Accepted Identity Documents

No — but you can almost certainly use it as your service address, which is a different thing. Companies House holds two addresses for a director. Your SERVICE ADDRESS is the public one shown on the register, and that can be your company office, your accountant's address or a virtual office. Your USUAL RESIDENTIAL ADDRESS is where you actually live; Companies House requires it, it is never published on the public register, and it cannot be an office you don't live at. We're an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, so we can't record an address as your home if it isn't.

You still need to give us a truthful usual residential address, but you don't need to prove it with a document — our £39 digital check requires no proof of address at all. In most cases an address already exists: the one recorded for you at Companies House as a director, or the one on your bank account, tax registration or passport application, or a family or permanent base. It doesn't have to be where you're sleeping tonight — it's the address you treat as home. If you genuinely have no residence anywhere, contact us before buying and we'll tell you honestly whether we can help.

Only for the video call and in-person routes. Digital verification (£39) needs one photo ID and nothing else — no proof of address. Video call (£49) and in-person (£59) need two documents, and the second one can be a bank statement, a bill at your current address, or a certificate. If you have two photographic IDs you can bring those instead and skip the bill altogether. So if you don't have recent bills or statements at your current address, that is not a barrier on any route.

Yes. On the video call and in-person routes Companies House allows two Group A documents — a passport and a driving licence, for example — instead of one photo ID plus a supporting document. This is the easiest route for people who have recently moved, live with family, or have no bills in their own name.

One rule applies to you that does not apply to UK residents: at least one of your documents must be government-issued. A passport, national identity card or driving licence satisfies it, so in practice almost everyone already meets it. There is no requirement for a UK company director or PSC to live in the UK or be a UK national.

Yes. Our digital check accepts biometric and machine-readable passports from any country, with one exception: our automated check cannot read Iranian passports, so if yours is Iranian please book the video call instead. We regularly verify directors holding passports from outside the UK and EU. There is also no requirement for a UK company director or PSC to live in the UK or be a UK national — the company needs a UK registered office, but you don't need to live here.

No — and we would rather tell you that plainly than have you pay and find out. Every route tests that your document is genuine and matches your face to the photo on it. What changes when you use an ACSP like us is who is in charge of the decision: no GOV.UK One Login account is needed, a qualified accountant reviews your case, and on the video call route they speak to you and examine your documents themselves — and can override an automated result where there is clear justification. What no ACSP can do is verify you without seeing you and your document together, live, and keeping that as evidence. Companies House sets one standard whichever route you use, and it includes confirming you are the rightful holder of the document. Images are held securely, used only to verify your identity and evidence the check, retained for seven years as Companies House requires, then deleted — not sold, and not used to train anything.

Yes — our verification is completely independent of GOV.UK One Login. You don't need an account, and you don't need to fix the error first. Both routes produce the same Companies House personal code.

It cannot be used. Every document we accept must be in date, on all three routes. Companies House does allow a short grace period on a recently expired passport, but we have taken a deliberately stricter line on documentary standards than the minimum requires, so we do not use it. A document that has been cancelled or replaced by a newer one cannot be used either — for example a passport with a cut-off corner. If your only photo ID has expired, renew it before booking; call us first if your deadline is tight and we will help you work out the order to do things in.

Yes, but only on the video call or in-person routes — not on the digital check. Companies House limits photocard driving licences on the automated digital check to the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and the EU. When a qualified person examines your documents instead, any photographic identity document catalogued on PRADO is accepted, and most national driving licences are. Türkiye, the USA, India, Switzerland and so on all fall into this group: the £49 video call works, the £39 digital check does not.

Your name on the identity document must match your name on the Companies House register. If they differ, you'll need to either update your name with Companies House first, or provide evidence of the name change (such as a marriage certificate or deed poll).

We require the physical photocard driving licence, not the digital version on your phone. The card contains security features we need to verify.

PRADO is the EU's Public Register of Authentic Identity Documents — a catalogue of what genuine identity documents from around the world look like. Companies House accepts any photographic identity document listed on PRADO, but only on the video call and in-person routes, where a person checks the documents. The digital check does not use PRADO: it accepts only the specific documents listed above. So a photo ID that works by video call may not work digitally — if yours is not on the digital list, choose the video call route.

No. Identity verification must be completed by the individual whose identity is being verified. This is a legal requirement under Companies House regulations.

At least one of your two documents must be a photographic ID from Group A, on every route. If you hold none at all, you will need to obtain one — usually a passport — before we can verify you. Call us first: people often have a Group A document without realising it counts, such as a PASS card, a Frontier Worker permit or a tachograph card.

We keep copies of your documents and records of our checks for 7 years, as Companies House requires of Authorised Corporate Service Providers, and then delete them. When we confirm your verification we give Companies House each photographic document's reference number, expiry date and country of issue — not the images themselves.