The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 introduced robust new laws to fight corruption, money laundering and fraud. On 18 March 2025 Companies House (CH) launched a new service that allows third-party corporate service providers, such as accountants, legal professionals and company formation agents to apply to register as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). Prospective ACSPs must verify their identity to apply to become an ACSP. Thereafter registered ACSPs will be able to verify clients' identities from 8 April 2025.
ACSPs will be required to:
- Be based in the UK.
- Register with CH, providing opportunities for oversight.
- Be registered with a UK supervisory body for anti-money laundering (AML) purposes.
- Retain records of identity verification checks.
Where appropriate, the registrar may suspend or cease an ACSP’s registration with CH.
To become an ACSP, businesses must be registered with one of the UK’s 25 anti-money laundering supervisory bodies. When registering as an ACSP, applicants will need to provide their AML supervisory body membership number. The ACSP registration process will need to be completed by someone who holds a senior role within the business, such as a director. CH estimates that up to 50,000 businesses could apply to register as ACSPs within 12 months of the service launch.
In addition, directors (or equivalent), people with significant control (PSCs), and anyone who files for a company (for example, company secretaries) will be required to verify their identity with CH. Directors and PSCs can choose to verify their identity from 8 April 2025 (this will become a legal requirement in due course), whilst people who file documentation at CH are not required to verify their identity just yet (although again this will be a legal requirement in due course).
Identity verification can be done online with photo ID (such as a biometric passport or driving licence), at a Post Office or using a registered ACSP.
Any individuals who fail to verify their identity will not be able to make any filings, start a new company or entity or register as an ACSP. A director could be disqualified. Failure to comply with identity verification requirements is also an offence.
In due course, CH will be able to:
- Make identity verification a compulsory part of incorporation and new appointments for new directors and PSCs.
- Begin the 12-month transition phase to require more than 7 million existing directors and PSCs to verify their identity – the identity verification will happen as part of the annual confirmation statement filing.
- Make identity verification of the presenters a compulsory part of filing any document.
- Require third-party agent firms filing on behalf of companies to be registered as an ACSP.
- Reject documents delivered by disqualified directors as they will be prohibited from doing so, unless they are delivered by an ACSP for specified filings permitted by law.
We will of course keep you updated as and when certain requirements become legal obligations, but in the meantime, it’s worth being as prepared as you can be.