Companies House ID verification: the November 2026 deadline and what KYB teams will see

Since 18 November 2025, anyone becoming a director or person with significant control (PSC) of a UK company has had to verify their identity with Companies House. Existing directors and PSCs are being brought in over a 12-month transition, which runs to mid-November 2026. After that, every director of a company that has filed its confirmation statement, and every PSC, should have a verified identity linked to their role on the register.

For KYB teams, this adds useful signals: companies cannot file a confirmation statement until all directors have verified, and PSCs who fail to verify get a note against their name on the public register. What it does not do is tell you that the person applying for an account is the director named on the register. That check remains yours.

This article summarises Companies House guidance as published on GOV.UK and read on 27 September 2026. It is general information rather than legal advice, and your obligations depend on your own regulatory regime.

What does Companies House identity verification require?

Companies House set out the timeline in its announcement of 5 August 2025 (opens in a new tab). From 18 November 2025:

• New directors must verify their identity to incorporate a company or be appointed to one.

• Existing directors must confirm they have verified when their company files its next annual confirmation statement, "during a 12-month transition period".

• Existing PSCs must verify "in line with an appointed day within 12 months" of the start date.

Voluntary verification had been open since 8 April 2025. Companies House estimated that "6 to 7 million individuals will need to verify their identity by mid-November 2026".

People can verify in two ways, according to the guidance on verifying your identity (opens in a new tab): free through GOV.UK One Login, or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), such as an accountant or solicitor registered with Companies House and supervised for anti-money laundering. Either way, the person receives a Companies House personal code, which is then linked to each role they hold.

When does each person have to verify?

The dates depend on the role and when it started. From the guidance on when you need to verify (opens in a new tab):

A PSC who cannot meet the deadline can request a 14-day extension (opens in a new tab) before it passes.

Some groups are not yet in scope. Companies House says it will introduce verification later for people who file on a company's behalf, limited partnerships, corporate directors, corporate members of LLPs and officers of corporate PSCs. Expect gaps in exactly the structures where ownership is hardest to see.

What will KYB teams see on the register?

Three signals are worth building into your UK onboarding.

A confirmation statement blocked by an unverified director. Companies House's confirmation statement guidance (opens in a new tab) says: "We will not accept your company's confirmation statement until all directors have verified their identity." A company whose confirmation statement is overdue may therefore have a director who has not verified. That is not proof of wrongdoing, but it is a question to ask.

A note against a non-compliant PSC. The PSC verification service (opens in a new tab) says that if a PSC does not comply, Companies House "will also display a note against your name on the public register". Treat that note as a flag for review, and ask the company why the person has not verified.

Verification due dates. Companies House said that from 18 November 2025 directors and PSCs would be able to check the register to see identity verification due dates for all their roles. During the transition, a missing verification before the due date is expected; after it, it is a finding.

Behind those signals is an enforcement regime. Companies House's approach to non-compliance (opens in a new tab), published 17 November 2025, states that "it is unlawful for a director to act as a director without completing identity verification", and lists prosecution, referral to the Insolvency Service and financial penalties as its main enforcement routes, with annotating the register among other methods.

Does a verified director mean you can skip your own checks?

No. Companies House verification answers a narrower question than your onboarding does.

A worked example: a fintech in Lagos onboards a UK private company that invoices Nigerian clients. The register lists two directors, both verified, and one PSC holding 60%. The person filling in the application gives the name of one director. Companies House has verified that director's identity, but nothing in the register says the applicant is that person rather than someone who knows the company number and a director's name. The applicant still needs to verify their own identity, and the result needs to be compared with the named officers.

Companies House's verification standard is also not the same as your own. ACSPs who verify identities must meet Companies House's identity verification standard (opens in a new tab), which includes keeping records of the checks for 7 years. Your firm's customer due diligence rules come from your own regulator, and they do not change because an officer verified with Companies House.

How should you adjust UK KYB before mid-November 2026?

Practical changes, in order of effort:

1. Record verification signals with the registry result. Keep the confirmation statement status and any PSC note with the case, so a reviewer sees them.

2. Add a rule for the post-transition period. From mid-November 2026, an unverified director or a PSC note should route the application to review rather than pass silently.

3. Compare applicant-listed people with the register. People the register names but the applicant leaves out, and people the applicant names who are not on the register, both deserve a look.

4. Keep verifying the applicant. The person who applies should complete their own identity check and be matched against the named officers.

5. Watch corporate structures more closely. Until corporate directors and officers of corporate PSCs are in scope, those structures carry the least new information.

Myaza Business Verification (registry lookups with key people and applicant checks) includes the United Kingdom among the registries it covers. It reconciles the key people an applicant enters against the register, flags people the register lists but the applicant omitted, and can require the applicant to verify their own identity in the same flow. The key people documentation explains how the two lists are compared.

A checklist for UK company onboarding after November 2026

• Registry lookup completed, with confirmation statement status recorded.

• Every director and PSC checked for a verification note or overdue status.

• Applicant's own identity verified and matched to a named officer.

• Applicant-listed and register-listed people reconciled, with differences reviewed.

• Corporate officers and corporate PSCs traced as far as your policy requires.

• Decision recorded with the register signals it relied on.