Authorised Corporate Service Provider Guide 2025

An authorised corporate service provider (ACSP) is now at the centre of one of the biggest compliance changes UK companies have faced in years. With Companies House tightening its rules, directors and people with significant control (PSCs) can no longer rely on quick, unchecked registrations. Instead, identity verification has become mandatory, a process many businesses find confusing, time-consuming, and risky if done incorrectly. The pain point is clear: failure to complete verification properly can lead to delays, rejected filings, or even penalties that disrupt normal business operations.

This is where the role of an authorised corporate service provider becomes essential. ACSPs are officially approved by Companies House to handle identity checks on behalf of companies, ensuring directors and PSCs meet the new requirements without unnecessary stress. For businesses that don’t have the time or expertise to navigate these rules, partnering with an ACSP offers a streamlined, compliant, and reliable way forward. In this guide, we’ll explain what ACSPs are, why they matter, and how working with one helps you stay fully compliant while keeping your company moving without interruptions.

What is the New Identity Verification Process at Companies House?

The identity verification Companies House system works in two ways. Individuals can verify directly using GOV.UK One Login, where official documents such as a passport or driving licence are checked against live photos. Alternatively, verification can be completed through an authorised corporate service provider.

In this case, a trust and company service provider supervised under anti-money laundering rules carries out the checks and submits confirmation to Companies House as an authorised agent.

The driver behind this reform is clear: the ECCTA mandates stronger oversight to tackle fraud, improve trust in data, and ensure directors and PSCs cannot act anonymously. The Companies House director verification process applies not only to new appointees but also to existing directors and PSCs, who must complete verification within a transition period tied to their company’s confirmation statement. Overseas directors of UK establishments and LLP members are also included.

From 18 November 2025, no appointment or filing will be accepted until the individual has verified. For companies, this means that the responsibility to verify director identity Companies House is now inseparable from day-to-day compliance. The reform closes loopholes, enforces accountability, and reinforces the principle that transparency underpins UK company law changes.

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How can one verify identity under Companies House rules?

The new Companies House identity verification process sets a uniform standard for proving a director’s or a Companies House person with significant control (PSC)’s identity. Under these rules, individuals must provide sufficient evidence to match against official databases. Accepted documents include passports, UK driving licences, or other government-issued photo ID, alongside supporting evidence such as address history, date of birth, and confirmation of any former names.

Verification can occur either through manual review or by using ID validation technology. Automated systems typically assess biometric features, cross-check details against electoral roll data, and confirm cryptographic features embedded in documents.

Manual checks, on the other hand, require human scrutiny of photographic identity, address documents, and name-change evidence. This dual model ensures higher resilience against fraud while accommodating individuals who may not fit standard digital profiles.

The Companies House director verification process also includes robust remote checks, verifying address history, and ensuring that all identity evidence aligns with company filings. This is part of wider Companies House reforms designed to strengthen transparency, combat economic crime, and ensure directors meet their Companies House director responsibilities.

What is an ACSP & How Do Firms Become One?

An Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), sometimes referred to as a Companies House authorised agent, is a firm approved to carry out identity verification Companies House checks on behalf of clients. These are typically corporate services providers such as accountants, solicitors, formation agents, or any trust and company service provider supervised for anti-money laundering (AML) compliance.

To become an ACSP, a firm must demonstrate robust AML supervision, implement its own identity verification companies house procedures, maintain detailed compliance records, and meet strict reporting obligations. For example, ACSPs must securely retain evidence of all Companies House ID checks, ensuring that data can be audited in line with UK company law changes. According to ICAEW (2025), the government expects ACSPs to play a frontline role in delivering reliable business compliance services UK.

The advantages of using an ACSP over direct submission are clear. For many firms, outsourcing the Companies House director verification process reduces administrative burden, ensures accuracy, and integrates i dentity checks with broader Companies House filing requirements. Costs will vary depending on the provider, but for larger businesses or those with multiple directors, the efficiency gains often outweigh direct verification fees.

In practice, the ACSP model provides flexibility: individuals comfortable with digital self-verification may proceed directly, while firms preferring expert oversight can appoint an authorised corporate service provider to manage the entire Companies House identity verification process. This hybrid system reflects the Companies House new rules aimed at tightening governance while offering practical compliance pathways for all company types.

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What Are The Deadlines, Transition Rules & Compliance Risks?

The new identity verification Companies House requirements are being rolled out with strict statutory deadlines. From 18 November 2025, all newly appointed directors and any Companies House person with significant control (PSC) must complete verification before their appointment is legally effective.

Existing directors and PSCs have a transitional window to complete the Companies House director verification process, with separate timeframes for UK-incorporated companies, overseas companies with UK establishments, and LLP members. According to TLT (2025), failure to comply within the allotted transition period will mean an individual cannot act in office until their identity has been successfully confirmed.

Missing deadlines carries significant consequences. The Companies House reforms empower the Registrar to block filings if a director or PSC has not passed the Companies House identity verification process.

Offences include acting as an unverified director, appointing an unverified PSC, or continuing to file without verified details. Penalties may range from financial sanctions to criminal liability, and in serious cases, individuals risk disqualification. For companies, late compliance can lead to disruption in Companies House filing requirements, for example, rejected accounts or incorporation documents, creating reputational and operational risk.

How Do The Changes Affect Director Responsibilities?

