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Companies House Delays Identity Checks On Whoever Files For You

ended 07. August 2026

Company law reform under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act was meant to close a simple gap: nobody had to prove who they were before filing a document at Companies House. On 5 August 2026 Companies House updated its outline transition plan and moved two of those measures back. Making identity verification of the presenters a compulsory part of filing any document, and requiring third party agents filing on behalf of companies to be registered as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), are now listed as “By no earlier than November 2027”.

That is the second postponement in seven months. A change note on 19 January 2026 had already moved the same two measures from spring 2026 to no earlier than November 2026. “No earlier than” is a floor, not a start date, and Companies House says the timetable is indicative and kept under review, with at least 6 months' notice before the requirements come into effect.

The catch is that the other half of the reform has not moved at all. The 12-month transition phase that opened on 18 November 2025 still requires more than 7 million existing directors and people with significant control to verify their identity, and it runs out this November. A director hands over their personal code when their company files its next confirmation statement, so the real deadline is that company's own filing date rather than a single November cut-off, and a person with significant control who is not also a director has to supply their code in the first 14 days of their birth month. So the duty on the individual director is biting now, while the duty on the agent who files for them has slipped a further year. The person really caught is the owner-director who assumes their accountant is dealing with it.

  1. Is a second delay to identity checks on the people who actually file at Companies House sensible sequencing, or does it hollow out the point of the reform?
  2. More than 7 million directors and PSCs must be verified before the transition period runs out this November, while the agents filing for them need not be. Who does that really help, and who does it leave exposed?
  3. What should company owners and their advisers do with the extra year, and what would you tell a firm that has not started on ACSP registration? Do you have a client whose plans this would change? If so, please give as much colour and detail as possible.

4 responses from the Newspage community

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Guy SkinnerVerified
Financial Planner and Director at Citygate Financial Planning
The system isn't fit for purpose, that is the reason for my own delay. It is a poor advert for making tax digital when something seemingly simple isn't! I even had to go to the Post Office to confirm my identity, yet still have been unable to apply the code generated to my profile!
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Harvey DhillonVerified
Founder & CEO at Zmartly
Companies House is now checking who the directors are, but not who presses send. A second delay, to no earlier than November 2027, is defensible sequencing but hollows out the point of the reform. Companies House's own estimate is 6 to 7 million individuals by mid-November 2026, not 7 million directors and PSCs. Who gains? Companies House and the agent and software market get another year, and agents avoid a cost. The owner-director is exposed: the duty is personal, and once their date passes, acting as a director without a verified identity is an offence. I have no named client case, but the steps are the same. Get your Companies House personal code now. Your real deadline is your company's next confirmation statement, not one date in November, and that is your PSC date too. PSCs who are not directors go by birth month: most windows have closed, and August births close on 14 August 2026. Any AML-supervised firm not yet an ACSP should register now: 2027 is a floor, not a start date.
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Nouran MoustafaVerified
Practice Principal & IFA at Roxton Wealth
This reform now looks like a front door with one lock fitted and the other left in its box. Directors and PSCs are being required to prove who they are, yet the person pressing “submit” may remain unverified until at least November 2027. That weakens the fraud-prevention logic and creates a dangerous assumption among owner-directors that their accountant has handled everything.

The delay may help agents build systems properly, but it should not become a year of inaction. Firms should identify every client deadline, confirm who will verify each director and PSC, securely collect personal codes, document filing authority and register as an ACSP now if they verify identities. Owners must check their own Companies House record and confirmation-statement date rather than waiting for an adviser.

Identity verification only works when both the person behind the company and the person altering the register are accountable.
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Tony RedondoVerified
Founder at Cosmos Currency Exchange
ECCTA's decision to push presenter identity verification (IDV) and ACSP registration back to no earlier than November 2027 papers over a real flaw. Staggered rollout stops Companies House's IT creaking under the load, but it leaves a back door wide open. Unverified presenters can still file, so directors face hard deadlines while gatekeepers get a free pass. The delay suits stretched accountancy firms and Companies House alike but it’s a disaster waiting to happen for owner-directors. Too many assume their accountant's filing settles their personal obligations. It doesn't. Miss your personal GOV.UK One Login code before your Confirmation Statement or birth-month deadline, and the company risks default. Advisers should use this extra year properly by registering as ACSPs now, lock down secure code-management protocols, and get ahead of client conversations, especially with overseas directors, who'll feel the verification friction hardest.