Streamlining Companies House ID Verification

With the UK government’s identity (“ID”) verification system at Companies House now up and running, the Maples Group’s UK fiduciary services team – as an Authorised Corporate Services Provider (ACSP) – has successfully completed the ID verification process for numerous clients.

Under the Economic and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (“ECCTA”), legal requirements for directors and people with significant control of companies (“PSC”) to verify their identities began on 18 November 2025, prior to incorporating a company or being appointed to an existing company. Existing directors are now required to submit their Companies House personal code with the company’s next confirmation statement, while existing PSCs must verify their identity within the first 14 days of their birth month.

Some seven months into the new regime at Companies House, it has become apparent that use of the free Companies House verification service, which verifies ID through the GOV.UK One system can prove to be burdensome and time consuming for directors, who often face tight deadlines in order to incorporate new companies or to submit annual confirmation statements. The Companies House service requires the use of an official government app to verify ID and answer security questions online, as well as setting up an account with Companies House. Some clients have found the Companies House process to be quite arduous, and have preferred to use the Maples Group’s verification service. The Maples Group’s ID verification system is a simple, straightforward, and easy-to-use platform, which just requires a link to be opened on a smartphone in order to perform ID verification.

From our experience, where clients have attempted to first perform ID verification through the Companies House free service, if any problems do occur – for example, passport photos not meeting the exact specifications – the user will need to go through various steps to resolve the issue, encountering more delays.

The Maples Group’s verification system generates a link which is sent to an individual’s email address to click on a smartphone. The system then guides through each step to take a selfie and a photo of their passport, ensuring it is a genuine photo and not a copy of an existing photo, as well as reading all biometric data to pick up on any discrepancies. The entire process takes less than ten minutes. The Maples Group conducts this through a platform provided by the London Stock Exchange Group (“LSEG”), featuring world class information security standards.

Once an individual has had their ID verified by the Maples Group and received an ID number, they may continue using this for any future appointments with Companies House, allowing them to easily complete filings or make any other changes as needed without the added administrative burden.

Key Considerations for Efficient ID Verification

In order to ensure an efficient process for future incorporations, we recommend keeping a few things in mind. If a company is going to be incorporated with a director who has not already been verified, they should do so with sufficient time in advance of the intended incorporation. Using the Maples Group to perform ID verification does speed things up, however the director must be engaged and available with the required documentation. Additionally, as directors of existing companies must now be verified before the annual confirmation statement can be filed, directors should be fully aware of this requirement and available to do so in advance to avoid any delays with submission of the annual confirmation statement, which could see the company not in good standing for a period.

The Maples Group makes identity verification easy and our expert UK corporate services professionals are ready to assist clients with the high touch service and speed of execution we are recognised for. We continue to make significant investments in innovative technology to enhance the service we provide to clients, including direct API links to Companies House and the latest systems for e-services and board support, with the highest standards of cyber security, client confidentiality and data protection.

For all our client companies, we continue to reach out prior to the filing of annual confirmation statements to ensure adequate time for the directors and PSCs to be verified and that our clients remain in full compliance during the transition period. If you don’t currently use Maples for corporate secretarial services, we would be pleased to discuss how we can assist you with your ongoing UK company obligations.

For legal and regulatory disclosures please visit: maples.com/legal-notices.