Companies House identity verification deadline for directors and PSCs
When each director and person with significant control (PSC) has to verify, how the dates are worked out, and what happens if a date is missed. Checked against GOV.UK and the regulations on 12 October 2026.
- Existing directors (appointed before 18 November 2025): verified before the company files its next confirmation statement. At the latest, the confirmation statement date + 14 days. The last review periods in the transition end on 17 November 2026, so the final director date is 1 December 2026.
- New directors (since 18 November 2025): before they are appointed.
- Existing PSCs who were also directors: within 14 days starting the day after the company's confirmation statement date.
- Existing PSCs who were not directors: within the first 14 days of their birth month (December 2025, or January to November 2026).
- New PSCs (registered after 18 November 2025): when they are registered, or within 14 days.
Have more than a handful of people to track? The IDV Roster turns a CSV of companies, directors and PSCs into these dates, a calendar file and an evidence pack, without the list leaving your browser.
18 November 2025 started a 12-month transition
Identity verification became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025 under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. Companies House stresses that this date is not a deadline. It marks the start of a 12-month transition period, giving your company time to make sure all directors and people with significant control (PSCs) have verified their identity by their due dates
(Verify your identity for Companies House). The regulations define the transitional period as the period of 12 months beginning with 18th November 2025
, so it runs to 17 November 2026 (SI 2025/1118, reg 4(9)).
Companies House estimated that 6 to 7 million individuals will need to verify their identity by mid-November 2026
(press release, 5 August 2025).
Director identity verification deadline
Directors appointed before 18 November 2025
GOV.UK: You will need to provide your Companies House personal code as part of your company's next confirmation statement
(When you need to verify). The regulations put it as the company delivering an identity verification statement at the same time as the company delivers its next confirmation statement during the transitional period
(reg 4(2)).
In practice the confirmation statement cannot be filed without it: We will not accept your company's confirmation statement until all directors have verified their identity
(Filing your company's confirmation statement). A confirmation statement is due before the end of the period of 14 days after the end of each review period
(Companies Act 2006 s853A). So the latest date for an existing director is:
confirmation statement date (end of the review period) + 14 days
Example: a company whose review period ends on 31 March 2026 must file by 14 April 2026, and every director must be verified by then. If the company files earlier, directors need to be verified for that earlier filing. Companies House says it emails companies before their statement is due to tell them they must provide identity verification statements for each of their directors by their filing deadline
(enforcement approach).
Until that filing deadline an existing director can keep acting without being verified; after it, the ban on acting unless verified applies to them (reg 4(6)).
Directors appointed on or after 18 November 2025
New directors verify first: If you become a director from 18 November 2025 onwards, you'll need to provide it as part of your appointment filing or when you incorporate a company
(personal codes guidance).
More than one company, LLPs and overseas companies
- A director of several companies verifies once but gives the code for each company:
If you are a director of more than one company, you will need to do this for each company
(GOV.UK). Each company's own confirmation statement date sets the date. - Members of LLPs are in scope like directors (Changes to UK company law).
- An overseas company
must confirm that all directors have verified their identity by the anniversary of your UK establishment's registration
(GOV.UK). The IDV Roster does not model overseas companies.
PSC identity verification deadline
Every PSC has a 14 day period during which they must provide their Companies House personal code and verification statement
(Provide identity verification details for a PSC). In law the statement is due within the period of 14 days beginning with the appointed day
(s790LN(3)). Which 14 days depends on when the person became a PSC and whether they were also a director.
PSC who was also a director before 18 November 2025
You must do this within a 14 day period, starting from the day after the company's confirmation statement date. If the company files its confirmation statement early, the dates of your 14 day period will not change
(GOV.UK). The regulations tie it to the company's first review period ending in the transition (reg 5(3)). Example: confirmation statement date 30 June 2026 means the PSC window is 1 to 14 July 2026. The director role still needs the code on the confirmation statement as well; the code is given separately for each role.
PSC who was not a director
You must provide your personal code within the first 14 days of your birth month. For example, if your date of birth is 22 January, your 14 day period will begin on 1 January
(GOV.UK). The month is the one shown on the register: if the date of birth is shown on the register as March 1990, the 14-day period will start on 1 March 2026
(press release). The regulations set one date per month (reg 5(2)):
| Month of birth (as on the register) | 14-day period |
|---|---|
| December | 1 December 2025 to 14 December 2025 |
| January | 1 January 2026 to 14 January 2026 |
| February | 1 February 2026 to 14 February 2026 |
| March | 1 March 2026 to 14 March 2026 |
| April | 1 April 2026 to 14 April 2026 |
| May | 1 May 2026 to 14 May 2026 |
| June | 1 June 2026 to 14 June 2026 |
| July | 1 July 2026 to 14 July 2026 |
| August | 1 August 2026 to 14 August 2026 |
| September | 1 September 2026 to 14 September 2026 |
| October | 1 October 2026 to 14 October 2026 |
| November | 1 November 2026 to 14 November 2026 |
December birthdays come first because 1 to 14 December 2025 is the first such period after 18 November 2025; November birthdays come last, in November 2026. The same birth-month rule applies to a director-PSC whose PSC details are protected at Companies House.
PSC registered after 18 November 2025
You can provide your personal code when you're first added to the Companies House register, or within 14 days of being added
(GOV.UK). Strictly, the 14 days begin with the date of the registrar's direction to the new PSC (s790LM(2)), which Companies House sends shortly after registration.
Extensions and deceased PSCs
A PSC who cannot make their window can ask for more time before it ends: The registrar has discretion to extend the identity verification due date for a PSC by up to 14 days
, and after 2 digital extensions, we'll refer further requests to an examiner
(enforcement approach). No verification is needed for a PSC who has died; they stay on the register until probate or letters of administration are received (GOV.UK).
