Starting 8 April 2025, the UK is launching one of its most significant corporate reforms in recent years:
all newly appointed directors and Persons of Significant Control (PSCs) will be required to complete identity verification before their details can appear on the Companies House register.

Existing companies must ensure that all current directors and PSCs are verified within 12 months of their next confirmation statement.

This new regime, introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, is designed to close long-standing loopholes in the UK’s corporate framework — and for many international corporate groups and holding structures, it will require careful preparation to avoid filing rejections, bank problems or potential penalties.

Why was this reform introduced?

For years, the UK’s Companies House system relied largely on trust: anyone could register a company and declare directors or shareholders without any official identity check.

While this made the UK an easy place to do business, it also opened the door to misuse:
UK companies became a common tool in global money-laundering schemes, tax evasion networks, and fraudulent investments.

Following international pressure — from bodies such as the FATF, the OECD, and the European Commission — the UK government committed to tightening corporate transparency. The result is the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, which brings in new powers for Companies House and new responsibilities for businesses.

Mandatory identity verification is one of the core elements:
It ensures that the names appearing on UK company registers correspond to real, traceable individuals — helping banks, regulators and investors to trust that UK entities are properly managed and controlled.

How the new verification works

Under the new rules:

• New directors and PSCs will need to verify their identity using either:
  — the UK government’s GOV.UK One Login system, or
  — a registered Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) — such as an approved law firm or corporate services firm.
• Verification is mandatory before filing at Companies House: companies will no longer be able to list unverified officers or PSCs.
• Existing companies have 12 months from their next confirmation statement to bring their records into compliance.

Companies House will begin rejecting filings that reference unverified individuals. In more serious cases, companies may face formal sanctions — including criminal penalties for “failure to prevent false statements”, as already highlighted by the UK Law Society.

What experts are saying

The UK Law Society and the Institute of Chartered Secretaries have broadly welcomed the change — but warn that for larger corporate groups, failing to plan early will cause significant operational problems.

In a March 2025 legal briefing, the Law Society noted:

“Professional firms and in-house teams must treat this as a corporate governance obligation, not a routine filing. Delays in verification can directly impact banking, lending, licensing and contractual execution.”

Professor Jason MacLeod, a corporate governance expert at King’s College London, commented:

“This is not cosmetic. Companies with complex officer structures will need to audit and, in many cases, simplify their PSC and director records — otherwise they face potential disruption at renewal.”

What this means for companies and groups

The new verification regime will affect any structure using UK entities — and especially:

• Holding companies with nominee officers or corporate PSCs;
• Family offices using long-standing UK vehicles;
• Cross-border groups with offshore owners;
• International businesses with UK subsidiaries.

Without full identity verification:

• Confirmation statements will be rejected — leading to late penalties and possible strike-off warnings;
• Bank mandates may be frozen if officers do not match Companies House records;
• New appointments cannot be filed or made legally effective.

In short: verification will soon become a precondition for managing any UK company.

Why acting early is critical

UK law firms and ACSPs are already seeing strong demand for verification services — and for large groups with multiple companies or family members involved, completing the process will take time.

The risks of delay include:

• Filing blockages, rejected changes, and compliance flags;
• Disruption to corporate banking and access to new finance;
• Enforcement under the new criminal liability provisions for false statements.

How ERG helps clients prepare

ERG works with corporate groups, private clients and international investors to ensure a smooth transition:

• Audit of directors and PSCs — mapping all individuals needing verification;
• Facilitating identity verification through our trusted UK ACSP partners;
• Restructuring outdated officer and PSC records, where necessary;
• Updating filings, confirmation statements, and statutory registers;
• Ensuring alignment of Companies House data with bank KYC records and counterparties.

For groups with multiple UK entities, we also manage end-to-end rollout programmes, ensuring that all required verification is complete before the statutory deadlines.

What’s next

By April 2026, every UK company must have verified directors and PSCs on record.
This will reshape how UK companies are used in international structuring — and companies that act early will avoid disruption.

For a tailored verification plan — and support in preparing your UK companies for this new regime — contact ERG’s UK compliance team.