The GOV.UK ID Check app will not read my passport: chips, NFC and the face match

If the GOV.UK app will not read your passport, start with three checks: that you are using the GOV.UK One Login app (since 28 November 2025 the older GOV.UK ID Check app is for HMRC services, not One Login), that your passport has the biometric chip symbol on the front cover, and that your phone has NFC switched on. Those three are the causes to expect in most cases. After that come the fixes GOV.UK itself lists: take the case off the phone, lay it flat on the passport's photo page, keep it still, and keep a signal. If the passport has no chip or has expired, or the face match will not pass, the app cannot be made to work and the other legal route is an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). Vaulex Group verifies you from your passport and proof of address for £149.99 per person, three working days from when everything is in.

Which app you should be using

This trips people up because the name changed. For years the app that read passports for GOV.UK was called GOV.UK ID Check. Since 28 November 2025, GOV.UK's guidance says to use the GOV.UK One Login app to prove your identity with One Login, which is what Companies House identity verification runs on. The ID Check app still exists, but its page now describes it as the app for HMRC services that use Government Gateway.

If you installed ID Check from an old link, the Companies House journey and the app will not join up. Install "GOV.UK One Login" from the App Store or Google Play (publisher: Government Digital Service), sign in with the same One Login email you used on the website, and start the Companies House journey again.

What the app needs

GOV.UK sets out the phone requirements: an iPhone 8 or newer on iOS 16.7 or higher, or an Android phone on Android 10 or higher, with a working camera. For a passport the app photographs the data page, reads the chip, then scans your face. A UK photocard driving licence has no chip step.

The chip read uses NFC, the same radio as contactless payment. Every iPhone from the 8 onward has it. Most recent Android phones have it, but some budget models do not, and on Android it can be switched off. Look in Settings for "NFC" or "Connections" and turn it on. If your phone has no NFC, the app can still verify you with a UK driving licence, but not with a passport.

The passport must be biometric. Look for the small rectangular chip symbol on the front cover. GOV.UK says every UK passport issued after 2006 is biometric, and the app accepts a non-UK passport as long as it has the chip. An expired passport cannot be used in the app at all. Originals only, not copies.

Why the chip read stops

GOV.UK lists five reasons the chip scan fails:

• The phone is not touching the passport. Lay the passport flat, open at the photo page, and put the phone flat on top.
• There is a case or accessory on the phone. Take the case off, and any card holder or ring on the back.
• The internet connection dropped. Find a steady signal before you start.
• The phone moved during the read. Hold it still until the app says the read is complete, which can take ten seconds or more.
• A different document was scanned from the one you photographed.

Two more come up constantly. On an iPhone the NFC antenna sits at the top of the phone, so line the top edge up with the chip. On some Android phones it is in the middle of the back. If the read never starts, slide the phone slowly over the page until it does. When a read fails, the app shows a help animation. Follow it, then select "Start scan" or place the phone back on the passport and it starts again by itself.

The face match

Once the chip is read, the app compares a live scan of your face with the photo stored on the chip. GOV.UK's instructions are brief: use the front camera, fit your whole face inside the oval, look straight ahead and keep still.

GOV.UK does not publish why a face match fails, but the common causes are easy to list. Light behind you turns your face into a silhouette. A dim room does the same. Glasses reflect the screen, so take them off. Hats and anything across the face make matching harder. The biggest one is time: a passport photo taken nine years ago is a hard match for anyone. Face the light, hold the phone at eye level, and keep a neutral expression.

What can be retried

The app route is forgiving about retries. A failed chip read restarts in the app. A failed face match, or a photo the app rejected, can be retried by going back to the Companies House page in your browser and starting the check again, with the same passport or a different photo ID. Once you have confirmed a document in the app, you cannot change to a different one mid-way. The switch has to start from the service page.

If the app keeps failing on a phone that should work, update the app, restart the phone, and use a normal browser window rather than a private one. The GOV.UK One Login team runs webchat and a phone line on weekdays, 8am to 8pm UK time, and can help with the app and your account. They cannot pass the check for you. There is no manual route at Companies House and nobody there can override the check.

When it will not work, whatever you try

Some situations cannot be fixed by technique:

• The passport has no chip. Older passports from some countries have nothing for the phone to read.
• The passport has expired. The app will not accept it.
• The phone has no NFC and you have no UK driving licence.
• The face match has failed more than once against an old photo.
• Your name has changed since the passport was issued and the fall-back security questions cannot match you.

One Login's two fall-backs, security questions drawn from a UK credit file and an in-person check at a Post Office in the UK, both need a UK footprint. One Login cannot always be used from abroad.

The ACSP route

An ACSP is an agent registered with Companies House and supervised for anti-money laundering. It checks your passport and proof of address to the Companies House standard, confirms the verification to Companies House, and Companies House emails you your 11-character personal code. You then provide that code for each director or PSC role on each company.

Vaulex Group is built for the cases the app turns away. An AML-qualified person reviews every file, and we handle older and non-chip passports, name and address history problems, and enhanced due diligence. You need a current passport and a proof of address dated within the last three months, in your name, at the address where you 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 you have completed the biometric checks and we have everything we need. This guide is information, not legal advice. The deadline for existing directors and PSCs is 18 November 2026.

Start when you are ready

Upload your passport and proof of address at https://my.vaulex.co.uk/verify, or choose the fast track at https://my.vaulex.co.uk/verify?plan=idv_24h. To see who in your company still needs to verify, use the free checker at https://guides.vaulex.co.uk/am-i-affected.