UK company directors and founders: setting up a limited company now involves two jobs that are easy to treat separately. One is the formation itself: name, address, people, shares and documents. The other is Companies House identity verification for the people behind the company. Run them as one checklist and you are less likely to stall halfway through, or to discover a gap when the first confirmation statement is due.

Why identity verification belongs in the formation plan

Identity verification became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025. Directors and people with significant control (PSCs) must verify. Once verified, each person receives a personal code. New directors provide that code with their appointment filing, or when the company is incorporated. Existing directors provide it with the company's next confirmation statement.

Companies House is direct about the consequence: a company will be unable to file its confirmation statement unless all its directors are verified. A director who leaves it until the filing is due can hold up a routine annual filing for the whole company.

A combined formation and verification checklist

Work through these in order and keep a dated note of each step.

  1. Decide the people. List every director and every PSC, such as anyone with more than 25% of the shares or voting rights. Note who holds both roles.
  2. Verify each person first. Each director and PSC verifies once, either free through the GOV.UK One Login service (using the app, online security questions, or photo ID details and a participating Post Office visit) or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, which may charge a fee. Never post or email identity documents to Companies House.
  3. Collect the personal codes securely. The code is personal to the individual, not to the company. Companies House compares it with a UTR: share it only with people you trust. Record who holds a code and the date they verified, not the code itself in a shared spreadsheet.
  4. Prepare the company details. Choose a name that meets the naming rules and check availability, then confirm the registered office address, SIC code, shareholders, statement of capital and articles of association.
  5. Register with Companies House. Provide directors' personal codes with the incorporation. Keep the incorporation certificate and filing confirmation together.
  6. Diary the PSC window. Every PSC has a 14-day period in which to provide their personal code. The start depends on when they were registered and whether they are also a director, so check the current guidance for each person.
  7. Finish post-registration steps. Add Corporation Tax services to your business tax account and set up company and accounting records.

Keep the proof in one place

For each person, keep a short register entry: name, role, date verified, method used and the date their code was provided to Companies House. Add the incorporation confirmation and your first confirmation statement date. When a co-director changes or a new PSC arrives, you add a line rather than reconstructing the history.

Companies House says you must not verify again unless it tells you to. If someone is unsure whether they already verified, check before starting again.

Company secretaries were removed from the verification list on 1 June 2026. Verification for people who file on a company's behalf, corporate directors and some other roles is due to be introduced later, so recheck the guidance before relying on this list.

Both guides in one pack

The UK Business Formation Pack bundles the UK Limited Company Formation Guide (worksheets including a Director Information Worksheet and Business Launch Checklist) with the Companies House Identity Verification Blueprint (including a Pre-Verification Document Checklist, Director Verification Register and PSC Compliance Tracker). Instant PDF. Both guides are also available on Amazon, where editions and included extras may differ.

Sources: GOV.UK: Verifying your identity for Companies House; GOV.UK: Set up a limited company.

Official guidance checked 31 October 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Know what changed. Know what to do. Keep the proof. — PDFBlueprints

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