Companies House identity verification – the rough and the smooth

If you are a director, a person with significant control (“PSC”) of a company or the member or designated member of an LLP you should be aware that you are required to verify your identity with Companies House, following which you will receive a unique identifier code (UI Code) also commonly called an IDV Code.

When going through the verification process you are not able to link your code to your appointments. This is done with the confirmation statement (CS01) for each company for which you are a director/PSC/LLP member/LLP designated member.

This is where a lot of problems start, however, because identity documents do not necessarily match what is at Companies House. For example, Fictious ABC Limited has two directors, Chris Smith and Dave Jones. The names used by the directors on their driver’s licences and passports however are their legal names, Christopher John Smith and David Peter Jones. Although both directors have received IDV Codes, when filing the CS01 for Fictitious ABC Limited it will be rejected because the names registered with Companies House do not match the directors’ legal names.

To continue the example, Chris Smith is also a director of Fictious DEF Limited. His IDV Code remains the same because this belongs to the individual not the company. Mr Smith is also recorded at Companies House for Fictious DEF Limited as Christopher John Smith, but when the company’s CS01 is filed it is rejected. In this case, Mr Smith’s date of birth recorded on his appointment at Companies House does not match that on his IDV Code.

Can errors connected to the IDV process be fixed?

If the information recorded at Companies House is wrong from incorporation, it is possible to apply to Companies House to correct the error but the necessary paperwork, including a copy of the director’s form of ID that was used to carry out the IDV process, has to be sent by paper and therefore the process is not fast. If the information is wrong from the director’s appointment then the error may be able to be corrected electronically. Where it is necessary to apply for an error to be corrected it does mean the CS01 is likely to be filed late while the company waits for the error to be rectified, and Companies House can take action to strike off a company for failure to file the CS01.

Directors and others subject to the IDV process should ensure that across all their appointments their information is correct and where there are errors, arrange for the information to be updated.

Other common difficulties with the IDV process include:

• internationally based directors not being able to access their IDV Code, though we understand from Companies House that they should now be able to access them;
• not having relevant identity documents. Not everyone has a passport or a driver’s licence. UK based individuals can start the process online and then complete the IDV process at a Post Office (and there is a link below to the instructions issued by Companies House for this process);
• for individuals without appropriate identity documents or (in the case of UK individuals) access to a Post Office, an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (“ACSP”) can be used. An ACSP can assist with completing the IDV process, although the responsibility is still on the officer.

As with the introduction of the registered email addresses, a company’s first confirmation statement filed since 18 November 2025 may encounter issues however, any filed thereafter should not be as affected by the IDV process or the IDV Codes.

Conclusion

There will be many individuals who have been able to go through the IDV process with some ease and many companies whose confirmation statements are accepted without any issues. However, for some, there have been issues and nuances and Companies House appear to be resolving each of the issues as they arise which should allow the process to run more smoothly in the medium term, but there is still some way to go before the IDV process can be described as smooth and trouble free.