Important Companies House Changes

You may have heard about some changes coming into effect this autumn to how Companies and Companies House in particular work. But what does that mean for your business and your own resulting director duties? Why are these changes happening and will it affect you in practice?

Companies House is changing how it works so it can better comply with the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA). As suggested by the name, ECCTA was brought in to enhance corporate transparency in an effort to combat and prevent economic crime, give Companies House enhanced powers and protect the business environment from disruptive elements by improving transparency and public trust.

This is the biggest change to how Companies House works since 1844, when corporate registrations began. Its implementation will be phased in, and the first steps were implemented in March 2024, which resulted in Companies House having increased powers, including expedited strike-off powers, the power to share information with relevant authorities, and individuals have been able to voluntarily verify their identity since April 2025.

The next notable date you need to be aware of is 18 November 2025. From this date:

 

  • All new and existing company directors and people with significant control (PSCs) will need to verify their identity. This will be mandatory on incorporation and new appointments or notifications, and also as part of the annual confirmation statement filing for the next 12 months.

  • Members of limited liability partnerships will be required to verify their identity on incorporation, appointment and notification, and/or when submitting the first confirmation statement after this date.

  • Companies will no longer be required to hold certain registers (other than their Register of Members), and they will no longer be able to elect to hold information about their officers on the central register. It has not yet been confirmed whether limited partnerships will also be affected by the changes to registers practices.

  • Authentication on incorporation will change from needing to provide personally identifiable information to giving a statement that confirms authentication, and the types of information required from directors will also change.

This means that you will not be able to incorporate a new company or limited partnership without identity verification in place, but also that no filings may be made without it in place.

The next question is how would you go about verifying your information for the purpose of these changes?

There are two methods – you can verify your ID directly via Companies House’s GOV.UK One Login service, or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider.

GOV.UK One Login

You can use this service either through the app, by answering security questions online or by visiting a Post Office where ‘in branch verification’ is offered. The type of photo ID you have may influence which options you can use, and the government sets out more information here on technical and ID requirements for each option Using your GOV.UK One Login: Proving your identity with GOV.UK One Login – GOV.UK.

The same link also guides you in creating a GOV.UK One Login account, which is straightforward.

Authorised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs)

These can be solicitors, accountants, chartered secretaries or governance professionals from anti-money laundering supervised firms, who can apply to become ACSPs. They will be held to the same verification standards as Companies House itself, so it is vital to ensure that the person verifying your ID is an ACSPs when it comes to Companies House dealings. They will be able to file information and complete identify verification for their clients.

Mosty importantly, you need to be aware that not complying with the new identity verification requirements will mean you are committing an offence and may be subject to consequences, including fines and being prevented from filing for your company.

Our recommendation is that clients should use the GOV.UK One Login service. Some tips for the process are:

  • The verification process takes several days so it is good to deal with it in advance.

  • The personal code number you receive has two dashes in it for ease of reading. Do not include the dashes when inputting the number.

  • The GOV.UK One Login is not exclusive to Companies House and is a Government wide Login. Your personal code will be linked to that account as will the email that you use to set it up. Individuals may wish to consider using a stand-alone email rather than a company email in case individuals leave the company.

  • Don’t download the app until you are told to do so as part of the verification process.

  • If you do look for an ACSP, please make sure that they are registered at Companies House for this purpose.

We encourage you to begin the process of verifying your identity as relevant as soon as possible to avoid delayed filings or action being taken against you.

Gabriela Alexandru is an Associate Solicitor at Gullands a.alexandru@gullands.com