If you have just received an email from Companies House asking you to verify your identity, or you have heard that such emails are being sent and want to know if it will happen to you, the first question is whether the email is genuine, and the second is what you actually have to do. The answer to the first is usually yes (Companies House has been emailing directors and PSCs systematically during the transition window for identity verification under ECCTA 2023), but the email has also been an attractive target for impersonation scams, and the authentication checks matter. The answer to the second is that the email requires you to verify your identity once at Companies House, via the free GOV.UK One Login route or via an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, and then quote the resulting personal code on the company's next confirmation statement.

This page sets out the authenticity checks, the action steps, the deadline, the consequences of ignoring it, and the scam-vetting routes to use if you are unsure.

Is This Email Genuine? How to Authenticate a Companies House Communication

The fastest way to assess a Companies House email is to run the five standard authenticity tests.

Sender domain. Legitimate Companies House emails come from a gov.uk domain, typically @companieshouse.gov.uk or @notifications.service.gov.uk. Hover over the sender name (in most email clients) to reveal the actual email address. A sender domain that is gov.uk-adjacent but not actually gov.uk (a hyphenated lookalike, an unrelated TLD, or a free-mail service) is a red flag.

Specific company reference. A genuine email will reference your specific company by name and Companies House number, and may reference your role (director, PSC, or both) within that company. A vague "Dear sir or madam, please verify your identity for your business" with no company-specific details is a red flag.

No payment request, no password ask. Companies House does not collect verification fees by emailed payment link. The GOV.UK One Login route is free. Any email demanding direct payment through a link, asking for password or banking details, or insisting on urgent payment to avoid a fine, is a phishing attempt.

Link destinations. Hover over any link before clicking to reveal the true URL. Genuine Companies House links go to gov.uk addresses (typically gov.uk, companieshouse.gov.uk, or signin.account.gov.uk). A link that purports to go to Companies House but resolves to a non-gov.uk address is a red flag.

Cross-reference the campaign page. The Companies House campaign page at changestoukcompanylaw.campaign.gov.uk tracks the official rollout state at any given moment. If your email matches what the campaign page is currently communicating (commencement state, transition-window guidance, document acceptance), it is probably genuine. If your email contradicts the campaign page (a different deadline, an unexpected requirement, an unusual payment ask), it is probably not.

If you remain uncertain, contact Companies House directly via the published telephone number on the official site, never via a phone number supplied in the email itself. Report suspected impersonation scams to Action Fraud and follow the NCSC suspicious-email guidance for additional security-hygiene steps.

What Does the Email Actually Require?

A genuine identity-verification email from Companies House does five things.

It tells you about the obligation under ECCTA 2023 to verify your identity as a director, a PSC, or both. It references your role at a specific named company. It states the deadline for verification, which is anchored to the company's next confirmation statement falling within the transition window for existing roles, or immediately for newly appointed roles. It directs you to begin verification via the GOV.UK One Login route or via an Authorised Corporate Service Provider under ECCTA s.66. It provides the company's confirmation statement filing date for reference.

The action it asks for is: complete the verification, obtain your Companies House personal code (issued under ECCTA s.68), and ensure the code is recorded on the company's next confirmation statement. No payment is required for the One Login route. The verification produces a code that is private to you and that covers every UK directorship and PSC role you hold; it does not need to be re-issued for each company.

How Fast Do I Need to Act?

The deadline depends on the date your role started and the company's filing cycle.

Newly appointed director or PSC (appointed on or after 18 November 2025). Verification is required before the appointment can be lodged at Companies House. The filing simply will not accept an unverified person. The practical effect is that verification has to happen as part of the appointment process, not afterwards. If you have been told you are being appointed to a UK company board, verify your identity now.

Existing director or PSC (in office before 18 November 2025). Verification is required by the company's next confirmation statement falling within the twelve-month transition window, which began 18 November 2025 and ends around November 2026. Each company has its own confirmation-statement date; your deadline is set by that date. Where the confirmation statement is filed late, the verification is still required by that filing date.

Operationally, do not wait until the confirmation-statement deadline. The verification process takes ten to thirty minutes via the One Login app for a typical biometric-passport holder; longer if there are document checks that need additional review. Volume at Companies House climbs as the transition-window end approaches; verifying early avoids any system-load delay.

What If I Ignore the Email?

Ignoring a genuine Companies House identity-verification email is not a safe option. Three consequences attach to non-action.

Criminal liability for acting unverified. Continuing to act as a director or PSC of a UK company without being verified by the applicable deadline is a criminal offence under the ECCTA 2023 framework. The maximum fines escalate with persistence; the case-law on enforcement is still building, but the early-rollout pattern is that Companies House is taking the regime seriously.

