Companies House Announces Mandatory Identity Checks for Contractor Company Directors
Millions of company directors and controlling shareholders will have to verify their identities under a new Companies House regime that directly affects contractors operating through their own limited companies.
Companies House confirmed on 5 August 2025 that mandatory identity verification for company directors and people with significant control would begin on 18 November, introducing a new compliance requirement for limited company contractors.
The measure forms part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 and is intended to reduce fraud and misuse of the companies register. Between six million and seven million people were expected to verify by mid November 2026.
The announcement was particularly relevant to IT contractors operating through personal service companies, where the contractor is commonly both director and person with significant control.
New directors face an immediate requirement
From 18 November, anyone becoming a director would have to complete verification before incorporating a company or being appointed to an existing business. A person newly registered as having significant control would generally have 14 days to provide a verification statement and personal code.
Existing directors were given a 12 month transition period and would confirm verification with their company’s next annual confirmation statement. Existing controlling shareholders would receive individual deadlines.
For an existing controlling shareholder who was also a director, the 14 day filing period would begin on the company’s confirmation statement date. Where the controlling shareholder was not a director, the period would normally begin on the first day of the person’s birth month as displayed on the public register.
Verification could be completed free through GOV.UK One Login or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider. Successful applicants would receive a personal code for use across all company appointments.
More than 300,000 people had already completed voluntary verification by the time the August announcement was made. Companies House said the average completion time using its identity checking application was 2.4 minutes between 18 March and 30 June 2025. The official announcement encouraged directors not to wait for the compulsory phase.
Companies House chief executive Louise Smyth said identity verification would improve the reliability of company data and combat misuse of the register. “We encourage people to verify as early as possible,” she added.
Failure to comply carries consequences
Companies House said it would become an offence to act as a director without verification once the relevant duties commenced.
Law firm Reed Smith warned that failure to comply could prevent a company from making filings or stop an individual taking office. Other possible consequences included public annotations on the register, financial penalties, criminal proceedings and director disqualification. Its August legal briefing recommended completing the process early to allow time for unexpected difficulties.
Contractors based overseas or without suitable identity documents could need an authorised provider or participating Post Office.
What contractors needed to do
Contractors were advised to check their registered company email because Companies House planned to send instructions through it. The personal code was associated with the individual, not a single company.
Directors who also qualified as people with significant control had to satisfy the requirements for both positions. Verification of the person did not automatically complete every role based filing, so the code and confirmation statement still had to be submitted at the appropriate time.
The regime added administration but addressed a longstanding weakness in a register where identities could historically be used without meaningful verification. For independent IT professionals, verification was becoming routine company compliance.