Identity verification at Companies House: what overseas directors actually have to do

Identity verification is the step where most non-resident incorporations lose time. Not because it is hard - it takes a few minutes online - but because it happens in an order people do not expect, and one person waiting on another can hold up the whole filing.

Companies House requires directors and people with significant control over a company to verify their identity. That applies whether you live in Manchester or Muscat, and it applies to a company you are about to form as well as one you already own.

Who has to verify

In practice, three groups: every director being appointed, every person with significant control, and anyone filing on the company's behalf. For a typical single-founder company, that is one person wearing two hats. For a company with an investor holding more than a quarter of the shares, it is at least two.

• Directors - at the point of appointment, including at incorporation
• People with significant control - usually shareholders above the 25% threshold
• Anyone who files on behalf of the company, which is where we come in

What you need to hand

A passport is the document that works from anywhere, so it is the one we ask for first. You will also need a device with a camera, and a few minutes somewhere with a stable connection. There is no appointment, no notary and no need to be in the UK.

The timeline is partly in your hands. Once verification is done, a straightforward incorporation is usually completed within one to two working days.

The order it happens in

We confirm the structure first - company name, directors, shareholdings, who counts as a person with significant control - because verification is tied to named individuals. Changing your mind about the shareholders afterwards means somebody new needs to verify, and that is where a week disappears.

Once the structure is settled, verification goes out to each person who needs it. When the last one is back, the incorporation is filed. The certificate, articles and registers follow in your document pack.

If your company already exists

Verification requirements do not only apply at formation. If you formed a company through a budget agent and the record is incomplete, the sensible order is to correct the register first and verify against accurate information - not the other way around. We take over existing companies regularly and handle the sequence.

If you want this handled end to end, our company formation service includes verification and its fees, and our company secretarial support keeps the record accurate afterwards.

This article is general information about UK filing requirements, not legal or tax advice. Requirements change - we will confirm what applies to your company before anything is filed.