COMPANIES HOUSE ID VERIFICATION
No passport or smartphone? You can still verify.
Every company director and PSC has to verify their identity with Companies House. The app is the quickest way, but it isn't the only one. Find your situation below.
FIND YOUR ROUTE
Which one sounds like you?
A passport or UK photo driving licence, and a smartphone
Use the free GOV.UK One Login app. Or do our online check: about five minutes on your phone.
A passport or UK photo driving licence, but no smartphone
Three ways: answer security questions on GOV.UK, go to a Post Office, or upload your documents to us from a computer and have a short video call.
No passport, but a photocard driving licence
A driving licence works for every route. The app and the GOV.UK questions need a UK licence; the Post Office also takes EU licences.
No photo ID at all
If you live in the UK, GOV.UK may let you verify with your bank details, your National Insurance number and security questions. If it doesn't, a Post Office PASS card (£15, and you can apply without existing ID) counts as photo ID for an agent, together with a document such as a bank statement.
THE ROUTES SIDE BY SIDE
Four ways to verify.
| Route | Cost | Needs a smartphone? | What you'll need |
|---|---|---|---|
| GOV.UK One Login app | Free | Yes | A UK passport, a non-UK passport with a chip, a UK photocard driving licence, or a UK residence permit or card. |
| GOV.UK online, with security questions | Free | No | Details from a UK passport or UK photocard driving licence. Or, if it's offered, a UK bank account and your National Insurance number. The questions come from your credit record, so it suits people with a UK financial history. |
| Post Office | Free | No | Start online, then take your letter and your original photo ID to a branch: a UK or non-UK passport, a UK or EU photocard driving licence, or an EU national ID card. |
| An authorised agent (ACSP), such as Avinat | £60 + VAT with us | No | Photo ID and a proof of address, checked by a person on a short video call. No GOV.UK account needed. |
Every GOV.UK route also needs an email address and a way to get sign-in codes: a text to a UK mobile (any mobile, not only a smartphone) or an authenticator app on a computer.
WHEN YOU NEED AN AGENT
When GOV.UK can't do it.
GOV.UK says itself that it can't verify everyone, and that for Companies House the alternative is an authorised agent (ACSP). You'd use one when:
GOV.UK couldn't verify you
The security questions come from your credit record, so they don't work for everyone, for example if you have only a short credit history in the UK.
You live outside the UK
GOV.UK's online questions and the Post Office are designed for people who live in the UK, and the app only takes a non-UK passport if it has a chip. An agent can verify you from any country.
Your photo ID isn't on GOV.UK's lists
An agent checking documents by hand can accept more kinds, such as a PASS card, an HM Forces ID card or a photo visa, with a second document like a bank statement.
You'd rather a person did it
No GOV.UK account, sign-in codes or security questions. You send us your documents, we check them with you on a short video call, and we tell Companies House.
WITH US, WITHOUT A SMARTPHONE
A computer and a camera is enough.
Pay online
£60 + VAT per person, from a computer or tablet.
Upload your documents
A passport or driving licence, and a proof of address from the last 3 months.
A short video call
On a computer, laptop or tablet with a camera, so we can see it's you.
We tell Companies House
Usually within 1–2 working days. Companies House then emails you your personal code.
If you can't do a video call at all, contact us before paying and we'll advise.
AFTER YOU VERIFY
One code, linked to each role.
You get a personal code
11 characters, emailed to you. It's yours, not your company's, and you only verify once.
Director and PSC? Link it twice
Once as a director on the company's confirmation statement, and once as a PSC with Companies House's "Provide identity verification details for a PSC" service.
Your date of birth must match
The date of birth Companies House holds must match your ID, or the code won't link. A correction can take up to 20 working days.
Helping someone else? You can lend them a phone or hold the ID while it's scanned, but they must answer the security questions themselves.
Based on GOV.UK and Companies House guidance, checked September 2026. Read the official guide →