Companies House filing refusal. Companies House will refuse to accept the company's filings while an unverified person is named in a director or PSC role. The practical effect is that the company's compliance grinds to a halt: confirmation statements cannot be filed, appointments cannot be notified, change-of-particulars filings are rejected. Knock-on effects include lender concerns (a company that cannot file its confirmation statement looks bad on a search), insurance issues, and supplier-due-diligence problems.

Disqualification exposure. Repeated non-compliance with the ECCTA framework, alongside other compliance failures, can feed into disqualification proceedings under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. The Insolvency Service is the enforcement body for disqualification; the threshold is unfitness to manage a UK company.

The cumulative cost of ignoring the verification is substantially higher than the cost of completing it. The verification takes minutes; the consequences of skipping it can last years.

How Does the Verification Process Actually Work?

The verification mechanic runs in five steps.

Step 1: Gather your identity document. An in-date biometric passport (any country) is the cleanest route. UK photo driving licence, UK biometric residence permit, and UK Frontier Worker permit are also accepted via the One Login app. Confirm the current accepted-documents list on the gov.uk verify-your-identity guidance page before you start.

Step 2: Choose your route. Either the free GOV.UK One Login self-service route (download the app, scan the document, complete a liveness check), or the Authorised Corporate Service Provider route via your accountant or company-secretarial firm (the firm completes verification using its existing AML-compliant KYC, often for a small fee).

Step 3: Complete the verification. Via One Login, the process takes ten to thirty minutes for a typical biometric-passport holder. The app reads the document, runs a liveness check via phone camera, and submits the verification to Companies House. Via the ACSP route, the firm handles the submission on your behalf using its own client-onboarding documentation.

Step 4: Receive your personal code. Companies House issues a unique personal identification code under ECCTA s.68. The code is private to you; it does not appear on the public register under ECCTA s.69. You quote the code on subsequent Companies House filings as evidence of your verified status.

Step 5: Update every UK directorship and PSC role. Your code covers every company in which you hold a director or PSC position. At each company's next relevant filing (confirmation statement, appointment notification, change of particulars), the code is recorded against your name. Your accountant or company-secretarial agent typically manages this filing flow.

For the full operational walkthrough with the landlord-LtdCo angle, see our ECCTA identity verification operational page. For the broader framework context, see our complete guide to identity verification in the UK.

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One Login or ACSP: Which Route Suits My Situation?

The choice is operational rather than legal: both routes produce the same Companies House personal code.

GOV.UK One Login is best where: you hold a valid biometric document (in-date passport especially); you are comfortable installing and using a smartphone app; you already have an active GOV.UK One Login account (for tax or other services); you do not have a long-standing relationship with an accountant who can manage the verification for you.

ACSP is best where: your accountant or company-secretarial firm has already registered with Companies House as an ACSP; the firm already holds your AML-compliant KYC documentation under MLR 2017; you have multiple directorships across several entities and want them managed together; you do not have a biometric document that the One Login app supports; you prefer an adviser-managed process. ACSP fees typically run in the £20 to £100 range per individual; the convenience usually outweighs the cost for a multi-SPV portfolio.

What If My Role on the Companies House Register Is Wrong?

Companies House emails based on the register state at a recent snapshot date. If the register lists you as a director or PSC of a company where you have resigned, or where your PSC interest has changed, the email may reflect an out-of-date register entry. The underlying issue is a register-accuracy problem that needs correcting separately from the verification question.

The actions to take are: log in to Companies House through the official portal; review the current register entry for the company; file the appropriate correction (TM01 for director resignation, CH01 for change of director particulars, or PSC07 for cessation of a PSC notification); if the company has not been making its statutory filings, contact the company first; if the company is unresponsive, you can notify Companies House of your resignation directly.

Do not verify your identity in respect of a role you no longer hold. Correct the register first; then verify (or not, depending on which roles you actually retain).

The Wider ECCTA Reforms in One Paragraph

Identity verification is one of several Companies House reforms introduced by ECCTA. The others include: a registered email address for every UK company (not published publicly, used by Companies House for statutory communications); a lawful purposes statement on every confirmation statement; the abolition of locally-held PSC and director registers (everything consolidated at the central Companies House register); new active integrity objectives and powers for the Registrar (ECCTA s.1); the Authorised Corporate Service Provider regime under ECCTA s.66; and substantial tightening of the Register of Overseas Entities (RoE) framework. The reforms operate in parallel; some may be referenced in the email alongside the identity-verification ask. Our Companies House confirmation statement changes page covers the confirmation-statement reforms in detail.

Authorities Cited