LONDON, 12th October 2026 - The 12-month transition for Companies House identity verification closes in November 2026. By then, every existing director, person with significant control (PSC) and LLP member in the UK must have verified their identity by their individual due date, and failing to do so is an offence.

For UK accounting firms, the check itself takes minutes. The problem is the volume of client administration it creates in the final weeks of the year, just as Self Assessment work builds toward the 31 January deadline.

What Has Changed for UK Accounting Practices

Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA), identity verification became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025. New directors and PSCs verify on appointment. Existing individuals verify by a due date linked to their company's confirmation statement.

Individuals can verify through GOV.UK One Login or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). AML-supervised firms, including accountants, have been able to register as ACSPs since March 2025. Companies House has also said that, from no earlier than November 2026, verification will extend to people who file, and firms will need ACSP registration to file on behalf of clients.

What the Data Shows

Figures reported by ICAEW in August 2026 indicated that only around 55% of directors, 50% of LLP members and 42% of PSCs had completed verification. As an illustration, a firm with 300 limited company clients could be tracking several hundred directors and PSCs, roughly half of whom may still need chasing, follow-up and, where the firm acts as an ACSP, a documented verification.

Where the Administrative Load Lands

➤ Client mapping: matching every director, PSC and LLP member against confirmation statement dates.

➤ Chasing and tracking: reminding clients, collecting Companies House personal codes and monitoring status.

➤ ACSP obligations: verifying to the Companies House standard, keeping records for seven years and notifying changes to ACSP details within 14 days.

Filer readiness: preparing staff who submit documents for filer verification.

This lands on the same teams handling Self Assessment, year-end accounts and the quarterly updates under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. When capacity is tight, managers and partners end up chasing paperwork instead of advising clients.

Why UK Firms Are Considering Offshore Support

Verification decisions and AML responsibility must remain with the UK firm, but much of the surrounding work is process-driven and repeatable. Firms that hire offshore accountants for UK accounting firms typically assign them register reconciliations, verification trackers, reminder workflows and confirmation statement preparation, along with bookkeeping, VAT returns and payroll, freeing onshore teams for client conversations and compliance sign-off.

Practices generally choose between three models: a DIY offshore team the firm recruits and manages itself, managed offshore services where a provider handles recruitment, training and quality oversight, or Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), where a provider builds and runs the team before handing over ownership.

How MYCPE ONE Supports UK Practices

MYCPE ONE's UK offshore accounting services draw on talent in India and the Philippines, and every new hire completes a 12-week onboarding programme specific to UK accounting before joining a client team.

Staff work within FRS 102, HMRC RTI and Making Tax Digital, and on software UK practices already use, including IRIS, CCH, TaxCalc, Xero Tax and Sage. Firms interview and select their own candidates, scale teams as workload shifts, and benefit from time zone alignment that has routine work ready for review each morning.

Companies House identity verification is not a one-off project. With filer verification and ACSP-based filing on the way, it will become a standing workflow inside every UK practice, and firms that release routine capacity before January will be best placed to meet it.

About MYCPE ONE

MYCPE ONE is an offshore staffing and continuing education partner that has worked exclusively with accounting and CPA firms for more than a decade. It supports over 1,000 firms across the UK, US and Canada with trained offshore professionals in accounting, tax, audit and payroll. Its CPE platform offers more than 15,000 hours of content to a community of over 250,000 members. Learn more at my-cpe.com.

Media Contact
Nemin Vora
MYCPE ONE
[email protected]
my-cpe.com