ECCTA identity verification for dormant company directors and PSCs

By DormantFile · Updated 27 May 2026

If you own a dormant UK company and have not logged in to Companies House in years, this affects you. Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA), every director and every Person with Significant Control must now verify their identity with Companies House — dormant company or not.

What ECCTA identity verification is

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 gave Companies House new powers to clean up the public register and tackle fraudulent or shell companies. The single biggest practical change for ordinary directors is mandatory identity verification.

In short: Companies House needs to know the human being behind every appointment. From 2025, you can no longer be listed as a director or Person with Significant Control (PSC) of a UK company without having proven who you are. The check is one-off — you verify once and that verified ID is reused across any UK company you are connected to, now or in future.

This applies whether your company is actively trading, dormant under the Companies Act definition, or somewhere in between. There is no carve-out for dormant companies.

Two routes: GOV.UK One Login vs ACSP

There are two ways to complete Companies House ID verification.

GOV.UK One Login (free, do it yourself)

The default route is GOV.UK One Login, the government's central identity service. You create a One Login account (if you don't already have one for things like Self Assessment), then complete identity verification by:

• Using the GOV.UK ID Check app on a smartphone to scan a passport, UK driving licence, or biometric residence permit, and
• Doing a short face scan to match yourself to the document.

If the app route fails (older phone, no biometric document, etc.) you can fall back to web-based verification with knowledge-based questions, or in some cases verify in person at a Post Office. Once verified, your One Login is linked to your Companies House account and you receive a personal code that you (or whoever files for you) quotes on future submissions.

ACSP — Authorised Corporate Service Provider (paid, via an agent)

If you don't want to use One Login — for example because you live overseas, have no UK ID documents, or simply want a professional to handle it — you can verify through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). ACSPs are accountants, solicitors, formation agents and similar regulated firms that Companies House has approved to carry out ID checks under the same standards.

ACSPs typically charge a one-off fee (often £30–£60) per person verified. They do the ID check, submit confirmation to Companies House, and then your verified status is recorded centrally — the same as if you had done it yourself via One Login.

For most dormant company owners, GOV.UK One Login is the cheapest and fastest option. ACSPs are useful mainly if One Login won't work for you.

When you must verify by

ECCTA verification is rolling out in phases.

• New directors and PSCs: from the start of the mandatory phase, anyone newly appointed must verify before, or shortly after, the appointment is registered.
• Existing directors and PSCs: there is a 12-month transition period during which every existing director and PSC must complete verification. The trigger is your next confirmation statement (CS01) — when you file your CS01 after the transition begins, the company must confirm that all listed directors and PSCs have verified.
• Hard deadline: by the end of the transition window, everyone on the register must be verified, regardless of when their CS01 falls.

This is the part that catches dormant company owners out. Your CS01 is annual, and Companies House uses it as the enforcement gate. Miss the verification before your next CS01 is due and you cannot cleanly file it.

For the practical filing calendar — CS01, accounts and CT600 — see our dormant company filing deadlines guide.

What this means if you own a dormant company

Dormant company owners are the group most likely to be caught off guard, for three reasons.

1. You probably haven't logged in for years. A dormant company you set up to hold a name, ringfence a brand, or park a side business may not have needed any interaction with Companies House beyond the annual CS01 and dormant accounts. Many owners have lost their Companies House authentication code, forgotten which email they registered with, or never created a personal Companies House account at all. If you need to request a new code, our complete guide to the authentication code covers exactly how to do it — including the awkward case where your registered office is also out of date.

2. You still need to verify. Dormancy reduces your filing burden but does not exempt you from ECCTA. If you are listed as a director or PSC of a dormant company, you must verify. Otherwise the next CS01 — and through it the company's good standing on the register — is blocked.

3. You may have multiple dormant companies. Many people hold two or three dormant companies (an old trading vehicle, a holding company, a name-protection shell). The good news: you verify yourself once, not once per company. Your personal verified status is reused across every company you are connected to.

If you have been on autopilot, now is the time to log back in, check your appointments, and verify. See our stay compliant without an accountant guide for the wider picture.

PSCs — a separate verification requirement

Persons with Significant Control (typically anyone owning more than 25% of shares or voting rights) are verified in their own right, separate from their directorship. If you are both a director and a PSC of the same dormant company — very common in single-shareholder setups — one verification covers both roles because it's the person who is verified, not the role.

But if your company has a PSC who is not a director (a parent company's controller, a silent shareholder, a family trustee), they must also complete ECCTA verification. Companies House will not accept a CS01 confirming PSCs who have not verified.

For overseas PSCs without UK ID, the ACSP route is usually the answer.

What happens if you don't verify

The consequences are real and escalating.

• Filings get blocked. Companies House will reject confirmation statements that list unverified directors or PSCs. This in turn flags the company as non-compliant.
• Criminal offence. Acting as a director without having verified your identity, once the transition phase has ended, is a criminal offence under ECCTA. Penalties include fines, and in serious cases, director disqualification.
• Annotated register. Companies House can publicly annotate the register to flag unverified individuals — visible to banks, suppliers, and anyone who searches the company.
• Removal as director. In the worst case, Companies House has the power to remove non-compliant directors from the register, leaving the company without a valid board.

None of this is hypothetical — it is the explicit enforcement regime in ECCTA and the related secondary legislation.

Step-by-step: how to verify if you have a dormant company

1. Check your appointments. Search your name on the Companies House Find and update company information service. Confirm which companies list you as a director or PSC. Our free Companies House audit also reports ECCTA verification status for any company — useful for spotting which of your shells still has unverified directors.
2. Create or sign in to GOV.UK One Login. Use the same email you want associated with your Companies House identity going forward.
3. Run the ID check. Use the GOV.UK ID Check app on your phone with a passport or UK driving licence. Allow 10–15 minutes.
4. Link verification to Companies House. Once verified, you will be issued a personal code. Sign in to your Companies House account and link the verification to your director/PSC record.
5. Verify any other PSCs. If your dormant company has a PSC who is not you, send them the same instructions. They must verify independently before your next CS01.
6. File your next CS01. When the confirmation statement is due, confirm all directors and PSCs are verified.
7. Carry on filing dormant accounts and CT600 as normal. ECCTA does not change what you file — only who is allowed to be on the register. See how to file dormant company accounts.

If One Login won't work — older phone, no biometric ID, living abroad — go straight to an ACSP. The Companies House register of ACSPs lists approved providers and their fees.

Where DormantFile fits

DormantFile handles the annual filing side of running a dormant company — CS01, dormant accounts to Companies House, and the nil CT600 to HMRC — for a flat per-filing fee. ECCTA identity verification itself is something only you can do (it's a personal check tied to your face and ID), but once you have verified, DormantFile keeps the rest of the compliance calendar quiet and predictable. If you have been ignoring a dormant company for a few years and want to get it back on the rails after verifying, see how it works and the current pricing.