GOV.UK One Login could not verify my identity: what the message means and what to do next

If GOV.UK One Login told you it could not verify your identity, the check stopped at one of four points: the photo ID scan, the face match, the security questions, or the Post Office visit. Which point matters, because some can be retried and one cannot. The app can be restarted with the same document or a different one. A Post Office check can be repeated at another branch. The security questions cannot be retried once you have answered one wrongly. If none of those can work for you, the other legal route is an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), an agent registered with Companies House and supervised for anti-money laundering, which checks your passport and proof of address and asks Companies House to issue your personal code. Vaulex Group does this for £149.99 per person, three working days from when everything is in.

What the message means

GOV.UK One Login checks three things: that your photo ID is real, that you are a real person, and that you are the same person as the one in the ID. "We could not verify your identity" (some screens say "could not confirm") means one of those checks did not reach the level the service needs. It is not a finding that you are not who you say you are. Companies House never sees a failed attempt. It only ever receives a confirmed identity.

Two things follow. There is no manual route at Companies House and nobody there can override the check. And a failed One Login attempt does not stop you using the other route. Your personal code is the same 11-character code whichever route issues it.

Stage one: the photo ID scan

The app route (since 28 November 2025 this is the GOV.UK One Login app, not the older GOV.UK ID Check app) accepts a UK passport, a non-UK passport with a biometric chip, a UK photocard driving licence, a UK biometric residence permit or card, or a UK Frontier Worker permit. For a passport it photographs the data page, reads the chip, then scans your face. An expired passport cannot be used. A UK driving licence can be used if it expired within the last 90 days. Originals only, not copies.

GOV.UK lists the reasons the chip read stops: the phone is not touching the passport, there is a case or accessory on the phone, the internet connection dropped, the phone moved during the read, or a different document was scanned from the one photographed. All of those can be retried. Follow the on-screen animation, then select "Start scan" or lay the phone flat on the passport.

If a document keeps failing, go back to the Companies House service and start again with a different photo ID. Once you have confirmed a document in the app you cannot swap it mid-way.

Stage two: the face match

The face scan uses the front camera. GOV.UK's instructions are short: 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 strong light behind the person, a dim room, glasses that reflect the screen, and a passport photo that is many years old. Face a window or a lamp, take glasses off, and hold the phone at eye level.

A failed face match can be retried by returning to the service and starting again. If it has failed twice on an old passport photo, a third attempt rarely changes the answer.

Stage three: the security questions

If you cannot use the app, One Login offers questions drawn from your financial history. The financial questions are checked against your Experian credit file (mobile phone contracts, mortgages, loans, bank accounts). Questions about Personal Independence Payment are checked against DWP records. You also need details from a UK passport, a UK photocard driving licence or a UK bank or building society current account.

This is the stage that stops the most people, for three reasons. First, the name on your identity document must match what Experian or DWP holds exactly, including middle names and initials. GOV.UK says that if the names do not match exactly, you currently cannot prove your identity with One Login. Second, if you have little UK credit history (you arrived recently, you left years ago, you are young, or you have never had UK credit), there may be nothing to ask you about. Third, there is no second go. GOV.UK's wording is that if you make a mistake "you cannot try this method again to prove your identity".

If you answered correctly and still got the message, GOV.UK suggests checking your credit file for errors. That takes weeks and does not reopen the questions route.

Stage four: the Post Office

The third One Login route is an in-person check. You enter your photo ID details on GOV.UK first, receive a customer letter by email or post, and take the letter and the ID to any Post Office that offers in-branch verification. Staff scan the document and take your photo. The result comes by email, usually within 24 hours. If no email arrives after 24 hours, GOV.UK gives a resume link at return.account.gov.uk.

If the branch could not complete the scan, you can go to another branch. If the check ran but your identity was not confirmed, GOV.UK says you can try again. The Post Office has to be in the UK, so this route is closed to anyone abroad.

What can be retried, and where to get help

In short: the app can be restarted, the Post Office can be repeated, and the security questions are one attempt only. The GOV.UK One Login team runs webchat and a phone line Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm UK time (0300 373 9020 in the UK, +44 208 629 0008 from abroad). They can help with the app and your account. They cannot pass you.

When the answer is an ACSP

Take the ACSP route when one of these is true: your passport has no chip, your phone has no NFC, the face match has failed more than once, you have no UK credit file, the name on your documents differs from your credit record, or you are abroad and cannot get to a Post Office. One Login cannot always be used from abroad, and more retries will not change that.

An ACSP checks your passport and proof of address to the Companies House standard, confirms the verification to Companies House, and Companies House emails you your personal code. At Vaulex Group an AML-qualified person reviews every case, and we take the cases that could not get through elsewhere: older or non-chip passports, name and address history problems, enhanced due diligence. You will 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.

Timing matters. Companies House will not accept a confirmation statement until every director has a personal code, and the transition period for existing directors and PSCs ends on 18 November 2026. This guide is information, not legal advice, but a retry loop will not move that date.

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. Not sure who in your company still needs to verify? Our free checker at https://guides.vaulex.co.uk/am-i-affected shows every director and PSC, who has verified, and the date for each person, live from the register.