Can Your Company Filing Be Rejected? Why Companies House Verification Matters

Companies House Is No Longer Just a Filing Office

For decades, Companies House operated as a largely passive register. You submitted information about your company, your directors, your accounts and your confirmation statement, and it was usually accepted and recorded largely on trust. The idea that a filing might be rejected, queried or blocked was not something many directors thought about.

That has changed. Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA), Companies House has been given stronger powers to query, reject, remove or annotate information that appears incorrect, inconsistent or misleading. It is moving from a passive repository to a more active gatekeeper, and one of the most important practical consequences is identity verification.

If you are a company director, a Person with Significant Control (PSC), a member of an LLP, or someone who files documents on behalf of a company, there are new requirements you need to understand. Ignoring them risks filings being refused, deadlines being missed, and your company falling into non-compliance.

What Is Identity Verification and Why Has It Been Introduced?

From 18 November 2025, identity verification became a legal requirement for people setting up, running, owning or controlling UK companies. The change is being phased in over a 12-month transition period, so this date was not a single universal deadline for every existing company. It marked the start of the mandatory regime.

The purpose is straightforward: to make it harder for fraudsters, money launderers and those acting under false identities to use UK companies as a vehicle for economic crime. For many years, becoming a UK company director required relatively limited identity checking. That made the UK company register accessible, but also vulnerable to misuse.

Companies House has estimated that around 6 to 7 million people will need to verify their identity by mid-November 2026. The scale of that number shows how far-reaching the change is. It affects most active company directors, PSCs and LLP members across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Who Needs to Verify?

The verification requirement applies to three main groups:

• Company directors, including new and existing directors of UK-registered companies
• Persons with Significant Control, broadly those who own more than 25% of shares, hold more than 25% of voting rights, or otherwise exercise significant influence or control
• Members of Limited Liability Partnerships

The key dates are:

For new directors appointed from 18 November 2025, identity verification is part of the appointment process. A new director needs to provide a personal code when the appointment is filed, and anyone acting as a director without complying with the verification requirements can commit an offence.

For existing directors, the practical deadline is linked to the company’s next confirmation statement filing from 18 November 2025. The confirmation statement cannot be filed unless the required director verification details are provided.

For PSCs, the timing depends on the role they hold. A PSC who is also a director generally provides their director personal code through the confirmation statement and then separately confirms their PSC identity verification details within a 14-day period after the company’s confirmation statement date. A PSC who is not a director must usually provide their code within the first 14 days of their birth month during the transition period. New PSCs added after 18 November 2025 have their own 14-day window.

Your practical deadline therefore depends on your role and the next filing trigger.

What Is the Personal Code and How Does It Work?

Once verified, Companies House issues the individual a unique personal code. This code is personal to you as an individual, not to any one company.

You use the same personal code across all companies where you hold a relevant role. For example, if you are a director of 3 companies, you do not verify 3 times. You verify once, receive your code, and use that code for each company role.

The personal code must be shared with the person responsible for filing, such as the company secretary, accountant or authorised agent. During the confirmation statement submission, the filer must provide the personal code and verification statement for each director. If a required code is missing or does not match Companies House records, the filing will not proceed.

For PSCs, the code may need to be provided separately through the relevant Companies House service, even where the individual is also a director.

Think of the personal code as a permanent individual verification reference. It should be kept safe, but you can share it with a trusted agent or accountant who files on your behalf.

One practical detail worth noting is that each person should have their own access to the email address linked to their verification process. For family businesses or companies where multiple directors have historically used a shared inbox, this may require some housekeeping before verification is attempted.

The One Unverified Director Problem

This is arguably the most important practical point for any company with more than one director.

A company with 10 directors that has 9 verified and 1 who has not yet completed the process may be unable to file its confirmation statement. Given that failing to file a confirmation statement is a criminal offence and can put the company at risk of enforcement action, the single point of failure created by one unverified director is a genuine compliance risk.