Who does not need to verify yet
Corporate directors, corporate members of LLPs, officers of corporate PSCs and limited partnerships will be brought in later. People who file at Companies House will need to verify from no earlier than November 2027, with at least 6 months' notice (Changes to UK company law). The company secretary role itself is not in scope; a secretary who is also a director or PSC verifies for that role.
How to check one person's dates
Companies House said that from 18 November 2025 directors and PSCs will also be able to check the Companies House register to see identity verification due dates for all their roles
(press release), and a PSC can see their 14-day period by signing in to the PSC service. Use the register to confirm any date before you rely on it.
What happens if you miss it
It is unlawful for a director to act as a director without completing identity verification. The company may also be breaking the law if one of its directors or equivalent are not verified. PSCs who do not verify their identities may also be committing an offence
(enforcement approach). Companies House sends a default letter and can issue financial penalties, annotate the register, refer cases to the Insolvency Service or prosecute. It may accept a written representation about exceptional circumstances and pause enforcement, usually for up to 2 months.
The first prosecutions came on 16 September 2026, when three directors were fined at City of London Magistrates' Court, one of them for failing to stop an unverified co-director from acting (Insolvency Service, 17 September 2026).
How to verify
Verification is free through GOV.UK One Login (app, browser or, if directed, a Post Office), or done for you by an Authorised Corporate Service Provider such as an accountant (GOV.UK). Each person then gets an 11-character personal code that they reuse for every role (personal codes guidance). Never send a personal code or ID document to a tool like this one: the IDV Roster does not need them.
Plan a whole client list
For an accountant or company secretary, the work is keeping track of many people with different dates. Open the IDV Roster: paste a CSV, get every window and deadline sorted by urgency, export a calendar with reminders and keep an evidence pack of what was checked and when.
Frequently asked questions
What is the deadline for Companies House identity verification?
There is no single date. Existing directors must be verified by the time the company files its next confirmation statement in the transition (at the latest, the confirmation statement date plus 14 days; the final one is 1 December 2026). Existing PSCs each have a 14-day window, and new directors must verify before they are appointed.
Is 18 November 2025 the deadline?
No. Companies House says it “is not a deadline. It marks the start of a 12-month transition period”, during which each director and PSC has their own due date.
When is the director identity verification deadline?
For a director appointed before 18 November 2025: with the company's next confirmation statement, which Companies House will not accept until every director is verified. The statement is due within 14 days after the confirmation statement date. New directors must verify before appointment.
When do PSCs have to verify their identity?
Within a 14-day period. If the PSC was also a director, it starts the day after the company's confirmation statement date. If not, it is the first 14 days of their birth month (December 2025, or January to November 2026). PSCs registered after 18 November 2025 have 14 days from being added.
I am a director and a PSC of the same company. Do I verify twice?
You verify once and get one personal code, but you give the code separately for each role: in the confirmation statement as a director, and through the ‘Provide identity verification details for a PSC’ service as a PSC.
What if a PSC cannot make their 14-day window?
Before the deadline passes, they can ask for a 14-day extension through the same PSC service. Companies House refers requests after two digital extensions to an examiner.
Does a company secretary need to verify?
Not for the secretary role. Identity verification applies to directors (and equivalents such as LLP members) and PSCs. People who file at Companies House will need to verify from no earlier than November 2027.
What happens if someone misses their date?
It can be an offence. Companies House sends a default letter and can issue financial penalties, annotate the register or prosecute, and an unverified director must not act. The first prosecutions were heard on 16 September 2026.
Can my accountant do this for me?
An Authorised Corporate Service Provider (often an accountant) can verify your identity for you, and you can share your personal code with an agent who files on your behalf. The check itself is also free through GOV.UK One Login.
Sources
- When you need to verify your identity for Companies House, Companies House (GOV.UK guidance), updated 30 July 2026.
- Companies House personal codes for identity verification, Companies House (GOV.UK guidance), updated 13 July 2026.
- Verify your identity for Companies House, Companies House (GOV.UK guidance), updated 30 April 2026.
- Filing your company's confirmation statement, Companies House (GOV.UK guidance), updated 21 April 2026.
- Provide identity verification details for a person with significant control (PSC), Companies House (GOV.UK guidance), updated 18 November 2025.
- Companies House approach to non-compliance with mandatory identity verification, Companies House (GOV.UK guidance), updated 5 December 2025.
- Companies House confirms identity verification rollout from 18 November 2025, Companies House (GOV.UK press release), updated 5 August 2025.
- Directors warned to verify identities with Companies House following first Insolvency Service prosecutions, The Insolvency Service and Companies House (GOV.UK press release), updated 17 September 2026.
- The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Commencement No. 6 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/1118), regulations 4 and 5, legislation.gov.uk, made 22 October 2025.
- Companies Act 2006, section 853A (duty to deliver confirmation statements), legislation.gov.uk, in force from 18 November 2025.
- Companies Act 2006, section 790LN (initial identity verification for registrable persons: transitional cases), legislation.gov.uk, in force from 18 November 2025.
- Companies Act 2006, section 790LM (registrar's direction to a new registrable person), legislation.gov.uk, in force from 18 November 2025.
- Changes to UK company law: Identity verification, Companies House campaign site (GOV.UK).
Workflow aid, not legal advice. This tool works out dates from the details you give it and from Companies House guidance and the commencement regulations as checked on 12 October 2026. The Companies House register shows each person's actual verification dates and is the authority; check it before you rely on a date here. For advice on your situation, ask a solicitor or an accountant.