Guidance
How to meet Companies House identity verification standard
How to meet our identity verification standard when verifying someone’s identity for Companies House.
Change of https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-meet-companies-house-identity-verification-standard
Change description : 2025-10-09 17:19:00: Bullet point updated for group A documents you can provide: ‘another type of photographic ID from the EU, its member states, or other countries participating in PRADO’. [Guidance and regulation]
Showing diff : 2025-09-05 10:03:22.793892080 +00:00..2025-10-09 16:19:28.960367701 +00:00
How to meet our identity verification standard when verifying someone’s identity for Companies House.
When you verify someone’s identity for Companies House, you must meet our identity verification standard to comply with your legal responsibilities as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). This is also known as a Companies House authorised agent.
The steps in this guidance outline the minimum checks you must do. You must complete every step to verify someone’s identity to the required standard.
You can complete the checks remotely, or in person. You can also use commercial identity verification providers or platforms to complete the checks for you.
If you use a commercial provider or platform, it is still for you to decide if the required information a person provides you with is true. You must:
If your identity checks do not meet the required standard, we could suspend or stop your business from acting as an authorised agent.
The person will need to give you their:
You’ll need to ask to see documents as evidence to verify the person’s identity.
You will need to keep copies of the documents for 7 years from the date you complete the identity checks.
You will not need to submit copies when you tell us you’ve verified someone’s identity. However, we will ask for information about the documents. For the documents that have them, you’ll need to give the:
There are 2 options for checking identity documents. The documents you can use as evidence will depend on which option you use.
Whichever option you use, you must still complete all of the steps in this guidance.
You cannot use as evidence:
The person will not need to verify again if a document expires after you have completed the identity checks.
You must only use option 1 if you are using identification document validation technology (IDVT) that can validate the cryptographic features of the document.
Cryptographic features of identity documentation are security features that correctly identify the person or organisation that issued the documentation.
The person will need to provide one of the following photographic identity documents. They can provide:
If you’re using technology to do all the checks in this guidance, you must be able to evidence it has completed every step.
You must use option 2 if the documents are being checked by a person, either remotely or in person. You must be satisfied that the process you use is sufficient to validate the documents provided.
The person being verified will need to provide 2 documents in total. They must provide either:
If the person you’re verifying does not live in the UK, they must provide at least one government issued document.
Group A documents they can provide are:
Group B documents they can provide are:
You will not need to provide a document reference number, expiry date, or country of issue for documents from group B.
If the evidence is being checked by a person, they must be trained in detecting false documents and be familiar with the guidance on examining identity documents to detect basic forgeries. Companies House cannot recommend any specific training providers but they must follow the Home Office best practice guide.
You must:
You’ll need to check that:
To lower the risk of you accepting a synthetic identity, you should ask to see additional documentation if:
If they cannot provide documentation that confirms their address history or a name change, consider whether to continue verifying their identity.
To make sure the identity belongs to a real person, you should ask to see evidence of activity you would expect. For example, you could check:
You must keep records of all the evidence and information you used to verify someone’s identity. You must keep these for 7 years from the date you complete their identity verification.
This includes:
You must decide if you are satisfied the person is who they claim to be and you’ve been able to verify them to the required standard.
You’ll need to use our online service to:
If you have not been able to verify a person’s identity, you must still keep records of the evidence you used and checks you completed for 7 years.
It is the person’s responsibility to prove that they are who they say they are. They will need to get documents to be able to verify their identity for Companies House.
They will need to verify their identity to do any of the following:
Read the guidance on verifying your identity for Companies House for more information.
Bullet point updated for group A documents you can provide: 'another type of photographic ID from the EU, its member states, or other countries participating in PRADO'.
Updated wording in Option 1 and Option 2: 'photographic identity' documents. Amended wording in Step 3: 'Companies House cannot recommend any specific training providers but they must follow the Home Office best practice guide'. Added bullet to Step 4: 'insurance policy documents that show the person’s home address'.
Improvements to guidance following user feedback.
The service to voluntarily verify your identity will be available on Tuesday 8 April 2025.
Other ways to verify someone’s identity – The launch of the service to register as a Companies House authorised agent has been postponed. We’ll update this page when a new date is confirmed.
Added translation
2025-10-09 17:19
Bullet point updated for group A documents you can provide: ‘another type of photographic ID from the EU, its member states, or other countries participating in PRADO’.
2025-09-05 11:03
Updated wording in Option 1 and Option 2: ‘photographic identity’ documents. Amended wording in Step 3: ‘Companies House cannot recommend any specific training providers but they must follow the Home Office best practice guide’. Added bullet to Step 4: ‘insurance policy documents that show the person’s home address’.
2025-04-08 11:30
Improvements to guidance following user feedback.
2025-03-12 10:00
The service to voluntarily verify your identity will be available on Tuesday 8 April 2025.
2025-02-24 10:26
Other ways to verify someone’s identity – The launch of the service to register as a Companies House authorised agent has been postponed. We’ll update this page when a new date is confirmed.
2025-02-19 09:30
Added translation