Companies House rejected my confirmation statement over identity verification

If Companies House rejected your confirmation statement over identity verification, one of three things is wrong: a director has not verified and has no personal code, a code was entered incorrectly, or a valid code could not be matched to the director's record because the date of birth or name on the register differs from the verified identity. Companies House will not accept a confirmation statement until every director has verified. Fix it in this order: verify everyone, correct the register, provide the codes, re-file. A rejected statement has not been filed, so the 14-day filing window keeps running. If a director cannot get through GOV.UK One Login, an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) is the other legal route. Vaulex Group verifies a director from their passport and proof of address for £149.99 per person, three working days from when everything is in.

What the rejection means

Since 18 November 2025, identity verification has been a legal requirement for directors and people with significant control (PSCs). Existing directors confirm it through the company's confirmation statement: each director's 11-character personal code goes on the statement, together with a statement that every director has verified. GOV.UK's confirmation statement guidance is direct: Companies House will not accept the statement until all directors have verified.

A rejection on identity grounds is Companies House saying it cannot link every director on the register to a verified identity. The rest of the statement may be perfect. It still does not get filed.

The three causes

An unverified director. The most common cause. One director (often the overseas one, or the one who thought the accountant had done it) has never verified, so there is no code to enter. Company secretaries do not need to verify. Directors do, every one of them, for every company they sit on.

A missing or mistyped code. The code is 11 characters. A swapped pair, a zero for an O, or a code copied into the wrong director's box is enough. Companies House lists "incorrectly entered code" first among the reasons a code is refused. Have each director read their code from the email or their Companies House account.

A mismatch between the code and the appointment. This one catches careful companies. The code is valid, the director has verified, and the filing still fails because Companies House matches the code to the director's record on the register. GOV.UK says you cannot file if any director's date of birth is incorrect or does not match the register, and lists a wrong date of birth among the reasons a code is refused. A name difference does the same job: a maiden name on the register and a married name on the passport, a middle name on one and not the other. The register has to be corrected before the code will take.

Fix it in this order

1. Find out who has not verified. Use a free checker that reads the register and list every director with no verified status. Verification has the longest lead time, so it goes first.
2. Verify them. The free route is GOV.UK One Login: the app reads the chip in a biometric passport with an NFC phone and runs a face match, and the fall-backs are security questions drawn from a UK credit file or an in-person check at a Post Office. One Login cannot always be used from abroad, and there is no manual route at Companies House and nobody there can override the check. Where One Login does not work, an ACSP verifies the director from a passport and proof of address.
3. Correct the register. Compare each director's name and date of birth on the register with their passport. For a name change, file a change of director's details (form CH01), which can be done online. For a date of birth, the route depends on how the director was appointed. A director appointed by form AP01 is corrected through WebFiling by replacing the original appointment. A director named on the incorporation form IN01 needs paper forms RP01 and the IN01 director section posted to Companies House. GOV.UK says corrections can take up to 20 working days, and that you must wait for the register to show the change before providing the code.
4. Collect the codes. One code per director, read from the source. If an ACSP verified a director and supplied wrong details, the ACSP corrects them with Companies House through its own form; the director cannot.
5. Re-file. Submit the confirmation statement again through Companies House's online service with every director's code and the verification statement ticked.

That order avoids re-filing while a correction is still in the queue, which produces a second rejection and burns the window.

The deadline does not move

A confirmation statement must be filed at least once every 12 months, within 14 days of the end of the review period. A rejected statement has not been filed, and Companies House does not pause the clock while you fix it. GOV.UK says a company can be fined up to £5,000 and may be struck off for not filing its confirmation statement.

Identity verification has its own teeth. On 16 September 2026 three directors were convicted after Insolvency Service prosecutions for failing to verify, with fines of £80 to £307 plus costs and surcharges. The Insolvency Service said "There is no option to opt out". The transition period for existing directors and PSCs ends on 18 November 2026.

The online filing fee is £50, or £110 on paper, and covers a 12-month payment period. This guide is information, not legal or tax advice.

PSCs: the second place the code goes

A director who is also a PSC of the same company verifies once but provides the code twice. The director code goes on the confirmation statement. The PSC code goes through the separate "Provide identity verification details for a person with significant control" service, within 14 days starting the day after the confirmation statement date. A PSC who is not a director has the first 14 days of their birth month. A PSC's missing code does not reject the confirmation statement, but it is a separate breach with its own deadline, so deal with both together.

When an ACSP is the route

An ACSP is an agent registered with Companies House and supervised for anti-money laundering. It checks the director's passport and proof of address to the Companies House standard, confirms the verification to Companies House, and Companies House emails the director their personal code. Use it when a director's passport has no chip, their phone has no NFC, the face match keeps failing, they have no UK credit file, or they are abroad and cannot get to a Post Office.

At Vaulex Group an AML-qualified person reviews every case, and we take the complex ones: older or non-chip passports, name and address history problems, enhanced due diligence. Because the name on the register has to match, we check the director's register entry against the passport before we submit, and tell you what to correct. The director needs a current passport and a proof of address dated within the last three months, in their name, at the address where they live. Standard service is £149.99 per person, three working days from when everything is in. The fast track is £349 per person, 24 hours counted on working days once the director has completed the biometric checks and we have everything we need.

Start when you are ready

Send each unverified director to https://my.vaulex.co.uk/verify, or to the fast track at https://my.vaulex.co.uk/verify?plan=idv_24h if the filing window is close. To see every director and PSC on your company, who has verified and the date for each person, use the free checker at https://guides.vaulex.co.uk/am-i-affected.