From 18 November 2025, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) will require all new and existing directors and persons with significant control (PSCs) of UK companies, as well as members of LLPs, to complete mandatory identity verification at Companies House.

Directors will be prohibited from acting as a director until they are verified at Companies House, and companies will not be permitted to upload their annual confirmation statement until all directors are verified. Non-compliance could make a company and its directors guilty of an offence under ECCTA.

To verify your identity, you will need:

• A biometric passport from any country; or
• A UK photo driving licence, or
• Another form of permitted photo ID, such as a biometric residence permit. The full list of accepted documents can be found here.

You will also need to provide your current residential address, the year you moved into that address, and a GOV.UK One Login. You may also verify your identity at the Post Office, or by using an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP).

Once verified, you will receive a unique ID verification code, which must be linked to all of your company roles.

With November approaching, we strongly recommend beginning the verification process as soon as possible to ensure compliance with ECCTA. Full government guidance on the changes coming in from November can be found here.

If you need support understanding your new obligations under ECCTA, please contact our corporate team.