Usually, you verify your identity only once—but you must connect that verified identity to each relevant Companies House role. A director who is also a person with significant control, or PSC, has two reporting steps, not two separate identity checks.
With mandatory verification being phased through existing appointments in 2026, that distinction is particularly important for owner-managed companies. Completing an identity check is not the same as completing every filing obligation.
What must an existing director do?
Companies House’s deadline guidance, updated on 30 July 2026, says existing directors provide their personal code with the company’s next confirmation statement. A director of several companies must do this for each company.
For a new company, the registration filing asks for each director’s code. There is not one September deadline applying to every business: the relevant appointment and filing dates matter.
What if you are also a PSC?
The code must be supplied separately for that role through the PSC verification-details service. For an existing director who is also a PSC of the same company, the PSC window is 14 days starting the day after the confirmation statement date. Filing the statement early does not move that window.
For an existing PSC who is not a director of that company, the transition window is the first 14 days of their birth month. Someone becoming a PSC after 18 November 2025 can supply the code when added to the register or within 14 days. Check the dates shown on the register for the individual role.
Does verification have to cost money?
No. The Companies House verification service uses GOV.UK One Login and is free. Depending on the answers provided, it routes users through an app, online security questions, or an identity check at a participating Post Office after an online step.
An authorised corporate service provider, such as an appropriately registered accountant or solicitor, can also verify someone and may charge. Companies House says not to post or email identity documents to it.
Is the personal code a company authentication code?
No. The personal-code guidance describes an 11-character identifier belonging to the person, not their company. Keep it secure and share it only with trusted people who need it for filings.
A useful administrative check is therefore: identity verified, code received, each role linked, each deadline recorded. Repeating the identity check unnecessarily does not replace the role-linking steps.
Reporting basis: Companies House guidance checked on 3 September 2026. This explains the general process, not an individual company’s legal position.
Illustrative office paperwork; not Companies House records or identity documents. Photo by Wesley Tingey on Unsplash