The reforms are particularly significant for the Companies House person with significant control regime. PSCs must verify their identity within 14 days of registration, and if they are also a director, they must complete dual verification obligations. This ensures alignment between PSC disclosure rules and the Companies House director verification process, strengthening corporate transparency.

For directors, the obligations extend beyond verifying their own identity. Under the Companies House new rules, directors must ensure PSCs also complete the verify director identity Companies House checks, confirm that every filing includes the appropriate identity confirmation code, and maintain overall company compliance. In effect, Companies House director responsibilities now include oversight of shareholder-level compliance, not just operational filings.

These requirements are part of broader UK company law changes under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, which shifts liability towards directors and PSCs for accurate disclosure. It creates greater accountability across the chain of control and increases scrutiny of corporate services providers, trust and company service provider firms, and authorised corporate service provider (ACSP) intermediaries. Firms offering business compliance services UK are expected to play a growing role in supporting directors with these expanded duties.

In practice, directors must now view identity verification Companies House not as a box-ticking exercise but as an ongoing compliance obligation. With stricter liability, companies that embed these checks into governance frameworks early will reduce exposure to penalties and strengthen investor and regulator confidence.

What are the reforms to Companies House filing requirements and statutory registers?

The Companies House reforms are reshaping statutory registers and filing obligations in a way not seen since the introduction of the PSC regime in 2016. Companies will no longer be required to maintain certain internal registers, such as directors’ residential addresses or secretaries, because these details will now be held centrally at Companies House.

However, registers of members and PSCs must still be maintained, and the Companies House person with significant control information remains a critical disclosure area under the new rules.

Filings are also changing. Companies House filing requirements for confirmation statements, incorporations, and director or PSC appointments will all require the use of a verified identity. 

For example, incorporations must now include verified details of the initial directors and PSCs, while ongoing filings such as confirmation statements must carry identity-verified markers. Overseas companies with UK establishments and LLPs are also subject to the UK company law changes, with additional disclosure obligations around authorised representatives and ownership structures (Reed Smith, 2025).

Integration with the Companies House identity verification process is central to compliance. Each individual will be assigned a unique personal code once they pass Companies House ID checks. That code must then be used across future filings to confirm the individual’s role and maintain consistency in the public register. This directly links the Verify Director Identity Companies House process with every statutory filing and ensures that directors and PSCs cannot circumvent verification by filing through intermediaries.

What Are The Best Practices For Businesses & ACSPs to Prepare and Comply?

For businesses and corporate services providers, preparation for the new regime should begin well before deadlines. Internal processes should include auditing all current directors and PSCs, checking address history, ensuring documentary evidence is up to date, and building reminders for the new statutory deadlines. Directors should understand that their responsibilities now extend to ensuring PSCs comply, making these reforms part of broader Companies House director responsibilities.

A critical decision will be whether to rely on direct verification via GOV.UK One Login or to engage an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). The ACSP route may suit companies with complex structures, overseas directors, or multiple PSCs, while smaller entities may prefer direct verification. Each route has cost implications, but both meet the statutory requirement for identity verification Companies House.

Compliance does not stop at verification. Authorised corporate service providers must maintain AML supervision, ensure robust data security, and keep identity records for at least seven years (GOV.UK). Special cases such as overseas directors, corporate PSCs, and individuals with name or address changes require extra diligence. In practice, many firms will turn to trust and company service provider expertise or external business compliance services UK to reduce risk exposure.

Best practice is to integrate Companies House new rules into governance frameworks early, document verification procedures, and train staff on obligations. By embedding compliance, companies avoid last-minute disruptions and strengthen transparency.

What are the future phases and pending extensions of identity verification at Companies House?

The reforms around identity verification Companies House are being rolled out in phases, and the November 2025 deadline is only the first stage. Beyond directors and individual PSCs, further extensions are expected to cover more complex entities such as corporate directors, corporate PSCs, officers of corporate PSCs, and Relevant Legal Entities (RLEs). Limited partnerships are also on the list for future verification requirements (Reed Smith, 2025).

Companies House has made clear that these categories present a heightened risk of misuse for money laundering or opaque ownership structures. The intention is to extend Companies House ID checks gradually, applying the same verification standards as biometric checks, cryptographic document validation, and address history review to entities and officers that previously operated with minimal scrutiny. This will align with wider UK company law changes, ensuring no loopholes remain.

The reforms are also part of the wider Companies House reforms agenda: improving data accuracy, centralising statutory registers, and linking all filings to verified personal codes. Over time, every Companies House authorised agent and authorised corporate service provider will play a bigger role in helping businesses navigate filings, monitor compliance, and ensure accurate disclosure. This phased approach is designed to build trust in the register while giving companies time to adapt.

Conclusion

The reforms around identity verification at Companies House represent more than just another administrative update, they signal a permanent cultural shift in UK corporate governance. Directors, PSCs, and LLP members must now take personal responsibility for ensuring that company information is accurate, verifiable, and compliant with the law.

The decision for businesses is whether to manage this process internally or to partner with an authorised corporate service provider. For many, the latter will be the safer and more efficient option, particularly where companies have overseas directors, complex ownership chains, or limited in-house compliance expertise. An ACSP not only simplifies the verification process but also reduces the risk of costly mistakes or regulatory penalties.

The most important step is to act early. Review existing company records, gather the necessary identity documentation, and put a clear plan in place for how verification will be handled. By embedding compliance into everyday governance now, businesses can avoid future disruption and stay ahead as Companies House continues to roll out stricter filing and verification requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions