Background to ID Verification requirements
Companies House have introduced a new identity verification requirement. All directors, LLP members, persons of significant control and certain other roles registered at Companies House to have their identify verified to ensure those people listed on the register maintained by Companies House have proved that they are who they say they are.
The changes became mandatory from 18 November 2025, meaning all individuals who are recorded at Companies House in the roles mentioned above are required to have verified their ID in order for filings to be made.
In most cases, you will only need to verify once. If you have not yet verified because this requirement did not previously apply to you, but it now does, the point at which you need to verify will depend on your role and when you started it. It is important that you take action since failure to verify your ID will result in the inability to file documents at Companies House which could lead to late filing penalties or striking off action being taken.
If this does not affect you (e.g. you are not involved with a company or LLP where your details are listed at Companies House), you do not need to take any action.
Click here to understand more generally how ID can be verified for Companies House.
Click here to understand what to expect if you request us to verify ID.
Wilson Partners can provide an ID verification service if you have a smartphone and a biometric machine readable passport issued by any country on this list.
This service is only available to our clients. We are unable to provide ID verification to anyone who is not a client.
If you would like us to provide Companies House with an ID verification on your behalf, the first step is to register your interest by completing a short online form which can be accessed by clicking here. The form should take no longer than a minute or two to complete. We will then be in touch with further details of the process.
If you are requesting ID checks are made for multiple individuals (e.g. you coordinating ID checks for all directors of a company), a form must be completed for each individual who needs ID verified so that we can capture the relevant details to initiate the checks.
If you have already completed your ID verification and have the Companies House personal code, Wilson Partners will require that code if we make filings at Companies House on your behalf. The code is an alphanumeric code in the following format: XXX-XXXX-XXXX
If you have not already provided us with your code, you can provide the code to us securely by way of our online form here.
You can verify your own ID through Gov.uk One Login for free.
If you would prefer to use our service, the charge for us to complete our standard ID verification is £55 per individual plus VAT for any requests made up to 31 October 2025, increasing to £77.50 from 1 November 2025. This covers the costs for us to administer the process, third party costs for verification, certifying to Companies House and ongoing data storage required to meet legal obligations for ACSPs.
If you would like us to provide Companies House with an ID verification on your behalf, the first step is to register your interest by completing a short online form which can be accessed by clicking here. The form should take no longer than a minute or two to complete. We will then be in touch with further details of the process.
If you are requesting ID checks are made for multiple individuals (e.g. you coordinating ID checks for all directors of a company), a form must be completed for each individual who needs ID verified so that we can capture the relevant details to initiate the checks.
No. The ID verification is attached to the individual and the code that Companies House will issue once the ID has been verified can be used for each of your appointments.
We expect that with these changes coming in, criminals will be targeting individuals with bogus emails and sites to capture personal data. Please be vigilant for anything that appears suspicious. If in doubt, check before providing any personal data. If you request our service, we will explain to you what to expect so you can be aware of anything suspicious.
Verifying your ID for Companies House
In order to obtain a Companies House personal code your ID has to be verified. You have two options to verify your ID:
- Direct through the Gov.uk One Login which can be done directly with Companies House using the following link www.gov.uk/guidance/verify-your-identity-for-companies-house. This option utilises the government’s own platform and is free to complete
- Via an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). Wilson Partners is an ACSP and can therefore confirm to Companies House if we have verified the identity of an individual
The process involved with either of the above options is set out opposite.
On completion of ID verification, individuals are issued with a personal code by Companies House that will be unique to them and must be provided to those who file documents with Companies House. The code is an alphanumeric code in the format XXX-XXXX-XXXX.
Whichever option is selected, the person whose ID needs verified will have to be involved in the process.
Wilson Partners can provide an ID verification service if you have a smartphone and a biometric machine readable passport issued by any country on this list.
This service is only available to our clients and we are unable to provide ID verification to anyone who is not a client.
If you would like us to provide Companies House with an ID verification on your behalf, the first step is to register your interest by completing a short online form which can be accessed by clicking here. The form should take no longer than a minute or two to complete. We will then be in touch with further details of the process.
If you are requesting ID checks are made for multiple individuals (e.g. you coordinating ID checks for all directors of a company), a form must be completed for each individual who needs ID verified so that we can capture the relevant details to initiate the checks.
Click here to understand what to expect if you request us to verify ID.
ID verification with Wilson Partners
We are partnering with a specialist ID verification platform called Firmcheck (powered by Bioverify) to provide a service to our clients who would like us to verify their ID to Companies House.
Our standard ID verification involves individuals taking a photo of their biometric passport and address document and then scanning the electronic chip in the passport. Where an individual does not have a biometric passport (these have been routinely issued in most countries for the past 10 years), we will be unable to undertake the ID verification.
In order to confirm to Companies House that we have verified your ID, we have to complete certain mandated procedures to be able to do that. The ID verification we perform involves two steps:
- Biometric confirmation – i.e. that you are the person shown in your ID
- Cryptographic confirmation – i.e. that your ID is valid
The confirmations are done in 2 stages. Once the first stage has been completed and reviewed on our side, we initiate the second stage. This could happen up to 5 days following the completion of the first stage (we are working with our technology partner to make them simultaneous but this is not yet available).
In total, we anticipate that our standard ID verification process will involve approximately two periods of 5 minutes each for you to complete the full verification process.
What to expect
First Stage: Biometric confirmation
You will receive an automated email from our ID verification platform which is called Firmcheck. This email will appear as “Wilson Partners Limited hello@my.firmcheck.com” with the subject “Action required: Verify your identity for Wilson Partners Limited”. The body of the email will include instructions to follow.
Whilst the email will refer to having a passport or drivers licence, the passport must be used in order to be able to complete the verification for Companies House. It will also request a proof of address ID document as well (utility bill or bank statement).
There is a link in the email you will received to initiate the process which will open your web browser to a site operated by Bioverify. You will then be guided through the process which will involve taking photos of your ID as well as yourself. On completion, you will be greeted with the following screen:
The process should just take a few minutes and be intuitive. If you experience any difficulties then please contact us at IDVerification@wilson-partners.co.uk with a description of the issue. We will do our best to resolve this issue.
Second Stage: Cryptographic confirmation
Once we have reviewed the details of the check performed in stage one, we will initiate the next stage. This could happen between 1 and 4 days following the completion of the first stage.
Please be aware that in this stage you will physically need to have the passport with you since it relies on reading the chip in the passport to validate its authenticity.
You will receive another automated email from our ID verification platform, Firmcheck. This email will appear as “Wilson Partners Limited hello@my.firmcheck.com” with the subject “Action required: Authenticate your passport for Wilson Partners Limited”.
The body of the email will include instructions to follow. Unlike stage one, you will be required to download an app to your phone which will then be used to scan the chip in your passport.
You will be notified once the chip has been read. Its possible it may not read the chip on the first attempt: if that’s the case, it will advise you and will allow further attempts (a steady hand with the phone and the passport will increase the chances of first time success). You will be notified once the scan has been completed at which point the app can be deleted.
Unfortunately, we cannot provide any technical support if the app does not download as this will be specific to the phone you use and your settings. However, if you do experience a problem scanning the passport once the app has downloaded then please contact us at IDVerification@wilson-partners.co.uk with a description of the issue. We will do our best to resolve this issue.
Once you have completed stage two, we will be able to see this completed in the platform. At this point, we have everything we need to confirm to Companies House that we have verified your ID. We then complete that confirmation process.
Once we complete the confirmation process, you will receive an email from Companies House with your personal code which will be an alpha numeric code in the format XXX-XXXX-XXXX. You will need to provide this to us as Companies House will only issue this to your email. We have an online form we have created which will allow you to notify us of the code. That can be accessed here: Companies House Personal Code Submission. We will email you at the time with a reminder to submit your code via this form.
Click here to understand more generally how ID can be verified for Companies House.
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