We hope you enjoyed our recent webinar with Mark Buckley, Senior Implementation Lead, ACSPs at Companies House. We delved into one of the most significant regulatory shifts we’ve seen in years to the Economic Crime and Transparency act – changes around verifying the identity of Directors and Persons with Significant Control (PSC).
Companies House now have power to verify peoples’ identities, challenge filings and even reject and remove information that doesn’t stack up. We went through how this works, what it means and how the landscape will be changing.
If you missed the webinar, watch it on demand below.
Your questions answered
Throughout the webinar, we invited questions from attendees which we have now answered below:
Is there an API to send the details?
Currently, there is no API available for the ACSP and IDV process through Companies House. While an API is planned for the future, no launch date has been confirmed.
At present, once the identity verification is complete, the ACSP must manually enter the director or PSC details into the Companies House portal to confirm that the individual has been verified.
Credas, however, does offer a fully functional API. You can initiate checks and retrieve IDV results directly through our API, allowing for seamless integration into your internal systems.
What happens if an individual has no passport or driving licence?
The person being verified will need to provide 2 documents in total to complete the check.
They must provide either:
- 2 documents from group A
- 1 document from group A, and 1 document from group B
If the person you’re verifying does not live in the UK, they must provide at least one government issued document from Group A.
Group A documents they can provide are:
- Passport or Irish passport card – these can be up to 18 months expired
- Identity card with biometric information from the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein
- UK biometric residence permit (BRP) – these can be up to 18 months expired
- UK biometric residence card (BRC)
- UK accredited PASS card
- UK or EU driver digital tachograph card
- UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and EU photocard driving licence (full or provisional)
- UK HM Forces ID Card
- UK HM Armed Forces Veteran Card
- UK Frontier Worker permit
- Photographic work permit (government issued)
- Photographic immigration document
- Photographic visa
- UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man firearms licence
- Another type of photographic ID listed on PRADO – such as a National Identity Card (Pakistan), crew member certificate (South Africa), or Permanent Resident Card (USA)
Group B documents they can provide are:
- Birth or adoption certificate
- Marriage or civil partnership certificate
- Non-photographic immigration document
- Non-photographic visa
- Non-photographic work permit
- Bank or building society statement
- UK local authority or social housing rental agreement – this must be for the person’s current address
- Mortgage statement – this must be for the person’s current address
- UK council tax statement – this must be for the person’s current address
- Utility bill – this must be for the person’s current address
You will not need to provide a document reference number, expiry date, or country of issue for documents from group B.
Is there a guide for the verification process with an overview of what an ASCP will need to provide to CH?
Yes, there are various government guides available which you can find below –
How to meet Companies House identity verification standards
How to tell Companies House you have verified your clients’ identity
Will we see if a director/PSC is verified when accessing CH information?
Yes, when the person uses their personal code to connect their verified identity to our records, we’ll show their identity verification statement.
This will include:
- The person’s name
- The ACSP name – this is the name of your authorised agent
- The names of the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) supervisory bodies the agent is registered with
- The date you completed the identity checks
What is the process once an ACSP has verified the director’s identity?
The ACSP will need to log into the Companies House portal and manually enter the director or PSC’s verification details.
This includes:
- The individual’s personal information
- Details of the identity document used for verification
- The director or PSC’s email address
You must also confirm that you have completed the identity verification and retain this information for seven years, as required by regulation.
Once the information has been submitted, Companies House will send an email to the director confirming that their identity has been verified. This email will contain a unique verification code. The director will need this code when transacting with Companies House, for example, when filing new accounts.
If the director uses an ACSP for these services, they must share this code with their ACSP to enable those transactions.
Once the director code is generated, does the ACSP get the code as well, or will the director have to forward that on?
The code will be issued to the director, it will then be up to the director to share this code with whomever they wish to file documents on their behalf.
When will all directors on the registered need to be verified by and the consequences if not meeting that date?
A definitive deadline has not yet been set, but as it stands, all directors and PSCs will need to be verified by spring/summer 2026. Without verification, they will not be permitted to file any documentation with Companies House.
This means filings such as accounts, CS01s, and other statutory submissions will be blocked unless the individuals are verified. Failure to file these documents on time can result in financial penalties and, in some cases, the company being struck off the register.
Can ACSP’s charge for the IDV process?
Yes, there’s nothing in the guidelines stopping ACSP’s from charging their clients for this service, covering the costs of running the checks and verifying documents.
Be sure to follow us on social media for more updates regarding new legislation as well as what Credas can do to help.
