Companies House identity verification: what it means if your practice is a limited company

Most private practices in the UK start, and stay, as sole traders. But some therapists incorporate, usually on an accountant's advice once income or other work makes a limited company worth the extra admin. If that's you, there's a new obligation that has quietly landed on every company director in the country, and it isn't optional.

Since 18 November 2025, directors and people with significant control (PSCs) of UK companies have had to verify their identity with Companies House. It isn't a one-off announcement you can file away. It's tied to your company's confirmation statement, which means most directors have a real deadline sitting somewhere in the next few months, whether they've noticed it or not.

This is general information about a regulatory change, not legal or tax advice. Whether it applies to you, and exactly when your deadline falls, depends on your company's own filing dates, and that's worth checking on GOV.UK directly rather than taking a blog post's word for it.

Why this is landing now

The requirement comes from the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which gave Companies House new powers to check who actually stands behind a UK company. Identity verification is the first part of that reform to take effect for existing companies, and Companies House has been rolling it out since 18 November 2025 with a transition period rather than a single hard cutoff.

That transition period is why it's easy to miss. There was no letter with a fixed date on it. Instead, the rule attaches to something you already do every year: filing your confirmation statement.

Who it actually covers

Every director of a UK limited company, and every person with significant control, needs to verify their identity individually. That includes a therapist who is the sole director of their own practice company, and it includes a co-director such as a spouse or business partner who holds a formal role even if they don't see clients.

If you're being appointed as a new director now, verification has to happen before Companies House will register the appointment. There's no transition allowance for new appointments; it applies from day one.

If you were already a director before 18 November 2025, the practical deadline is your company's next confirmation statement filed after that date. Companies House won't accept the statement without a valid verification on record for each director and PSC, so in effect your filing deadline for the confirmation statement is your identity verification deadline too.

The three ways to verify

Companies House offers a free route and a paid one.

The free route is GOV.UK One Login, the same sign-in service used for other government services. Most people complete it through the GOV.UK ID Check smartphone app, which reads the chip in a passport that has the e-passport symbol. If you don't have a suitable passport, or the app doesn't work for you, there's a fallback that verifies you through a set of identity questions instead.

The paid route is through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, usually an accountant or company-formation agent who is registered with Companies House to verify clients as part of their service. If your accountant already handles your confirmation statement, ask whether they offer this; it may already be included, or it may be a small additional fee.

Either way, once you're verified you're issued a personal code. Keep it somewhere you can find it, because you'll need to quote it on every future filing where your role as director or PSC is confirmed, not just this one.

What happens if you don't

Acting as a company director without having verified your identity is now a criminal offence under the Act, not a paperwork formality Companies House quietly overlooks. In practice, the more immediate consequence is procedural: a confirmation statement missing valid verification for its directors can be rejected, and an overdue confirmation statement puts the company at risk of being struck off the register if it isn't resolved. Companies House has said its approach starts with reminders and support before escalating, but persistent or wilful non-compliance, including giving false information during verification, can lead to fines or prosecution. If any of that feels close to your situation, it's worth talking to your accountant this week rather than waiting for a letter.

If you're not sure this applies to you

1. Check whether your practice trades as a limited company. If you're a sole trader, this doesn't apply to you at all; the equivalent obligation for sole traders is registering with HMRC, which is a completely separate process.
2. Find your company's confirmation statement date on the Companies House register (it's public) or ask your accountant.
3. Verify early rather than at the deadline. The free GOV.UK One Login route is usually quick, but a passport without the e-passport chip, or a mismatch in your registered details, can slow it down, and you don't want to discover that the week your confirmation statement is due.
4. If you have a co-director, check they've verified too. One unverified director can hold up the whole filing.
5. Confirm the current position on GOV.UK before you act. This is a live rollout and the detail of how it's enforced has moved since November 2025 and will likely move again.

Faresay doesn't touch any of this. It's practice management software, not company administration or accountancy software, and it has no visibility into your Companies House filings or your corporate structure. If you incorporated your practice, this one sits entirely with you and your accountant.

This article describes UK company law as it stood in August 2026 and is general information, not legal, tax or company-administration advice. It doesn't take account of your company's specific circumstances. Check the current position on GOV.UK and take advice from your accountant or a Companies House-authorised adviser before acting. Rules and enforcement approaches introduced this recently are more likely than most to be refined over time.

Faresay is practice management software for UK therapists, with a free plan for up to six active clients. See how it works.