Companies House verification deadline 2026: what you need to know

The Companies House verification deadline in 2026 marks a critical turning point for millions of UK company directors, PSCs and LLP members. Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA), the new director verification deadline and PSC verification deadline impose a hard cutoff date after which unverified individuals face criminal liability. Understanding the Companies House compliance deadline 2026 and the verification deadline November 2026 is not optional - it is a legal requirement.

This guide walks through the exact dates, who is affected, what happens if you miss the Companies House verification deadline, and how to prepare before the director verification deadline arrives.

The core deadline: November 2026

The headline date is straightforward: all existing directors, PSCs, and LLP members must complete director identity verification by November 2026. This is the director verification deadline that matters most. After this date, any director who has not verified their identity with Companies House cannot legally act in that capacity.

This is not a soft deadline or a guideline. Under ECCTA, acting as a director after the director verification deadline without having verified is a criminal offence. The same applies to PSCs - persons with significant control face identical penalties for missing the PSC verification deadline.

How the deadline actually works: confirmation statement trigger

For existing directors and PSCs, the timing mechanism is your company’s confirmation statement date. You do not have until November 2026 in absolute terms. You have until your next confirmation statement filing date, provided that date falls before November 2026. If your confirmation statement is due in June 2026, you must complete director KYC verification by June. If it is due in December 2026, you verify by November.

This staggered approach means some companies trigger the director verification deadline months earlier than others. The lesson: check your company’s confirmation statement date now. Do not assume you have until November if your filing date is sooner.

New appointments have their own timeline

Anyone appointed as a director or PSC after the ECCTA regime goes fully live must verify their identity before the appointment is recorded on the Companies House register. There is no confirmation statement grace period for new directors - verification happens first, appointment second.

This means if you are being appointed to a new directorship after ECCTA is fully in force, you cannot delay director verification until a confirmation statement date. The director KYC check must be completed before Companies House will accept the appointment filing.

What happens if you miss the director verification deadline

Missing the director verification deadline comes with escalating consequences. First, Companies House will refuse to process any filings you submit after your deadline. A confirmation statement filed by an unverified director is rejected. Any appointment or removal you try to file bounces back. This creates an immediate compliance crisis for the company - it cannot file its accounts or confirmation statement, which puts it into late-filing territory and creates a public record of non-compliance.

Second, Companies House adds a public note to the register against anyone who has not verified. Lenders, business partners, auditors and anyone else checking your company’s public record will see that you have not completed the director verification requirement.

Third, the criminal liability kicks in. Acting as an unverified director criminal offence under ECCTA means potential prosecution, fines, and in extreme cases, disqualification from being a company director.

The PSC verification deadline is the same deadline

Persons with significant control face identical timelines and identical consequences. The PSC verification deadline is November 2026, or your confirmation statement date if sooner. Missing the PSC verification deadline carries the same criminal liability as missing the director verification deadline.

If you are both a director and a PSC of the same company, you verify once. The personal code connects you to both roles. But if you hold multiple roles across different companies, you still only verify once - the personal code is yours, not company-specific.

LLP members and authorised filers

The ECCTA deadline 2026 applies equally to members of limited liability partnerships and to anyone who files documents at Companies House on behalf of a company. LLP member verification follows the same timeline as director verification. Authorised filers face the same director verification deadline if they are listed as having filing rights.

Compliance 2026: the three-month window

Companies House compliance 2026 experts recommend starting verification at least three months before your deadline. This gives you a buffer if documents are rejected, if there are name mismatches to correct, or if you need guidance from an ACSP provider. The person who waits until September to verify a November deadline often finds themselves stuck in a queue or dealing with a rejected application they do not have time to fix.

The three-month window is also when you should pull your Companies House register entry and check it against your identity documents. If your Companies House listing has an abbreviated name, wrong address, or spelling variation, you need to file a change first, wait for it to update, then attempt director verification. That process takes time.

What you need before the director verification deadline

To complete director identity verification before the November 2026 deadline, gather:

• A current passport or national identity document with a clear photograph
• Proof of your current address dated within the last three months
• The exact spelling of your name as it appears on the Companies House register
• Details of all companies you hold directorships or PSC positions with

If anything on your register entry does not match your identity document - name spelling, address, date of birth - correct it before you begin verification. Do not start the director KYC process with a mismatched register entry. It will be rejected and you will have to start again.

Two routes to meet the director verification deadline

You have a choice. Complete director verification directly with Companies House through their GOV.UK One Login route, or use an ACSP-approved provider like DirectorKYC. The direct route is self-service. The ACSP route provides guidance at every step, checks your documents before submission, and handles any rejections on your behalf.

For overseas director verification, international applicants, or anyone with a register entry that might not match their documents perfectly, working with an ACSP to meet the director verification deadline is often the faster, safer choice.

After you meet the director verification deadline

Once you complete director identity verification and receive your personal code, your compliance obligation is met. The code is yours to keep and use across every company you direct or control. The next check point is whenever you file your next confirmation statement or take a corporate action at Companies House - at that point you will use your personal code to prove it is you making the filing.

The director verification deadline November 2026 is not a one-time test you can forget about after. The regime is permanent. Any new directorship requires verification before appointment. Any filing you make going forward requires your personal code. But the transition period ends in November 2026, and that is when the consequences become real.