This is not a theoretical issue. If you are the company secretary, accountant or director who handles company filings, you are dependent on every director completing their own verification in time. One person delaying, whether a non-executive director, a co-founder or a director who is not involved day to day, can block the whole filing.

The solution is to treat verification as a board-level matter, not an individual afterthought. Make sure every director understands their personal obligation and completes verification well ahead of the next confirmation statement date.

Our post on director ID verification rules covers the detail of the verification process and timelines clearly if you want to go deeper on the mechanics.

How to Verify Your Identity

There are 2 main routes available.

Route 1: GOV.UK One Login

This is the direct route. You verify your identity through GOV.UK One Login using accepted identity documents, such as a biometric passport or UK photocard driving licence, where available.

The process may involve using the GOV.UK ID Check app, answering questions, matching your face to your document, and confirming personal details. The exact steps depend on the document you use and whether you can complete the process digitally.

Your document must be valid. Expired documents are likely to cause problems. If your details on the Companies House register do not match the details linked to your identity verification, for example because of an incorrect date of birth or a mismatch in your name, the code may not connect properly to your company role.

Resolving personal detail discrepancies before a filing deadline avoids unnecessary complications.

Route 2: Through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider

Authorised Corporate Service Providers, known as ACSPs, include accountants, solicitors, company formation agents and chartered secretaries that are supervised for anti-money laundering purposes and registered with Companies House as authorised agents.

An ACSP can carry out identity verification checks on your behalf. This can be particularly useful if you do not have the right technology for the digital route, if you are based overseas, if your documents do not work smoothly through GOV.UK One Login, or if you want professional support to make sure the process is handled correctly.

Regulated accountancy firms registered as ACSPs can handle verification as part of their company secretarial support. This is one of the services covered under company secretarial services, and for directors who already have their accounts and compliance handled by an accountant, it makes sense to manage verification through the same relationship.

Beyond Verification: Other Reasons Filings Get Rejected

Identity verification is one of the most significant new sources of filing difficulty, but it is not the only one. Companies House has always had the ability to reject certain filings, and its expanded powers under ECCTA mean more active scrutiny going forward.

Here are the other common rejection triggers to be aware of.

Company Names

Any company that wishes to use a sensitive word or expression in its name may need to provide supporting evidence, such as a letter or email of non-objection from a specified body. An application can be rejected if the necessary evidence is not supplied or if a sensitive word is used in a way that is not permitted.

Names that are the same as an existing company name, or too close to one, can also create problems. Companies House may reject the name at incorporation or, in some cases, require a company to change its name after registration if it is considered too similar to an existing company.

Registered Office Address Issues

A company’s registered office must be an appropriate address. This means official documents sent there should be expected to come to the attention of someone acting on behalf of the company, and delivery should be capable of being acknowledged.

You cannot use a PO Box as the registered office address. The address must also be in the correct jurisdiction. For example, a company registered in Scotland must have a registered office in Scotland, while a company registered in England and Wales must have a registered office in England or Wales.

Incomplete or Incorrectly Formatted Director Information

Director information must be accurate. This includes names, service addresses, residential addresses, date of birth and nationality. Using incomplete names, inconsistent details or incorrect dates can create filing problems, especially now that personal details need to connect properly with identity verification records.

Missing or Incomplete PSC Information

Most companies must provide information about their PSCs or provide the correct statement explaining why there is no registrable PSC. Leaving PSC information blank or filing incomplete details can lead to rejection or follow-up queries.

Every company should review whether the PSC information on the register remains accurate, particularly where shareholdings, voting rights or control arrangements have changed.

Accounts Formatting and Signing Issues

Companies House can reject accounts that do not meet the required format or legal requirements. Common issues include missing signatures, incorrect balance sheet statements, inconsistent company details, missing notes or using the wrong filing format.

