New rules are coming into force from 18 November 2025 under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA).
These changes affect how your company interacts with Companies House – whether we handle your filings or you do them yourself.
The goal is to increase transparency, reduce fraud, and improve trust in UK company information.
From 18 November 2025:
| Between November 2025 and November 2026:
| By late 2026:
|
You will need to verify your identity if you are:
If your name is on Companies House records in any of these roles, the new rules apply to you.
The quickest and easiest way is through GOV.UK’s secure, free online service.
You will need:
Verify your identity for Companies House here
Some Post Office branches may offer in-person verification. Use the GOV.UK link to check eligibility.
Once verified, you will receive a personal authorisation code from Companies House. If we file your company’s documents, you will need to pass this code to us so we can continue doing so.
Brown Butler is an Authorised Corporate Service Provider. That means we are approved by Companies House to carry out identification checks on your behalf.
Where possible, we strongly recommend using the GOV.UK service.
If that is not an option, we can support you directly. However, due to the training and cost of being an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, fees will apply if we carry out your identification check.
If you or another required person does not verify on time:
A quick note on anti-money laundering requirements
Verifying with Companies House does not replace our legal requirement to complete anti-money laundering checks under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. We will still need to carry out Customer Due Diligence as part of our own process.
Speak to your Brown Butler Director for further information or if you are unsure what applies to you.
We will continue to issue reminders and guidance as the timeline progresses so you stay compliant and focused on running your business.
