Director ID Verification: Deadlines and Personal Codes

Director ID verification means proving who you are to Companies House and then giving your company the personal code you receive. Existing directors supply that code in the company's next confirmation statement, and the 12-month transition that began on 18 November 2025 reaches its end this month. So the question for most small companies is no longer "when does this start?" but "has everybody on our register actually done it?"

Key takeaways

• Directors and people with significant control (PSCs) must both verify. Most people only verify once.
• A company cannot file its confirmation statement unless all of its directors are verified, so one person can hold up the whole filing.
• A director who is also a PSC supplies the code twice, once for each role, and the two steps use different services.
• A PSC who is not a director works to a separate 14-day window based on their birth month, which many family companies miss.

What director ID verification actually is

It is a one-off identity check, followed by a link between your verified identity and your entry on the public register. The check alone does not finish the job. After passing it you hold a Companies House personal code, and until that code has been supplied for your role, the register does not treat you as compliant. That two-stage design is where most of the confusion comes from: plenty of directors have verified but have not yet supplied their code.

You can verify free through GOV.UK One Login, using an app, online security questions, or photo ID details followed by a visit to a participating Post Office. Or you can use an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, who may charge. The full process is set out in Companies House's guide to verifying your identity.

Who has to do what, and when

This table is our own summary of the role-by-role timing in the Companies House guidance on when you need to verify.

Filing a confirmation statement early does not move a director-PSC's 14-day window. The window runs from the statement date itself. You can check your own dates on the register, where officer dates appear on the People tab.

Why this month matters even if your filing date has passed

Because the transition lasts a year, every company should meet a confirmation statement date inside it, and every birth month comes round once. That has an awkward consequence: for a long-standing non-director PSC, the window may have opened and closed months ago without anyone noticing. Published commentary quotes both 17 and 18 November 2026 as the last day, so do not plan around the final hours. Treat it as already due and check your register entry today.

Worked example: one company, four different dates

Illustrative example. "Tilbury Lane Bakery Ltd" is an invented company with a confirmation statement date of 12 November 2026. It has two directors, Sam and Jo. Sam also owns 60% of the shares. Jo holds no shares. Sam's parent, Pat, owns the remaining 40% but is not a director, and so is a PSC in their own right. Pat was born in June.

• Sam as director and Jo as director: both codes go into the confirmation statement, which must be delivered within 14 days of the statement date, so by 26 November 2026.
• Sam as PSC: a second step through the PSC service, in the window from 13 to 26 November 2026.
• Pat as PSC: the window was 1 to 14 June 2026. It has gone. Pat should verify and supply the code now rather than wait for the company's filing, because the filing does not cover Pat at all.

If Jo is away and has not verified by 26 November, Sam cannot simply file alone. The confirmation statement stalls, and a late statement is a problem in its own right. That is the risk worth managing: not the check itself, but one unprepared person blocking the company's filing.

A checklist to clear it this week

1. Open your company on the Companies House register and list every director and every PSC.
2. Note the confirmation statement date, and each PSC's birth month if they are not a director.
3. Ask each person one direct question: "Do you hold a personal code yet?"
4. Anyone without a code chooses a route: One Login, or an authorised agent if the documents or app are a problem.
5. Collect codes securely. Treat them like a password, and share them only with people you trust.
6. Supply each director's code with the confirmation statement, then have each PSC use the separate PSC service.
7. Re-check the register afterwards and keep a note of what was filed and when.

If you cannot meet a PSC window, Companies House guidance describes a 14-day extension request, which must be made before the deadline passes. Our guide to the confirmation statement covers the rest of that filing, and new appointees should read how to add or remove a director.

Common mistakes

• Assuming verifying is the end of it. The personal code still has to be supplied for each role and each company.
• Forgetting the shareholder who is not a director. A parent or partner holding a significant stake can be a PSC with their own deadline.
• Treating one code per company. The code belongs to you. Do not apply for a new one for every directorship.
• Leaving it to the filing day. Someone needing a Post Office visit or a different document will not finish in an afternoon.
• Confusing this with your filing agent's own checks. The separate requirement for people who file at Companies House is planned for no earlier than November 2027, according to the government's company law changes page. Directors and PSCs do not wait for that.

What happens if nobody acts

Companies House says failure to comply on time may be an offence, which can lead to prosecution, a fine or a financial penalty. Practically, the earliest pain is usually the blocked confirmation statement. We have no figure to give you for what any one person would face, so check the current position on GOV.UK and take advice if you are already late.

Would you rather have this chased for you? Our limited company packages start from £75 a month. Get in touch if you would like us to look at your register, or see our pricing.