Director Verification at Companies House – What It Might Mean for AML & Onboarding

I’ve been watching the upcoming Companies House verification changes with a lot of curiosity (and if I’m honest, a bit of head-scratching too).

From 18 November 2025, all new company directors and persons with significant control (PSCs) will need to verify their identity under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. Existing directors will have to follow later, as part of their next confirmation statement.

It’s being introduced to make it harder for people to hide behind fake or anonymous companies, which is a great step forward. But for those of us working in compliance, it also raises a really interesting question…

What does this actually mean for businesses?

Over the past year, I’ve been trying (and failing) to get a clear answer from HMRC about how this ties into AML obligations for Trust and Company Service Providers (TCSPs).

If Companies House has already verified a director’s identity, will that lessen the burden on businesses to verify again?
Or will we still need to carry out full Customer Due Diligence (CDD) as before?

No one seems able to give a straight answer just yet and that’s where I think things could get really interesting.

My take on what’s coming

While we’re waiting on official guidance, I’ve been thinking about how this data could actually help businesses if we use it smartly.

Companies House has confirmed they’ll start showing whether a director or PSC has been verified, using a field called identity_verification_details.

That means, in time, we’ll be able to see things like the date someone verified and whether their verification is still valid.

Once verified, directors receive a unique Companies House personal code confirming their identity, something that must be used when making future filings or appointments.

Imagine being able to automatically see:
✅ All directors verified → lower risk
⚠️ Verification pending → neutral
🔴 Unverified or overdue → potential red flag

It won’t replace AML checks (not yet anyway!), but it could become an extra assurance marker, almost a digital “trust tick” for businesses.

How I see this being used

For firms I work with, especially TCSPs and formation agents, this opens up a few opportunities:

Smarter onboarding
Pulling verification status directly from Companies House could save time and give clients more confidence that their information is being handled securely and transparently.
Enhanced risk assessment
Verified directors = lower governance risk.
Unverified = keep an eye on it.
Better client experience
Automated reminders could nudge clients to complete their verification before it becomes a problem.
Audit-ready records
Recording the verification date gives you another strong data point for demonstrating ongoing oversight.

Still waiting for HMRC…

I’ve chased HMRC again this week (probably not for the last time!) to ask if they’ll be aligning AML guidance with the Companies House verification regime.

My hunch is that, eventually, these systems will start to talk to each other and businesses that prepare early will be ahead of the curve when that happens.

For now, though, my advice is simple:

Keep doing your normal CDD checks, but start capturing Companies House verification as an extra data point.
It’s small, but it’s forward-thinking and it might just future-proof your processes.

The bigger picture

This reform is more than an administrative update, it’s a signal of where the UK is heading: greater transparency, digital verification, and the gradual merging of corporate governance with AML standards.

For compliance teams, this creates an opportunity. Those who adapt early, building verification checks into their onboarding systems, will reduce manual work, strengthen risk controls, and show regulators they’re forward-thinking.

If you’d like to explore the detail, you can read more on:

Final thought

It’s easy to see this as another compliance box-tick, but I genuinely think this shift could become something really positive.

If we embrace it now, build it into onboarding systems, risk assessments, and even client communications, it’ll make life easier for everyone later.

And if you’ve been wondering the same things I have (or you’ve managed to get a clearer answer out of HMRC!), I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks, Francesca