Cross-border
Companies House Identity Verification from Pakistan
Since 18 November 2025 every director and person with significant control of a UK company must verify their identity with Companies House, wherever they live. From Pakistan you can do it free online through GOV.UK One Login with a biometric passport, or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider. An existing director's deadline is the company's next confirmation statement, which cannot be filed until every director has verified.
We do this for clients:UK Company Formation from Pakistan
Where these figures come from
- Sources
- Sourced from the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, the Companies Act 2006 and Companies House guidance.
- Last checked against the sources
- by BarrioVibe.
This is general guidance from the sources above, not advice on your situation. Procedures and official fees change, so confirm the current position before you file, or speak to us first.
Who has to verify
The requirement comes from the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which inserted it into the Companies Act 2006. It applies to people, whatever their nationality or residence.
- Every director of a UK company, and the equivalent in other entities, including LLP members
- Every director of an overseas company registered in the UK
- Every person with significant control (PSC), broadly anyone with more than 25% of the shares or votes
- Authorised Corporate Service Providers, before they can register as agents
- Not yet: people who file for a company, limited partnerships, corporate directors, corporate LLP members and officers of corporate PSCs. Companies House says these will follow at a later date
When your deadline falls
Each role runs on its own clock. If you are both director and PSC of the same company, you provide your code separately for each role.
| Your position | When you must provide your personal code |
|---|---|
| Director of an existing company | In the company's next confirmation statement filed from 18 November 2025 |
| New director, appointed from 18 November 2025 | In the appointment filing |
| Director of a new company | In the incorporation filing, for every director |
| Existing PSC who is also a director | Within 14 days starting the day after the confirmation statement date. Filing the statement early does not move this window |
| Existing PSC who is not a director | Within the first 14 days of your birth month. Born 22 January, your window opens 1 January |
| PSC added after 18 November 2025 | When first added to the register, or within 14 days of it |
Route one: verify yourself with GOV.UK One Login
Free, online, and the route Companies House describes first. From Pakistan, the practical version is the app with your passport.
- 1
Check your passport is biometric and in date
One Login accepts a biometric passport from any country. A biometric passport has a small rectangular chip symbol on the front cover. An expired passport cannot be used in the app. The other options Companies House lists, UK bank details or a UK Post Office, are offered to people who live in the UK, so a Pakistan resident should expect the passport route.
- 2
Create a GOV.UK One Login with your own email address
An email address can only be used once to verify an identity, so do not use a shared company inbox or your accountant's. You will also need your current address and the year you moved in. Answer the questions about yourself, not your company.
- 3
Complete the check and collect your personal code
On success you receive an 11-character Companies House personal code. It is yours, not the company's, and you use the same code for every company where you are a director or PSC. Since 8 July 2026 it is also emailed to you; otherwise it is under "Manage account" in your Companies House account.
- 4
Connect the code to each role
Verifying is only the first of two steps. As a director, the code goes into the confirmation statement or appointment filing. As a PSC, you file it through the "Provide identity verification details for a PSC" service, which is also where you can request a 14-day extension, before the deadline passes.
Route two: an Authorised Corporate Service Provider
An ACSP is an agent, usually an accountant, solicitor or formation agent, that has registered with Companies House and is supervised by a UK anti-money laundering body. Companies House says you can use one from any country, and that the agent may charge. You give them your full name, home address, email address and identity evidence; Companies House then emails your personal code to the address they supply, usually within a few hours, so make sure it is one you control.
An ACSP checking documents by a person rather than by technology needs two documents: two photo documents, or one photo document and one supporting document. Someone who does not live in the UK must provide at least one government-issued document. A passport counts as a photo document, and can be up to 18 months expired on this route. Supporting documents include a birth or marriage certificate, a bank statement or a utility bill for your current address. The ACSP must keep copies for 7 years.
One visible difference: when an ACSP verified you, the public register shows the ACSP's name and its anti-money laundering supervisors alongside your name and the verification date.
What happens if you do not verify
Section 167M of the Companies Act 2006, in force since 18 November 2025, makes it an offence for an individual to act as a director unless their identity is verified, and a separate offence for the company and every officer in default to allow it. PSCs who do not comply may also be committing an offence.
Companies House's published enforcement approach starts with a default letter once the due date passes and then has three main routes: prosecution, referral to the Insolvency Service, and financial penalties at company or individual level. It says it is likely to treat a case as serious where there are three or more offences in five years. It also says it will publish a note against an unverified person's name on the register, and that an unverified person will be unable to be appointed as a new director or to register a new company.
Questions
The questionspeople ask
Do I need to verify my identity if I live in Pakistan?
Yes. The requirement applies to every director and PSC of a UK company regardless of where they live. Companies House offers online verification through GOV.UK One Login with a biometric passport from any country, or verification through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, which it says can be used from any country.
What is the deadline for Companies House identity verification?
It depends on your role. An existing director provides their personal code in the company's next confirmation statement filed from 18 November 2025. An existing PSC who is not a director does it in the first 14 days of their birth month. New directors and new companies do it at appointment or incorporation.
Can I use my Pakistani passport?
For the GOV.UK One Login app it must be a biometric passport, marked with a small rectangular chip symbol on the cover, and it must not be expired. If yours is not biometric, an ACSP can verify you using a passport plus a second document, and a passport up to 18 months expired is acceptable on that route.
How much does identity verification cost?
Verifying through GOV.UK One Login is free. An Authorised Corporate Service Provider may charge for doing it on your behalf.
What is a Companies House personal code?
An 11-character code issued once you have verified. It is personal to you, and you reuse the same code for every company where you are a director or PSC. You need it to file the confirmation statement, to be appointed as a director and to complete your PSC verification.
What happens if a director does not verify?
Acting as a director while unverified is an offence under section 167M of the Companies Act 2006, for the director and for the company and its officers in default. The company also cannot file its confirmation statement. Companies House may prosecute, refer to the Insolvency Service or issue financial penalties.
Are contracts signed by an unverified director invalid?
No. Section 167M(6) states that the only consequences are the offences and that a contravention does not affect the validity of the director's acts.
I am both director and PSC. Do I verify twice?
You verify once and get one personal code, but you must provide it separately for each role: in the confirmation statement as director, and through the PSC service within 14 days starting the day after the confirmation statement date.
Can I send my documents to Companies House by post or email?
No. Companies House accepts only GOV.UK One Login or an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, and tells people not to post or email identity documents to it.
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A director or PSC in Pakistan who has not verified yet?
We will work out each person's actual deadline from the register, take them through verification, and file the codes in the confirmation statement and PSC service before the dates pass.