Companies House identity verification if you live outside the UK
Living outside the UK and need to verify your identity for Companies House? The routes that actually work, the documents accepted, and what it costs.
When do you actually have to verify your identity with Companies House?
18 November 2026 is the end of the transition period — but your own deadline is probably sooner. How to work out the date that actually applies to you.
What is a Companies House personal code?
You've verified your identity and received an 11-character personal code. Here's what it's for, who you can share it with, and what to do if you lose it.
What ID documents does Companies House accept?
Exactly which documents Companies House accepts for identity verification, what works if you have no passport, and the rules for non-UK ID.
Identity verification for people with significant control (PSCs)
People with significant control must verify their identity too — on a different timetable to directors, tied to your birth month. Who it catches and when.
Should you verify through GOV.UK One Login or an authorised agent?
Both routes are valid and one of them is free. An honest comparison of who should use which, written by an authorised agent.
What happens if you don't verify your identity with Companies House?
Offences, penalties and practical consequences of missing identity verification — what the law actually says, without the scaremongering.
Verifying your identity for Companies House at the Post Office
How in-person verification at the Post Office works, what to bring, and who can't use this route — with the alternatives if you can't.
Ltd vs sole trader: the 2026 decision, properly explained
Tax, liability, admin and image — when incorporation actually wins, and the cases where staying a sole trader is smarter.
Director identity verification: what ECCTA means for you
Identity checks are now a legal requirement for directors and PSCs. What’s checked, how long it takes, and how to pass first time.
SIC codes explained: how to pick yours in 2 minutes
What SIC codes do, why you can choose up to four, and the codes most founders in your industry actually pick.
Can I use my home address as my registered office?
You can — here’s exactly what becomes public, what can’t be undone later, and what a service address changes.
Your first-year compliance calendar
Every deadline between incorporation and your first birthday — confirmation statement, accounts, Corporation Tax — on one page.
Best UK Company Formation Agents 2026: What You'll Really Pay in Year One
1st Formations, Rapid Formations, Tide, Hoxton Mix and more compared on what you actually pay in year one: registered office, director's service address and mail handling.
What is a confirmation statement (and what happens if you forget)?
The annual filing every company must make, the £50 fee, the deadlines — and the genuinely serious consequences of ignoring it.