All directors and people with significant control (PSCs) need to verify their identity with Companies House before the transition period ends. Meg Ogunsola, global head of entity management at Vistra, explains the process and potential risk areas
Company directors must act now ahead of the end of the identity verification transition period in November to fix gaps in their records and ensure their entity governance can withstand tougher enforcement.
Directors are facing growing scrutiny from Companies House over filings, identity verification and corporate governance. The era of Companies House as a passive registrar has well and truly ended. Between January and June 2026, it disqualified 23 directors for persistent or serious non-compliance with filing requirements for a combined 70 years, fining them a total of £17,810, and prosecuted hundreds more.
The fight against corporate crime and fraud has seen Companies House undergo its biggest shake-up since its formation, with the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) giving it new powers to issue financial penalties and disqualify people and firms from the register.