A rejected accounts filing is a serious issue because Companies House treats accounts as filed only when they are received in an acceptable form. If corrected accounts are filed after the deadline, the company can still receive a late filing penalty.

For companies filing accounts digitally through software, the accounts must meet the technical requirements of the filing route being used. Where corporation tax filings are also involved, HMRC generally requires accounts and tax computations to be submitted in iXBRL format.

The PROOF System

Companies House operates the Protection Online Filing system, known as PROOF, which companies can join voluntarily. Once a company has joined PROOF, Companies House will reject certain paper forms relating to registered office changes, officer appointments, resignations and changes of officer details.

This is a useful security measure, but if your company has opted into PROOF and someone attempts a paper filing for a protected form, it will be rejected.

What Happens If Your Filing Is Rejected?

A rejected filing is not a valid filing. The deadline does not pause because you attempted to submit something.

If your accounts are rejected and the corrected version is filed after the deadline, the company will be treated as late. Late filing penalties for private company accounts start at £150 and increase depending on how late the accounts are. If accounts are filed late in 2 successive financial years, the penalty is doubled.

The standard late accounts penalties for a private company are:

The automatic late filing penalty regime applies to accounts, not confirmation statements. However, failing to file a confirmation statement is still a criminal offence. Companies House can also take steps that may include financial penalties, prosecution, or striking the company off the register.

Non-compliance with identity verification requirements can also lead to enforcement action, including financial penalties, prosecution, or referral to the Insolvency Service in appropriate cases.

Persistent failure to comply with company filing obligations can have serious consequences for directors, including the possibility of disqualification in more serious cases.

The message is clear: a rejected filing needs to be corrected and resubmitted quickly. If you are unsure why something was rejected or how to fix it, getting professional help immediately is far cheaper than letting the situation deteriorate.

Who Can File on Your Behalf From November 2026?

A further change is expected no earlier than November 2026. Companies House plans to introduce identity verification requirements for people who file documents at Companies House.

Once the presenter rules take effect, anyone filing statutory documents will need to be a verified individual, or a third-party agent registered as an ACSP. Third-party agents filing on behalf of companies will need to be registered as ACSPs.

This means that if your company’s filings are currently handled by an unverified employee or by a third party that is not registered as an ACSP, that arrangement may no longer work once the new presenter rules apply.

For businesses that use a professional accountant to handle statutory filings, this may already be covered if the firm is registered as an ACSP. For businesses that handle filings internally or through informal arrangements, a review is needed before the new rules come into force.

What This Means for Property Businesses and RTM Companies

Property businesses, including residential management companies, commercial property businesses and Right to Manage companies, are subject to the same Companies House obligations as any other limited company.

For RTM companies in particular, directors are often volunteer leaseholders who are not deeply familiar with corporate compliance requirements. The verification obligation is therefore easy to overlook.

If you are an RTM or RMC director and your company’s next confirmation statement is approaching, make sure every director has completed their verification before the filing date. One person who has not yet acted can block the whole submission. Our post on what statutory accounts involve for company directors is a useful reference for the broader picture of annual compliance obligations.

Property management accounts for RTM and RMC companies are already more complex than most. Service charge accounting, statutory accounts and company secretarial obligations all run in parallel. Adding identity verification to that list without professional support is a lot to manage.

For commercial property accountants working with property management companies, confirming that all directors and PSCs are verified before filing season arrives is now part of the standard compliance review.

Similarly, if you hold property through a limited company, a common structure for landlords and investors, your personal verification may be required even if you are not heavily involved in day-to-day company management. An accountant landlord specialists work with who handles your property company’s annual compliance will be best placed to manage this alongside your accounts and tax return.

For those with more complex property holdings or investment structures, perhaps multiple companies, trusts or partnerships, a property accountant specialist can help you map out which entities require verification across the board and ensure nothing is missed.

Staying on Top of Company Compliance

For many small business owners, Companies House compliance is the part of running a company that feels most distant from the actual business. It is easy to leave it until a reminder arrives, or worse, until something goes wrong.

