Companies House identity verification: November deadline

If you are a director or a person with significant control of a UK LTD, you have a task with a deadline. The transition year Companies House gave for identity verification ends in November 2026. Failing to verify has serious consequences.

What has happened

Since 18 November 2025, identity verification has been compulsory in the United Kingdom for all directors and for all people with significant control (PSCs) of a company. It is one of the measures in the UK's Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act.

New companies can no longer be incorporated unless their directors have verified first. For existing companies, Companies House opened a twelve-month transition period:

• Directors confirm their verification when the company files its next annual return, the *confirmation statement*.
• People with significant control have a fourteen-day window, linked to the date of that same confirmation statement.

That year of grace runs out in November 2026.

What happens if you do not verify

Companies House is blunt about it: failing to verify is an offence, with consequences that include fines. In addition, an unverified person cannot file documents for their company or incorporate a new one. Companies House has also announced that it will start taking action against those who have not done it.

We call it the Companies House lock: if you are not verified, the company still exists, but you cannot move it. You cannot file the accounts, change the registered office or appoint another director. An LTD that does not file on time builds up automatic penalties and can end up struck off the register. When that happens, the bank closes the account and the balance can end up in the hands of the British Crown.

How to do it from Spain

Verification is done online through the GOV.UK One Login service, with a biometric passport from any country. The alternative is to do it through an agent authorised by Companies House. Once verified, you receive a personal code that you have to link to each role you hold.

The process, step by step:

• Create your GOV.UK One Login account with an email address you have not used for that service before. Each director needs their own.
• Scan your passport with your phone and take a selfie or a short video so that your face can be compared with the photo in the document.
• Receive your personal code from Companies House once the verification is approved.
• Link the code to your role in the company, usually when filing the confirmation statement.

If the system cannot verify you, for example because your passport is not biometric or the scan fails, the route is an authorised agent, who checks your identity independently and reports it to Companies House.

Who has to do it

It is easy to assume that one person verifying is enough. It is not. The following must verify:

• All the directors of the company, wherever they live.
• All people with significant control: anyone who holds more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, or can appoint a majority of the board.
• Anyone who files documents on behalf of the company, such as an accountant or other agent, who will have to be registered or verified according to the Companies House timetable.

What you should do:

• Check the date of your next confirmation statement. That is what sets your deadline.
• Verify early. Validation may take several attempts if the photo or the document cannot be read properly.
• Keep your personal code. You will need it to link to the company and for any future filing.
• Check who else has to do it. All the directors and all the people with significant control, not just you.

In the international side of LEX INTERNATIONAL, we manage UK LTDs from Spain and keep their deadlines under control. If you have one and do not know whether it is up to date, message us on WhatsApp and we will check it.