If you are a company director then you need to read this!
Companies House are introducing a requirement for all directors and persons with significant control (PSC) to verify their identity with Companies House in order to file documents including the annual Confirmation Statement and company accounts.
Accountants and other agents who file documents on behalf of a Company will need to prove that the identity of all individuals has been verified with Companies House before they can proceed with the filing.
Each individual will be given a Companies House Personal Code – an 11-digit code of letters and numbers – which will be used to confirm that they have been verified with Companies House. Note that the reference is specific to an individual, not the company, so if you are a director or PSC for multiple companies you only need to verify your identity once, and your verification code will be used for all your companies.
The initial roll-out of the verification process has begun, so you can do this now – I have, and my experience of it is below. It will become mandatory later this year (date still to be confirmed) when verification will be needed in order for Confirmation Statements to be filed, for new director appointments to be made or to incorporate a company.
How can I get verified?
You should start at this website: www.gov.uk/guidance/verifying-your-identity-for-companies-house. This will give you information about how to verify and what documents or information you need.
To begin with, you will need a Gov.UK One Login account and will need to set this up online using the ‘verify your identity for Companies House’ link at the above website.
You can verify your identity online if you have a passport with a chip, or a photo driving licence, and a smartphone. The website walks you through the process step-by-step, and will first ask what documents you have, whether you have a smartphone and so on to make sure you can use the online service. If you can’t, it will tell you the alternatives available to you.
You can also verify in person at a Post Office if you don’t have a smartphone. You will still need identification to do so and will need your Gov.UK One Login account first.
If you don’t have a chip passport or a photo driving licence then you may be able to verify using bank or building society details instead and answering questions online.
How did I get on?
It took me about ten minutes to verify my identity online using my chip passport, computer and smartphone.
I started the process online at the website outlined above, and it went as follows:
- First I had to create a Gov.UK One Login account with an email address and password. You need to setup dual authentication using a verification app or text message.
If you use the same email address as for your Companies House account then you can link the two accounts. This means that you can login to Companies House using your One Login account, and it holds a copy of your Companies House Personal Code for easy access.
- I confirmed the documents that I had, and that I had a smartphone with me.
- I was required to download an app to my smartphone, which I accessed by scanning a QR code from the computer screen.
- Once in the app, I took a picture of the photo page of the passport.
- Then I was given instructions as to how to scan the passport chip using my phone. This required me to activate the setting in my phone that allows ‘NFC and contactless payments’. The phone took me to the screen I needed to do this and it was not difficult.
- Then I needed to take a selfie with my phone while various coloured lights flashed at me. I was warned before-hand that there would be flashing lights, and there was an option to select if I had a sensitivity to this.
- Then it was back to the computer to put in my address and how long I had lived there.
- A check was then made which took a few seconds, and I was directed to a screen which confirmed my Companies House Personal Code.
The process as set out above will not be the same for everyone, but it should be relatively straightforward if you have a smartphone and the right identity documents. Most people will have needed these documents already to open a bank account, engage an accountant and various other services requiring identity checks.
