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Message: [QUOTE="Queen, post: 89978, member: 27"] Overseas directors must verify their identity before a new UK company can register them, while existing directors must connect a personal code to each appointment by the relevant filing deadline. [HEADING=2]Who must verify and when[/HEADING] Companies House identity verification became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025. It applies to individual directors, people with significant control, and equivalent roles in certain entities, including members, general partners, managing officers, and directors of overseas companies registered in the UK. A person forming a new company must provide the Companies House personal code for every proposed director as part of the incorporation filing. Identity checks should therefore be completed before the application is submitted, rather than treated as a task that can always be finished after registration. Existing directors follow a different timetable. They normally provide their personal code through the company’s next confirmation statement, and the same requirement applies separately to every company in which they hold a directorship. A company cannot file that confirmation statement unless all its directors have completed the required verification. A director who is also a person with significant control must connect the verified identity to both roles. The director code is supplied through the confirmation statement, while the PSC code is submitted through the separate Companies House service during the person’s assigned 14-day period. Using the code for one role does not complete the requirement for the other. This procedural detail matters for anyone [B][URL='https://goldmidi.com/community/threads/company-formation-in-the-uk-for-non-residents-and-citizens.75415/']forming a UK company from overseas[/URL][/B], because a delayed or failed identity check can stop incorporation or block a later statutory filing. [HEADING=2]Choosing the correct verification route[/HEADING] An overseas director can use GOV.UK One Login without living in Britain if the person has a biometric passport from any country. The online service also accepts a UK photo driving licence, a UK biometric residence permit, a UK biometric residence card, or a UK Frontier Worker permit. The person must provide a current residential address and the year they moved there. Each individual also needs a separate GOV.UK One Login is linked to a unique email address. A shared company inbox should not be reused for several directors because one email address can verify only one identity. The app route requires a valid biometric passport. An expired passport cannot be used with the GOV.UK One Login app, although limited exceptions apply to recently expired UK driving licences and certain UK immigration documents. Overseas applicants should check the document rules before starting, especially when a passport is close to expiry or does not contain the biometric symbol. A director who cannot complete the direct online route may use an Authorised Corporate Service Provider. An ACSP can be an accountant, solicitor, or company formation agent that has registered with Companies House and is supervised under UK anti-money-laundering rules. The agent can verify a client from any country, but it may charge a fee and will require documents from the approved evidence list. An applicant should confirm that the provider appears on the official Companies House list before sending identity records. A general business consultant or unregistered formation service cannot perform the statutory verification merely because it offers incorporation support. The ACSP route can be useful when foreign identity documents are not accepted by the direct service, when names differ across records, or when technical checks fail. It also gives the applicant a regulated contact who can review document consistency before the company filing proceeds. [HEADING=2]Using the personal code without filing errors[/HEADING] Successful verification produces an 11-character Companies House personal code. The code belongs to the individual, not to a company, agent, or directorship. A person verifies once in most cases, and then uses the same code for each relevant appointment. Directors who verified through the GOV.UK One Login can view the code in the Manage account area of Companies House. Since 8 July 2026, Companies House has also sent the code by email after direct verification. People verified by an ACSP receive the code at the email address supplied by that agent. The code should be stored securely because a trusted accountant, formation agent, or authorised filer may need it to submit records. It should not be placed in public documents, ordinary forum posts, or unrestricted company notes. Companies House can replace a code that has been exposed or compromised, and the previous code will then be cancelled. Errors often arise when the personal details linked to the code do not match the Companies House record. A mistyped code, an incorrect date of birth, or inaccurate information submitted by an ACSP can prevent the verified identity from connecting to the appointment. The director should correct the underlying record rather than repeatedly attempting the same filing. For a [B][URL='https://goldmidi.com/community/threads/company-formation-in-the-uk-for-non-residents-and-citizens.75415/']UK company set up for non-resident founders[/URL][/B], the safest sequence is to verify each proposed director, collect the personal codes through a secure channel, check names and birth dates against the planned incorporation data, and only then submit the company application. The registration process can still require separate checks from banks, payment providers, tax authorities, or formation agents because Companies House verification confirms identity for the corporate register rather than granting automatic approval from other organisations. A director who misses the applicable deadline may face prosecution, a court fine, or a financial penalty. Continued non-compliance can also prevent a new director appointment, stop a new entity from being registered, and leave an existing company unable to file its confirmation statement. [/QUOTE]

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