The service is free of charge and will be voluntary for all new registrations at Companies House from 25 February 2025 but verification must be handled by an authorised corporate service provider (ACSP), which can be an accountancy or law firm, for example, who will be able to handle the verification process on behalf of clients.

The ID system will only be mandatory from late 2026 leaving plenty of time to prepare for the change. For the time being, it is the choice of companies whether they use the system.