Short answer: if you live in the UK, hold a current passport, and are comfortable using a phone app, use GOV.UK One Login. It is free, it takes minutes, and paying someone for it is money wasted. Use an authorised agent when that route genuinely doesn't work for you — and there are real cases where it doesn't.
We are an authorised agent. We would rather tell you this plainly than take a fee from someone who didn't need to pay one.
What an ACSP actually is
An Authorised Corporate Service Provider is a firm that has registered with Companies House to carry out identity verification, and which is supervised for anti-money-laundering purposes — typically an accountant, solicitor or company formation agent.
Registration is not a marketing badge. It means the firm is subject to AML supervision and has been accepted by Companies House to perform checks and confirm the results.
You can check whether a firm is genuinely registered. Any agent unwilling to tell you their ACSP status is telling you something.
The comparison
| GOV.UK One Login | Authorised agent (ACSP) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Agent's fee |
| Speed | Usually minutes | Same day to a few days |
| Who can use it | Anyone with accepted photo ID, anywhere | Anyone |
| What you need | Biometric passport (any country), or UK photo driving licence, UK BRP/BRC, or Frontier Worker permit — current, not expired | A wider range of documents, reviewed by a person |
| How the check happens | App reads your document and matches your face | A qualified person reviews your documents |
| Result | 11-character personal code | Same 11-character personal code |
The output is identical. Companies House does not record which route you used, and there is no such thing as a "better" verification. A code obtained free through One Login is exactly as valid as one obtained through us.
Use One Login — genuinely
You should use the free route if you have a current biometric passport (from any country — this is not UK-only) or a UK photo driving licence, biometric residence permit, biometric residence card or Frontier Worker permit, and a phone that can complete the check.
That describes most directors. If it describes you, stop reading and go to GOV.UK.
When an agent earns their fee
There are real situations where the free route doesn't work:
- Your documents don't fit. No passport, or a passport the app can't read. The person-based route accepts a wider set of documents, including combinations with a bank statement or utility bill.
- The app keeps failing. Chip-read failures, face-match failures, or an app that won't work in your country. There is no appeal process for a failed app check — a human review is the alternative.
- You're overseas and hit a wall. Most overseas directors can use One Login with a biometric passport. Those who can't have very few other options, because the Post Office and bank routes are UK-only.
- Multiple people, one deadline. Four directors, a confirmation statement due, and someone has to chase all of them. Agents do this coordination.
- Time and attention. A legitimate reason. If you would rather pay to have it handled and not think about it, that's a fair trade — as long as you're making it knowingly.
Red flags when choosing an agent
Be wary of any provider who:
- implies the free GOV.UK route doesn't exist, or that it's unavailable to non-UK residents
- won't confirm they are a registered ACSP
- describes 18 November 2026 as your deadline without asking about your confirmation statement date
- asks for your personal code before you have been verified — the code is issued after verification, so anyone requesting it up front has the process backwards
- quotes a price without saying what happens if verification fails
What we charge, and why
Our verification is £29.99 for UK residents and £49.99 for non-UK residents. That buys a check carried out by a qualified team, the result confirmed to Companies House, and the personal code filed where it needs to go.
It does not buy a faster or better verification than GOV.UK gives you free. It buys the route working when the free one doesn't, and it buys not having to think about it.
Company Assist is an Authorised Corporate Service Provider registered with Companies House. We are not Companies House or GOV.UK. Directors with a current passport can verify free of charge at GOV.UK using GOV.UK One Login.
Written by Saj Iqbal, qualified accountant.
Sources: GOV.UK — Verify your identity for Companies House; How to meet the Companies House identity verification standard.
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