Draft Rules for Director ID Verification

The Companies Act 2006 and Limited Partnerships Act 1907 as amended by The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, to require certain persons to verify their identity.

This will be individual directors of UK companies, individual general partners of a limited partnership formed in the UK, PSCs of UK companies as well as “registered officers” of certain persons, such as PSCs that are themselves legal entities.

The implementation of the legislation has been delayed while Companies House works on putting in place systems to allow individuals to verify their identity directly through Companies House, or “authorised corporate service providers” such as an accountant or solicitor to verify identities on behalf of clients.

The draft rules set out the documentation an individual or authorised corporate service providers will need to provide to verify the directors’ identities through either route. The key points are as follows.

• The individual will need to provide a valid email address and a current residential address.
• In some cases, an individual will need to provide only one piece of documentation. This will generally be the case where the document contains biometric information, such as a biometric passport or a biometric identity card.
• In other cases, an individual will need to provide two pieces of documentation: a form of photographic ID, together with a form of supporting documentation.
• If verifying direct through Companies House, an individual will have multiple options, including through the gov.uk ID Check app, the One Login facility or a post office.

The draft rules would be made under a new statutory instrument: the Registrar (Identity Verification and Authorised Corporate Service Providers) Regulations 2024. A draft of these Regulations was published on Thursday, 23 May 2024.