The identity verification changes make a proactive approach more important than ever. With a single unverified director capable of blocking a company’s filing, and with Companies House using stronger powers to query and reject information, the cost of leaving compliance to chance has gone up.

Good bookkeeping habits support compliance too. Clean, organised records mean accounts are easier to prepare and review, and the information needed for Companies House filings is always readily available. Xero bookkeeper nottingham based or remote specialists can keep your financial records in the kind of order that makes annual compliance genuinely straightforward rather than a scramble.

For businesses using Xero as their accounting platform, working with xero accountants uk wide specialists means your accounts data is structured correctly from the outset, which makes account preparation, submission and review far simpler.

If you are a new business owner navigating your first year of Companies House obligations, understanding what is required from the outset is important. Our post on confirmation statements is a good starting point, and working with accounting for start ups specialists means these obligations are all managed for you from day one.

For businesses that have grown to the point where managing all of this internally is becoming time-consuming, an outsourced finance and accounting arrangement can take the compliance burden off your hands entirely, covering everything from bookkeeping and accounts to company secretarial obligations and Companies House filings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to verify my identity even if I am a director of a dormant company?

Yes. The verification requirement applies to company directors regardless of whether the company is actively trading. A dormant company still needs to file annual accounts and a confirmation statement, and filings can be blocked if directors have not verified when required.

What ID documents are accepted for verification?

Companies House verification through GOV.UK One Login can use accepted identity documents such as a biometric passport or UK photocard driving licence. The document must be valid. If you cannot verify directly using the available digital route, an ACSP may be able to help verify your identity using an alternative approved process.

I am a director of several companies. Do I need to verify multiple times?

No. Verification is personal to you as an individual, not to any specific company. Once you have verified your identity and received your personal code, you use the same code across all companies where you hold a qualifying role. However, your deadlines may be triggered by different companies and roles, so you should check the earliest relevant filing date.

What if my name on the Companies House register does not match my passport?

You should resolve discrepancies before your filing deadline. Differences in personal details can prevent your verified identity from matching Companies House records. Your accountant or company secretary can help you check what is on the register and make any necessary updates correctly.

Can a non-director employee verify on behalf of the company?

No. Identity verification is personal to the individual director, PSC or LLP member. An ACSP can carry out checks and support the process, but the individual still needs to provide the required identity evidence. From no earlier than November 2026, there will also be separate requirements around who can submit filings to Companies House.

Is there any grace period for non-compliance during the transition?

The 12-month transition period gives existing directors, PSCs and LLP members time to comply by their due dates. It is not a reason to ignore the requirement. If a director has not verified by the time the company needs to file its confirmation statement, the filing can be blocked. Failing to file a confirmation statement is itself a serious compliance issue.

What happens if one director refuses to verify?

If a director refuses or delays verification, the company may be unable to file its confirmation statement. The board should treat this as a governance issue and act early. Depending on the circumstances, the company may need to consider whether that person should remain as a director.

Do Not Let a Compliance Issue Stop Your Filing in Its Tracks

The changes to Companies House verification and filing requirements represent a meaningful shift in how UK company compliance works. For most directors, the solution is simple: verify your identity early, make sure your co-directors do the same, and work with an accountant who understands the new Companies House regime.

FHP Accounting supports nottingham accountancy clients and businesses across the UK with company secretarial services, Companies House filings, identity verification support and the full range of statutory compliance obligations. We make sure nothing falls through the gaps, so your filings go in on time, correctly and without avoidable rejection.

Get in touch today to make sure your verification and filing obligations are fully in hand.

Kellee Quigley

I lead FHP Accounting, an accountancy practice specialising in Commercial and Residential Property Accounting. Our goal is to make the administration of running property portfolios easier for landlords, managers, and investors — allowing you to focus on what you do best, while we take care of everything behind the scenes.