Companies House Identity Verification: What It Means for Your Supplier Checks
Since 18 November 2025, every director and person with significant control (PSC) of a UK company has had to verify their identity with Companies House.
Existing directors and PSCs have until mid-November 2026 to do it. Once that window closes, the public register becomes a much more useful supplier check. You'll be able to see whether the people behind a UK supplier are verified, for free, in a couple of minutes.
Most of what's been written about this change is for directors. This guide is for the people on the other side of the table: procurement and supplier management teams who check UK suppliers before they're onboarded, and keep checking them afterwards.
What is Companies House identity verification?
Companies House Identity verification confirms that company directors, PSCs and LLP members are who they say they are. It was introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 as part of a wider effort to clean up the UK company register.
People can verify for free through GOV.UK One Login, using a document such as a passport. They can also go through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), such as an accountant or solicitor. Either way, they receive a personal code that links their verified identity to every role they hold.
Before this, anyone could be named as a director without proving who they were. That made the register handy for fraudsters and less reliable for everyone else.
When is the deadline?
Verification opened on a voluntary basis in April 2025 and became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025. New directors must verify before they're appointed. Existing directors verify when their company files its next confirmation statement, and existing PSCs have their own due dates. The 12-month transition period for existing directors and PSCs ends in mid-November 2026.
There's still plenty to do. Companies House's own figures for the end of June 2026 showed around 55% of directors and 42% of PSCs had confirmed they were verified. So expect to see unverified names on the register for a while yet, and expect some of your suppliers to be sorting this out over the next few weeks.
Why does this matter for procurement teams?
The Companies House register is one of the first places most teams look when they check a new UK supplier, and it's about to become more trustworthy.
Until now, the register told you what a company had filed about itself. It couldn't tell you whether the named directors were real people. Identity verification closes that gap. A verified director is a real, identified person who has put their name to the company.
That helps during supplier onboarding, where fake suppliers and impersonation are a genuine fraud risk. It helps with ongoing monitoring too, where a change of director is often the first sign something has shifted. And it gives you a clear, objective question to ask a supplier, which is always easier than raising a vague concern.
How do you check if a supplier's director is verified?
It takes a couple of minutes per supplier and costs nothing.
Search for the supplier on the Companies House register using its company registration number. Starting with the number avoids landing on a company with a similar name.
Open the People tab to see the directors and PSCs.
Look at the identity verification details shown against each person. Where an ACSP carried out the check, the register also names the ACSP and the date the checks were completed.
Note what you found on the supplier's record, along with the date you checked.
What does it mean if a director isn't verified?
Before mid-November 2026, it's usually just timing. Many existing directors won't verify until their company's next confirmation statement is due, and that may not have come round yet.
After the transition period, it's worth a conversation. A director who still hasn't verified is committing an offence, and their company won't be able to file at Companies House. The government has also said the public register can be marked to show a person as unverified.
An unverified director is rarely a sign of anything sinister. It might be an admin backlog, a director based overseas who's waiting on an ACSP, or someone who simply missed the emails. Ask the supplier, note their answer and set a date to look again. A quick, friendly question sorts most of these out.
What identity verification won't tell you
It helps to be clear about the limits, so this check sits in the right place alongside everything else you do.
It confirms who someone is. It tells you nothing about whether the company is financially stable, properly insured or good at what it does.
It only covers UK-registered companies and LLPs. Overseas suppliers, sole traders and general partnerships aren't on the Companies House register.
Some roles come later. Corporate directors are due to be brought in at a later date, so a supplier run through another company may not show a verified person yet.
It doesn't check bank details. Payment fraud through changed bank details is still one of the biggest everyday risks, so keep your supplier verification of bank details separate and regular.
Think of a verified director as one good signal among several.
How to build this into your supplier checks
None of this needs a new system or a project. A few small changes will do it.
Make the company registration number a required field. Every check here starts with it, and it's one of the most useful things to hold against a UK supplier. (If you're not sure how complete yours are, our supplier data audit covers it as check three.)
Add director verification to onboarding for UK limited companies and LLPs.
Recheck your critical suppliers after mid-November. Start with the ones you couldn't replace quickly and the ones you pay most often.
Treat a change of director as a trigger for a fresh check, as part of your [ongoing risk checks].
Agree what "unverified" means for your team. For example: ask the supplier, recheck in 30 days, escalate if it's still unresolved. That way the outcome doesn't depend on who happens to be looking.
A free upgrade worth using
It's not often a piece of regulation hands procurement teams a better tool at no cost. Once mid-November passes, a two-minute look at the register tells you more about a UK supplier than it ever has. A little routine now means you'll be ready to use it.
Canopy takes care of the first step for you. Its built-in Companies House integration lets anyone requesting a new UK supplier search by company name or registration number. The official record then lands straight on the request: registered name, registration number, registered address, company status, charges and incorporation date.
Every approval starts from the register itself, with no copying, pasting or mistyped numbers. If you're making the case for it internally, our guide on how to build the business case for supplier management software is a good place to start.
Frequently asked questions
Do all UK suppliers need to verify their identity with Companies House?
Every director, person with significant control and LLP member of a UK-registered company or LLP needs to verify. Sole traders and general partnerships aren't on the Companies House register, so they aren't covered.
When did Companies House identity verification become mandatory?
It became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025. Existing directors and PSCs have a 12-month transition period, which ends in mid-November 2026.
Can I check whether a supplier's director is verified for free?
Yes. Search for the supplier on the Companies House register by its registration number and open the People tab. Verification details are shown against each director and PSC.
Is an unverified director a red flag?
During the transition period, it's usually just timing. After mid-November 2026, it's a good prompt for a friendly question to the supplier, a note on their record and a date to check again.
Does Companies House identity verification replace supplier due diligence?
No. It confirms the people behind a UK company are who they say they are. You'll still want your financial, insurance, bank detail and compliance checks.
What happens if a director doesn't verify their identity?
They commit an offence and can face a financial penalty. The company also can't make filings at Companies House until the requirement is met.
