What ID documents does Companies House accept?

Short answer: a current biometric passport is the smoothest option and works from any country. If you don't have one, there are two other paths — a single photographic document checked by technology, or two documents reviewed by a person. The full lists are below.

The two ways documents get checked

This is the distinction that makes everything else make sense.

Option 1 — technology-based. One photographic identity document, checked using identity verification technology (the chip-reading app approach). This is what GOV.UK One Login does, and what most authorised agents use.

Option 2 — person-based. A qualified person reviews your documents directly. You need two documents: either two photographic documents from Group A, or one from Group A plus one from Group B.

Option 1: accepted photographic documents

Any one of the following:

• Biometric or machine-readable passport, or an Irish passport card — accepted up to 6 months after expiry
• Photocard driving licence from the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, or the EU
• EU biometric identity card (EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein)
• UK biometric residence permit — accepted up to 18 months after expiry
• UK biometric residence card
• UK Frontier Worker permit
• eVisa

Note the expiry tolerances. They apply to this route only. If you verify through GOV.UK One Login or the bank check, GOV.UK states plainly: "You cannot use expired documents if you verify using either of these routes."

Option 2: Group A and Group B

Group A — photographic identity documents. Passports, driving licences, biometric residence cards and permits, work permits and visas, and other photographic ID recorded on PRADO (the EU's public register of authentic identity documents).

Group B — supporting documents. Birth certificate, marriage or civil partnership certificate, bank statement, utility bill, council tax statement, or a rental or mortgage agreement for your current address.

You need either two from Group A, or one from Group A plus one from Group B.

If you do not live in the UK

GOV.UK sets an additional requirement: someone who does not live in the UK must provide at least one government-issued document. In practice that is a passport or a national identity card.

This is worth reading carefully, because it is a lower bar than most people assume. It does not require UK-issued ID. A current biometric passport from your own country satisfies both the free One Login route and the agent route.

What if you have no passport?

You are not stuck, but you are on the person-based route. Realistic combinations:

• Photocard driving licence + bank statement
• Photocard driving licence + council tax statement
• Biometric residence permit + utility bill

The supporting document must be for your current address. A statement for an address you moved out of eighteen months ago will not do.

Why checks fail

The rules are not usually the problem — the execution is. What actually goes wrong:

• Glare. A photograph of a document under a ceiling light, with a white blown-out patch across the machine-readable zone.
• Cropping. Corners cut off. The whole document must be visible.
• Address mismatch. The address on your supporting document doesn't match the address you entered.
• Name mismatch. Married name on one document, maiden name on another, with nothing bridging them. This is where the marriage certificate in Group B earns its place.
• Chip read failures. Older phones, worn passports, or a case that interferes with NFC.
• Expiry. Especially on the One Login route, where there is no tolerance at all.

Documents people assume will work — and don't

A photocopy or scan where an original is needed. A provisional paper driving licence with no photo. An expired passport on the One Login route. A bank statement for a joint account at a previous address. A student ID or workplace pass — neither is a government-issued document.

Before you start: a two-minute check

1. Find your passport. Is it current, or expired by less than 6 months?
2. If yes — try GOV.UK One Login. It's free and you probably don't need anyone's help.
3. If no — work out which Group A document you hold, and find one Group B document showing your current address.
4. Photograph documents flat, in daylight, with all four corners visible and no flash.