starting-point guide. The contact form is the way through if you want to talk to us about anything else, but on this specific point your accountant and the GOV.UK app are the right places to start.