Are you a third-party provider planning on carrying out identity verification checks for Companies House on behalf of your clients? Registration to be an authorised company service provider (ACSP) will now open on 18 March 2025 and firms will then be able to voluntarily verify the identity of clients from 8 April. The mandatory verification requirement will take effect in autumn 2025.
Key information for ACSP registration:
- If you wish to register, you must be supervised for anti-money laundering in the UK. You therefore need to enter your ICAEW firm number (starting C0 or A0) to confirm you are supervised.
- The information held on ICAEW’s records, such as your business name and address, must match the details you provide to Companies House, otherwise your application will be rejected. If you need to update your record with ICAEW, you can find out more about how to do so on our maintaining your firm record page.
- Identity verification checks by ACSPs must meet the same level of assurance as those who verify directly with Companies House. You will need to allow additional time to carry out these checks when providing services such as company formation to company clients.
Guidance for ACSPs around identity verification requirements will be published by Companies House in due course.
