Companies House Director Verification

This article provides you with overview on the Companies House Standard related to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (EECTA). This article also discusses Credas' Company House director verification journeys and how they work. If you are using Credas for your director verification, we also recommend reading the following articles to understand how the Credas director verification and results work:

• ACSP FAQs
• Director Verification Results

What is the new Company House Director Verification?

As part of reforms introduced under the EECTA 2023, all company directors and Persons of Significant Control (PSCs) will need to verify their identity, either directly with Companies House or though an Authroised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs).

Timelines

• From the 8th April 2025, the new requirements come into effect for directors/PSCs on a voluntary basis;
• From Autumn 2025 for all company directors and PSCs, the new identity verification will be mandatory;
• There will then be a 12 month transition period, with existing directors and PSCs needing to have completed identity verification by Autumn 2026. 

ACSPs

ACSPs are individuals/organisations that undertake AML supervised activity such as company formation agents, accountants or solicitors. To carry out identity checks on behalf of individuals and let Companies House know you have verified someone's identity, you will need to become an ACSP. To find out more on how to become an ACSP, please click here: Authorised Corporate Service Providers - Changes to UK company law 

Credas Journeys

Due to these changes, Credas has introduced a Companies House Director Verification solution by introducing two new journeys to help you capture the information you need as an ACSP. These journeys are:

• Companies House ID Verification - This journey will capture details on the individuals such as their name, DOB, previous name and address history. Additionally, we will run an UK Address & Mortality data check on them if they reside in the UK. We will ask them to provide Identity Documents to prove their Identity.
• Companies House ID Verification + AML - This journey will capture details on the individuals such as their name, DOB, previous name and address history. Additionally, we will run an UK Address & Mortality data check on them if they reside in the UK. We will ask them to provide Identity Documents to prove their Identity. As part of this journey we will also run an International PEPs & Sanctions screening, and if you wish we can run additional datasets on the individual such as disqualified director, adverse media, ongoing monitoring and law enforcement checks. 

If you do not currently have these journeys, but would like them enabled, please reach out to team at sales@credas.com.  

How to send a Director Verification Journey to an Individual

If you wish to send one of the director verification journeys to an individual to complete, please follow the steps laid out here.

Meeting Companies House Standards

Companies House has outlined six steps you need to follow to verify someone's identity, these steps are outlined below.

Step One: Ask for information about the person

The individual needs to provide you with the following information:

• Full name and any former names;

• Date of Birth;

• Residential Address;

• Address history for the last 12 months;

• An email address (this will be the email address Companies House will send the directors code too)

Credas will obtain this information as part of our solution and were applicable request further information if needed e.g. a document confirming the individuals change of name for your review.

Step Two: Get evidence to verify the person's identity

As part of the process, you need to obtain documents to verify the individuals identity. Companies House have offered two options for this:

• Option 1 - Option 1 can be used if you use an IDVT (such as Credas) to verify a documents cryptographic features. 

• Option 2  - If you are not using an IDVT, or if Option 1 cannot be satisfied, you will need two forms of ID from the list below (either 2 forms of ID from Group A or 1 document from Group A + 1 document from Group B)

This list only includes documents that Credas will capture. For a  full list of the Identity Documents Companies House can accept can be found here: How to meet Companies House identity verification standard - GOV.UK 

Credas is able to satisfy both Options 1 & 2 using our document verification software. Credas will validate a biometric documents cryptographic features if available. We will capture 1 biometric document from Option 1 (or Option 2 Group A if the individual does not have a document from Option 1) and then also automatically ask the individual for a document from Option 2 - Group B if needed.

Step Three: Check the evidence is real

Documents must be checked they are real, and for any signs of tampering. If you have any concerns regarding the documents, Companies House recommends you reach out to the issuing authority or the relevant embassy.

Credas will verify biometric documents to ascertain if they are real and that they have not been tampered with. 

Step Four: Check it is a real identity & it belongs to the person claiming it

The next step is to ensure that the documents supplied match the information given to you such as:

• Do the documents confirm the individual's name and date of birth?
• Does the individual physically match the photo, or goes with the document(s)?
• Are they a real person?

You should also ask to see additional documentation if:

• The documents they have provided do not confirm their address history for the last 12 months;
• They have changed their name.

Our passive liveness technology automatically measures and analyses physical characteristics and reactions to determine if the person being captured is live and present. We then compare the image captured to the image on the document to verify that the same person is present in both images. We also use trusted data sources such as the electoral roll, HALO database and financial institutions to run additional address & mortality checks in the background to help establish the identity has existed over time and is not synthetic/fabricated. 

Step Five: Keep records of the identity checks

You must keep records of all the evidence and information used to verify an individual's identity for seven years from the date the identity verification took place. Companies House has clarified this includes:

• Copies of the documents checked;
• Evidence of the identity checks completed;
• Records of any failed verified attempts.

Within the Credas platform, you are able to download records into PDF's - which includes any additional evidence or notes you have added by download a 'process PDF'. To download a PDF, please follow the steps outlined here. 

Step Six: Decide if you can verify the person's identity

Finally, you must decide if you are satisfied the individual is who they claim to be and you have been able to verify them to the required standard.

• If you have been able to verify the individuals identity, you need to tell Companies House you have verified the individual which you can do here
• If you have been unable to verify the individuals identity, you still need to keep these records for seven years. 

Credas Results

To help you understand the results you may see with the Director Verification journeys, we have a created a results guide which can be accessed here.

Useful Links

• Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act: outline transition plan for Companies House - GOV.UK 
• Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023: Factsheets - GOV.UK 
• How to meet Companies House identity verification standard - GOV.UK 
• Tell Companies House you have verified someone's identity - GOV.UK 

Got any questions? 

If you have any questions please reach out to the Credas support team by contacting us here

We are committed to continually improving our support resources for you. We would greatly appreciate your feedback below to help us enhance your experience.