Companies House identity verification in Edinburgh
60,520 live companies are registered to a Edinburgh address, and every one of their directors and people with significant control must now verify their identity with Companies House. We are a registered Authorised Corporate Service Provider and we do that for you, remotely or by appointment, for a flat £125.
How big the Edinburgh verification market actually is
Edinburgh has 60,520 live companies registered to its post town, and the EH postcode area holds 79,881 (Companies House Free Company Data Product, snapshot 2026-08-01). Edinburgh is also where Companies House maintains its Scottish office, which occasionally leads directors to assume that a Scottish company follows a separate verification process. It does not. The same guidance, the same accepted documents and the same deadlines apply.
Scotland's register held 275,310 companies at 31 March 2026 (Companies register activities 2025–26), and Edinburgh and Glasgow between them account for the majority of it, with Aberdeen (14,494) and Dundee (10,625) behind them (Companies House bulk data). No Google autocomplete completion exists for the Edinburgh-modified verification query, so this page is written to answer the question properly rather than to chase a phrase.
Postcode areas covering Edinburgh
- EH — Edinburgh and the Lothians: 79,881 live companies
Neighbouring post towns we also serve: Glasgow (75,227), Aberdeen (14,494), Dundee (10,625). All figures from the Companies House Free Company Data Product, snapshot 1 August 2026.
Typical Edinburgh companies, and what that means for verification
Edinburgh's company population is unusually weighted towards financial and professional services, fund and investment structures, and partnerships. That matters for verification in two specific ways. First, LLP members and general partners are in scope now, while corporate directors, corporate LLP members and officers of corporate PSCs will be required to verify at a later date (GOV.UK). Firms with layered structures therefore need to separate what is due this year from what is not. Second, a person with significant control who is not also a director has a completely different deadline from a director: the first 14 days of their birth month (GOV.UK). Investment structures frequently have exactly that kind of non-director PSC.
Do Edinburgh directors need an appointment?
We hold appointments in Bedford and London–Stratford, which is not a realistic trip from Edinburgh for a ten-minute check. Edinburgh applicants use the fully remote digital route, or a scheduled video appointment if two original documents have to be examined. The fee is £125 for a UK-resident applicant, all inclusive, no VAT.
Digital identity check
One accepted document, photographed on your own phone, plus a live selfie. Around ten minutes, no travel, no appointment. This is what most Edinburgh applicants use.
Two-document check
Two original documents examined by us, either at our Bedford or London–Stratford office or on a scheduled video appointment. Used where the digital route does not suit your documents.
Both routes meet the same Companies House identity verification standard and produce the same personal code. There is also a free Post Office route for UK residents, available after you receive the confirmation email, which takes about 15 days. If your confirmation statement is close, that timing is the thing to weigh up.
Who must verify, and by when
Everyone in scope is in scope in Edinburgh on exactly the same terms as anywhere else in the UK. There is no local variation, no local extension and no local exemption.
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.
What happens if the deadline passes
The consequences of not verifying are national and they are not administrative niceties. They apply to a Edinburgh director in the same way as to any other.
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.
How we verify you, and what it costs
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.
Edinburgh verification questions
The questions we are asked most often by directors and PSCs of Edinburgh companies.
Does Companies House being in Edinburgh mean Scottish verification is different?
No. Companies House maintains a Scottish office in Edinburgh, but the identity verification standard, the accepted documents and the deadlines are UK-wide and identical.
How many companies are registered in Edinburgh?
There are 60,520 live companies registered to the Edinburgh post town and 79,881 across the EH postcode area, on the Companies House snapshot of 1 August 2026.
I am a PSC of an Edinburgh company but not a director. When is my deadline?
If you are a PSC who is not a director, your verification window is the first 14 days of your birth month. If you are a PSC who is also a director, it is the 14-day period starting the day after the confirmation statement date.
Do fund and partnership structures need to verify yet?
Individual LLP members and general partners are in scope now. Corporate directors, corporate LLP members and officers of corporate PSCs will be required to verify at a later date.
Can you verify an Edinburgh director who lives abroad?
Yes, but the fee is £175 rather than £125 for an applicant resident outside the UK. Our country pages set out what that involves.
Related pages
Ready to verify a Edinburgh director?
Most applications take about ten minutes to complete online. Bedford and London–Stratford appointments are available if you would rather be seen.
Start your application