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Welcome to this week's episode on I Hate Numbers. Today we're going to be diving into the world of identity, more specifically, Companies House identity verification first launched back in November, 2025.

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Let's start with a quick bit of context. Now, why on Earth did Companies House decide to make us all prove who we are? Well, for many years, the UK Company Register was a bit like an unlocked shed. Anybody could walk in, put a name on a piece of paper, and begin a company. That made it quite easy for entrepreneurs and business people,

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charities, not-for-profit organisations, but it also made it a playground for fraudsters and ghost owners. Now, the government finally decided to clean house with the economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act - a bit of a mouthful there. Their goal - to make sure that every director and every person with significant control, we're going to call them PSCs, is a real, living, breathing human being.

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Now, since November the 18th of last year, 2025, the rules have been live. If you've tried to set up a new company in the last few months, you'll know that the old way is gone. You can't even get through the digital door without verifying your identity first. But for the millions of you who already have companies running before the law changed, we are now in the heat of the transition year.

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And if your birthday's in March, we'll pull up a chair because we need to talk about your 14-day window. Now, the March birthday rule and the 14-day sprint - this is where it gets a little bit quirky. For directors, the deadline is linked to your next confirmation statement. For PSCs, remember, that's the persons of significant control,

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those people who own more than 25% of a company but may not be a director, the rules are different. Now that 25% by the way, can be more than just ownership, but 25% is a useful benchmark. Now, if you are an existing PSC who isn't actually a director, and that's not unusual, your verification deadline is triggered by the month of your birth.

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So if you were born in March, your clock has already started. You've got exactly 14 days from the first day of your birth month to get verified. Now, you may be thinking, but I've been running this business for 10 years. Why does Companies House care about my birthday now? Well, it's not to send you a birthday card.

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It's about spreading the load. With approximately 7 million people needing verification Companies House would not be able to handle everyone hitting the upload button at the same time. This birth month, staggered approach is their way of keeping their service from melting down, but it also means you have to be vigilant.

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If you are a PSC, check your registering entry. If your birth month is March, April, or May, your deadline is either here or looming. What happens if you are a director? Let's talk about the director's transition and the personal code. Well, if you are a director, your pathway is slightly different, but no less important.

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You have until your company's next confirmation statement to get your house in order. Now once you verify your identity, and we're going to be talking about how to do that in a few moments, you are issued with something called a personal code. Keep this as your new best friend. You only need to verify it once in your life.

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Once you've got that code, it will follow you. If you're a director of a construction firm, a trustee, or a charity and a PSC of a tech startup, it's the same code for every single role. So you can have a plethora of companies and that code will apply throughout. Now here's the kicker. If you try to file your confirmation statement this month, and you haven't included the verification statement of all of your directors or trustees, Companies House will simply say no.

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They might put it in more formal language, but essentially your filing will be rejected. And that rejected filing can lead to problems, publish of a red notice on Companies House and a strike off notice, and probably a very upset group of accountants there. Now, I've already seen a few cases this year, but people have left it until the last moment.

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The app crashed. They couldn't get to grips for the government way of identifying themselves, or they couldn't find their passport, and suddenly they're facing a legal offense just for doing their job. Do not be that person. Now, in this section, I'm going to talk to you about how you verify, and as a heads up, we are here to help.

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So how do you actually do it? Well, you have two options. Option one is the DIY route. You go to gov.uk, use their one login service and follow the prompts. It usually involves taking a photo of your ID, a liveness check, which is a fancy way of saying you've got to take a video of yourself moving your head to prove you aren't a cardboard cut-out or a mannequin. It’s free.

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It's just a requirement of your time and energy and enthusiasm. And for the tech savvy, it takes about three to five minutes. What's the second option? Well, option two is where we can take care of the heavy lifting. And by we, I mean us at, I Hate Numbers. Now, I Hate Numbers, is a fully registered authorised corporate service provider.

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Let's get some more mnemonics here - ACSP. Now this is the part of the show I need to flag up that we at, I Hate Numbers, are a fully registered, authorised corporate service provider, ACSP. Well, what does that matter? Well, an A CSP has been vetted and vouched for by Companies House. We have a direct line to the register, so when you verify through us,

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and we've had many people who've done that, not even clients of ours directly, we don't just point you at an app and wish you luck. We have to take care of your documents of verifying, performing the checks, managing the submissions, and ensuring that your personal code is correctly linked to every single one of your roles.

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Now, for many of our clients and non-clients, by the way, this is a life saver. Maybe you're not comfortable with facial recognition apps. Maybe you've got an issue going on. You've got a complex company structure. Maybe you live overseas. Maybe you just don't have the time to do this, or the inclination. Maybe you don't believe in the gov.uk login.

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You simply got a business to run. You just don’t want to spend your Tuesday afternoon troubleshooting a government login page. Why would you want to do that? Now by using an ACSP, like I Hate Numbers, you get the peace of mind that it's done at the right time, rightly and correctly. We integrate this into your wider compliance and when we do your accounts, your tax planning or maybe just as a standalone,

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we're keeping our identity status green and compliant. We're coming to the end of the episode, but I want to leave you with one thought. This change at Companies House isn't a nice to have, or maybe next year. It's a fundamental shift in how UK business works. And remember, this applies for not-for-profits, for charities, social enterprises.

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It's not just private companies by shares. If you ignore it, you risk fines, you risk being able to file your accounts. You even risk potentially in extreme cases, prosecution. But more than that, you risk the reputation of your business. In a world where transparency is top, being a verified director is a badge of honour.

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It tells the people you interact with, your suppliers, your bank, and your customers that you are who you say you are. Now if your PSC window is ticking or you've got a confirmation statement due this spring, don't sweat it. Head over to ihatenumbers.co.uk. Give us a call, drop us an email, and we'll get you verified, get your code sorted and we’ll help you get back to what you like doing.

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If you found this episode useful, folks, I love it if you could share it with those who you feel will get some benefit from that. Until next time, keep that identity validated. Plan it, do it, profit.