What if GOV.UK One Login can't verify me?

By Ben Davies · Updated 23 September 2026

If One Login can't verify you one way, try another. It has three routes: the app, online security questions, and a Post Office visit. If none of them work, an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) can verify you instead.

The three One Login routes

GOV.UK One Login is free. It offers three ways to prove who you are:

• The GOV.UK ID Check app. You scan your photo ID with a smartphone and take a short face scan. This is the quickest route if your phone and ID are supported.
• Security questions online. If the app won't work, you can answer security questions online instead.
• In person at a Post Office. You enter your photo ID details in One Login first, then take the ID to a participating Post Office.

If the app fails, it is worth trying the other two before anything else. A problem with your phone or its camera won't stop the security questions or the Post Office route.

Using an authorised agent (ACSP)

An ACSP is a firm Companies House has approved to check identities, such as an accountant or a solicitor. They check your documents on your behalf, and Companies House then treats you as verified. You get a personal code just as you would through One Login.

ACSPs may charge a fee for this. The amount is up to each firm, so ask before you start.

When an ACSP verifies you, Companies House emails your code to the address the agent gives for you. Check which address they are using.

Living abroad or no photo ID

You must verify wherever you live. There is no exemption for directors or people with significant control based abroad.

If you live outside the UK, a trip to a Post Office may not be practical. If the app or the security questions don't work for you either, an ACSP is the other way through. Ask whether they can verify someone who lives abroad before you start. For the rest of running a dormant company from outside the UK, see our guide to running a dormant company while living abroad.

If you have no photo ID at all, ask an ACSP which documents they accept before you commit.

Whichever route you use, the deadline doesn't move for directors. Check yours with our free director ID verification checker, and see when a director's deadline falls for how it is set.

DormantFile reads each director's and PSC's status from the register every day, shows it on the company's Directors tab, and emails you before each outstanding person's date, including on the free watchdog plan.

For the full walkthrough, see our identity verification guide for dormant company directors.