Companies House Identity Verification: The 17 November 2026 Deadline

If you're a director, LLP member or person with significant control (PSC) of a UK company, there's a date you need in your diary: 17 November 2026. That's when the transition window for identity verification under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) closes — and with roughly ten weeks to go, Companies House has already signalled it's moving from "please comply" to "we will enforce this." For accountants, company secretaries and anyone advising small business clients, this is one of the most consequential compliance changes to hit UK corporate filing in years.

What's already live: the new-director rule since November 2025

Identity verification stopped being optional on 18 November 2025. From that date, under ECCTA, every new director must verify their identity before they can incorporate a company or be appointed to an existing one. No verification, no valid appointment — it really is that binary now.

That part of the reform is bedding in smoothly enough. The harder, higher-stakes piece is what happens to everyone who was already a director, LLP member or PSC before that date.

The 17 November 2026 deadline explained

Existing directors, LLP members and PSCs were given a 12-month transition period, starting on 18 November 2025 and running to 17 November 2026. In practice, verification is due at the point each individual's company next files its confirmation statement — but by the close of the transition period, everyone in scope needs to have verified, regardless of filing dates. That's a genuinely enormous compliance exercise: an estimated 6 to 7 million individuals across the UK company register.

And progress has been slower than you'd want with the clock this close to running out. According to ICAEW reporting from August 2026 — roughly three months before the deadline — only around 55% of directors, 50% of LLP members and 42% of PSCs had completed verification. Put another way: roughly half of the people who legally need to verify their identity hadn't done it with the deadline in sight. Companies House has been explicit that its posture is shifting from support and awareness campaigns towards enforcement preparation.

If you or your clients haven't verified yet, this is not a "get to it eventually" item on the to-do list. It's urgent.

Two ways to verify identity

There are two routes, and which one makes sense depends on who's doing the verifying:

• Direct verification — free, done by the individual themselves through GOV.UK One Login, using an ID document and a short online process.
• Indirect verification via an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) — an AML-supervised firm (typically accountants, solicitors or company formation agents) verifies the individual's identity on Companies House's behalf and confirms this to the register.

For sole director-shareholders comfortable with a bit of admin, direct verification is quick and free. For clients who'd rather their accountant or company secretarial provider just handle it — which, in our experience, is most of them — the ACSP route is where the real work is happening.

Becoming an ACSP: what practices need to know

If your practice files for clients, registering as an ACSP is worth serious consideration — and for many firms it's becoming close to essential. Here's how it works:

• Apply through the "Register as a Companies House authorised agent" online service, live since 18 March 2025, for a £55 registration fee.
• Your firm must already be supervised by a recognised UK AML supervisory body — this isn't a route into AML supervision, it assumes you already have it.
• A senior role holder submits the application and verifies their own identity via GOV.UK One Login. Once that's done, other staff can be added to the ACSP without each of them individually verifying.
• ACSPs can verify clients using GOV.UK One Login self-verification, biometric or facial-match ID document technology, or trained staff manually checking documents.
• Crucially, an ACSP cannot file anything for a client — including that all-important confirmation statement — until that client's identity verification is complete.
• Verification records must be kept for seven years, and Companies House must be notified of any change to registered ACSP details within 14 days.

Given how central identity verification now is to almost every statutory filing, this is fast becoming core infrastructure for any practice offering company secretarial services — not a nice-to-have add-on.

Enforcement is no longer theoretical

Companies House has shown it will act on this. By 31 March 2026, it had already suspended 74 ACSPs and ceased the registration of a further 56. Then, on 11 August 2026, it published new "fit and proper" assessment criteria for ACSPs, stating plainly that registration "should not be regarded as a one-off approval" — ongoing monitoring is now part of the deal. If your firm is registered (or considering registering), assume Companies House is watching your compliance standards continuously, not just at the point of application.

What happens if you miss the deadline

The consequences of non-compliance are real and escalating. An unverified director, PSC or LLP member cannot file statutory documents — including confirmation statements — or incorporate a new company. Beyond that operational block, ICAS notes that civil financial penalties can follow, and in aggravated cases — repeated offences or fraudulent documents — criminal prosecution under section 167M of the Companies Act 2006 is possible, alongside director disqualification and, ultimately, company strike-off. This isn't a paperwork slap on the wrist; it can end with a company being removed from the register altogether.

Don't confuse this with what's still delayed

There's a genuine risk of muddling this live deadline with two related reforms that have not yet come into force:

• Presenter verification — a separate requirement for anyone who files documents at Companies House (not just directors and PSCs) to be identity-verified — has been delayed twice. Per the government's ECCTA transition-plan policy paper, updated 5 August 2026, it won't now start "no earlier than November 2027," with at least six months' notice promised before it goes live.
• Mandatory software-only accounts filing (removing abridged and filleted accounts for small companies) has also slipped and is now expected around April 2028.

Neither of those changes anything about the 17 November 2026 deadline for existing directors, LLP members and PSCs. That one is live, imminent, and — based on the current completion figures — a lot of people still haven't dealt with it.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I miss the 17 November 2026 deadline?

You won't be able to file statutory documents — including your next confirmation statement — or incorporate new companies until you verify. Continued non-compliance can lead to civil penalties and, in serious cases, criminal prosecution, director disqualification or company strike-off.

Do sole traders need to verify their identity?

No. ECCTA identity verification applies to company directors, LLP members and PSCs registered at Companies House — it's tied to the company register, not to self-employment or sole trader status. Sole traders operating outside a limited company structure aren't captured by this requirement.

Can my accountant verify my identity for me?

Yes — that's exactly what the ACSP route is for. If your accountant or company secretarial provider is a registered Authorised Corporate Service Provider, they can carry out identity verification on your behalf and confirm it to Companies House, rather than you doing it yourself through GOV.UK One Login.

Staying on top of ECCTA and the compliance landscape

Rules like this move fast, and the gap between "we told clients about it once" and "everyone in scope has actually verified" is exactly where risk sits right now. For accountants and company secretarial professionals who need to stay current — on ECCTA, AML supervision requirements, and the broader regulatory environment — Learnsignal's CPD courses are built to keep you ahead of changes like this one, not scrambling to catch up after the fact. If you're working towards or maintaining a professional qualification alongside your practice work, our ACCA and AAT course hubs can also help you build the technical and regulatory grounding this kind of legislative change demands.

With under three months left on the clock and roughly half of those in scope still unverified, the practical advice is simple: check your own status, check your clients' status, and if you're weighing up ACSP registration, don't leave that decision until October.