Companies House ECCTA Identity Verification Update 📢

Voluntary IDV begins 8 April 2025 - Companies House has announced NEW DATES for the rollout of Identity Verification (IDV) under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA):

📅 18 March 2025: Anti-Money Laundering (AML) supervised firms and sole traders can apply to become Authorised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs).

📅 8 April 2025: Voluntary IDV begins for Directors, LLP Members, and Persons with Significant Control (PSCs). Individuals can verify their identity directly with Companies House or via an ACSP.

📅 Autumn 2025: Mandatory IDV requirements will be implemented, marking the start of a 12-month transition period for existing Directors, LLP Members and PSCs to complete the verification process.

Here’s a brief overview of the latest updates regarding identity verification under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) 2023:

Companies House recently published an update regarding the proposed implementation dates for further measures being introduced under the Act which aim to improve transparency and provide more accurate and trusted information on the registers.

Further guidance https://www.gov.uk/guidance/applying-to-register-as-a-companies-house-authorised-agent

Identity verification will also apply to all members of a limited liability partnership (LLP). There will be two ways to verify identity, either directly via the Registrar of Companies or through the use of an Authorised Corporate Service Provider.

These verification checks will also be required when setting up a new company.

It will be a criminal offence for an individual to act as a director while their identity is unverified, and the company will also commit a criminal offence if it allows a director to act while unverified.

By autumn 2025, it is expected that:

• Identity verification will become a compulsory part of incorporation and new appointments for new directors and PSCs; and
• There will be a 12-month transition phase to require all existing directors and PSCs to verify their identity which will be required as part the annual confirmation statement filing.

By spring 2026, it is expected that:

• Identity verification will be a compulsory part of filing any document.
• Third party agents filing on behalf of companies will need to be registered as an ACSP; and
• Companies House will reject documents delivered by disqualified directors as they will be prohibited from doing so, unless they are delivered by an ACSP for specified filings permitted by law.

By the end of 2026, Companies House expects that all individuals on the register who are required to verify their identity will have done so compliance activity against those who have failed to verify their identity will begin.

Further guidance https://www.gov.uk/guidance/applying-to-register-as-a-companies-house-authorised-agent