Companies House identity verification, city by city

The spread in that table is the single most important thing to understand about UK verification demand. London alone holds 1,109,035 live companies, roughly a fifth of the whole active register, while Sheffield in twelfth place holds 37,698. A city page is not a marketing exercise at that scale: the number of directors, people with significant control and LLP members who need a personal code in London is larger than the entire company population of most European capitals.

We verify directors and PSCs of companies registered anywhere in the UK, not only in the twelve cities above. The towns below each hold at least 10,000 live companies on the same Companies House snapshot, and together they account for a very large share of the register. They are listed in descending order of live companies, with the count beside each name.

Harrow 31,366; Ilford 30,085; Coventry 30,017; Milton Keynes 28,070; Norwich 27,006; Bolton 26,492; Northampton 25,754; Southampton 25,598; Reading 25,303; Belfast 25,200; Bradford 24,705; Newcastle upon Tyne 23,623; Derby 22,770; Cambridge 22,593; Preston 21,761; Luton 21,358; Croydon 21,324; Stockport 20,663; Warrington 19,994; Wolverhampton 19,981; Peterborough 19,838; Doncaster 19,437; Slough 18,809; Brighton 18,781; Watford 17,673; York 17,630; Romford 17,424; Colchester 17,025; Bedford 15,709; Bournemouth 15,604; Poole 15,350; Ipswich 15,275; Cheltenham 14,802; Huddersfield 14,695; Oldham 14,626; Aberdeen 14,494; Stoke-on-Trent 14,452; Swindon 14,349; Bury St Edmunds 14,221; Swansea 14,030; Hull 13,963; Solihull 13,946; Altrincham 13,934; Walsall 13,808; Chelmsford 13,512; Exeter 12,998; Plymouth 12,504; Ashford 12,492; Maidstone 12,350; Newport 12,324; Wembley 12,005; Oxford 11,730; Enfield 11,695; Salford 11,338; High Wycombe 11,288; Lincoln 11,129; Rotherham 11,034; Edgware 11,000; Hounslow 10,900; Chester 10,842; Barnet 10,666; Dundee 10,625; Gloucester 10,619; Blackburn 10,556; Hayes 10,502; Portsmouth 10,416; Bromley 10,365; Fareham 10,339; Dartford 10,311; Wigan 10,208; Dagenham 10,059.

Three points follow from that list. First, several of the largest entries are London post towns that Companies House records separately from London itself, including Harrow, Ilford, Croydon, Romford, Wembley, Enfield, Barnet, Bromley, Hounslow, Hayes, Edgware and Dagenham, so the true London-area figure is higher than the London post-town count alone. Second, the register is far less concentrated than headlines about the City of London suggest: towns such as Norwich, Bolton, Northampton, Peterborough and Colchester each hold more live companies than many places with a stronger commercial reputation. Third, and most practically, none of this changes the verification standard. A director of a company registered in Bury St Edmunds follows exactly the same process, meets exactly the same identity verification standard and pays exactly the same fee as a director in Mayfair.

Northern Ireland deserves a specific mention, because it is easy to overlook. The Northern Ireland register held 89,553 companies at 31 March 2026 (Companies register activities 2025–26), Belfast holds 25,200 live companies and the BT postcode area holds 90,818 across the province (Companies House bulk data). Company law is UK-wide, so Northern Irish directors are in scope on identical terms.

People search for a verification agent near them for an understandable reason: this is an identity check, and identity checks feel like something that should happen face to face. In practice the location of your ACSP is a matter of comfort rather than compliance. GOV.UK requires that registered ACSPs must be based in the UK and be supervised by a UK anti-money-laundering supervisory body, but it does not require them to be near you, and the digital identity check is completed on your own phone wherever you happen to be.

Where location genuinely matters is the two-document route, which involves original documents being examined. We hold those appointments at our Bedford and London–Stratford offices, and we offer a scheduled video appointment as the alternative for anyone who is not within reasonable reach of either. That is why our city pages say plainly whether an office visit is realistic from that city rather than implying a national branch network that does not exist.

The free alternatives are worth knowing about too. GOV.UK One Login is free and direct (GOV.UK), and UK residents can verify at a Post Office after receiving the confirmation email, a route that takes about 15 days. Of all verifications completed to 31 March 2026, 3 million went through One Login and 783,000 through ACSPs (Annual Report and Accounts 2025–26). We are the paid, managed option, and we would rather you chose it knowing the free ones exist.

The duty is national. Whichever city page you arrived from, the rules below are the ones that apply to you.

GOV.UK lists the people who must verify as a director, the equivalent of a director, which includes members, general partners and managing officers, a director of an overseas company registered in the UK, a person with significant control, and anyone registering as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider. People who file on behalf of a company, limited partnerships, corporate directors, corporate LLP members and officers of corporate PSCs will be required to verify at a later date.

Identity verification became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025. Companies House is explicit that this date is not a deadline in itself; it marks the start of a 12-month transition period that ends in November 2026, by the end of which Companies House expects to have verified 6 to 7 million individuals (Annual Report and Accounts 2025–26). Your own deadline sits inside that window and depends on your role:

• Existing directors: by the company's next confirmation statement date.
• New directors: before appointment, and at incorporation for a new company.
• Directors of overseas companies registered in the UK: by the anniversary of the UK establishment's registration.
• A PSC who is also a director: within the 14-day period starting the day after the confirmation statement date.
• A PSC who is not a director: within the first 14 days of their birth month.

Once you have verified, Companies House issues an 11 character personal code. It is personal to you and not to your company, and if you are a director of multiple companies you only need to verify once and then use the same code for every appointment.

These consequences apply identically in every part of the UK.

Companies House states that it is unlawful for a director to act as a director without completing identity verification, and that the offence arises under section 167M of the Companies Act. Three enforcement routes are available: criminal prosecution, referral to the Insolvency Service, and financial penalties. Prosecution may lead to criminal conviction, director disqualification and fines, and non-compliance can be annotated on the public register for anyone to see.

There is also an immediate, practical consequence that arrives long before any enforcement action. All directors need to verify before the company's next confirmation statement is filed, otherwise the filing will be rejected. The campaign guidance puts it more bluntly still: without verification you will not be able to make any filings for your company or start a new company. For most people that rejected filing, not the prospect of prosecution, is what makes this urgent.

Tax and Accounting Hub Ltd is a Companies House Authorised Corporate Service Provider, company number 08408126, supervised by the Association of Accounting Technicians for anti-money-laundering purposes and registered with the ICO. GOV.UK describes an ACSP as an agent, such as an accountant or solicitor, who files on behalf of others, and requires every ACSP to be supervised by a UK anti-money-laundering supervisory body. The official public list of ACSPs is published by Companies House and was last updated on 20 August 2026.

• You complete a short application, sign the engagement letter on screen and pay by card.
• You verify your identity: either a digital check on your own phone, which takes around ten minutes, or a scheduled appointment where two original documents are examined.
• We review the result against our compliance checklist and file it with Companies House as your authorised agent.
• Companies House emails you your own 11-character personal code, which you then give to every company where you hold an appointment.

Our fee for a UK-resident director, PSC or LLP member is £125, all inclusive. There is no VAT, no per-document charge and nothing added later. You can read the full process on our step-by-step guide, or start now on the application page.

• Overseas directors, by country
• Bulk and white-label director verification
• Who needs a Companies House personal code?
• Our full ACSP service
• How it works, step by step
• Apply now