New Companies House Identity Verification – How will this affect you and your Company?
March 3, 2025 4:22 pm - Categorised in: Corporate Employment, EFN-News
Companies House will soon be bringing in a new identity verification process, brought about by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. These new laws mean that anyone forming, running, owning or controlling a company in the UK will need to have their identity verified to ultimately prove they are who they say they are.
These new laws and process are being put into place to deter those wishing to use companies for potentially illegal purposes. It was felt that the current process was open to abuse, as companies and individuals could falsely register an individual as a director or create fictitious identities of their directors or any persons with significant control (PSC’s), potentially creating problems with enforcement.
When, Who and How?
From 25th March 2025, individuals will be able to voluntarily verify their identity either directly with Companies House or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). We understand that there will be a grace period for existing companies to comply with these new requirements.
In the future, these identification verification laws will become compulsory, but there is currently no information as to when this will come into effect.
The new laws set out that mandatory identification requirements will apply to:
- any person acting on behalf of a company, when filing information with Companies House;
- all current and new directors of existing companies incorporated in England and Wales;
- all directors of any newly incorporated companies in England and Wales;
- any PSC’s over a company; and
- any persons who are members/partners of an LLP or limited partnership in England or Wales,
all of whom will have to maintain a verified identity status, during the period in which they are a Director or PSC in relation to a company or member/partner of an LLP or limited partnership.
It is presumed that:
- for overseas companies registered with Companies House (with a UK branch) they will also have to comply with relevant identity verifications in line with these new laws as well; and
- for corporate shareholders who are registered as Relevant Legal Entities (RLE’s) there will be a requirement for a registered officer for such RLE’s to be appointed and such registered officers will need to be verified.
The relevant individuals whose identities will need to verify their identities, will be able to so directly through Companies House using your GOV.UK One Login, or through an ACSP. Ellis-Fermor & Negus will be registering to become an ACSP as soon as the registration application opens.
How can we help?
Companies House currently have limited information regarding how the new laws and the proposed new processes will be implemented however, we hope such information will be available in due course.
In the meantime, do keep a lookout for further notifications from Companies House.
If you have any questions or queries regarding any of the above and/or how this may affect you and your Company, please do contact us on corporate@ellis-fermor.co.uk, where we would be more than happy to assist you.
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