Companies House identity verification in Leicester
46,690 live companies are registered to a Leicester 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 Leicester verification market actually is
Leicester has 46,690 live companies registered to its post town, and the LE postcode area holds 79,922 (Companies House Free Company Data Product, snapshot 2026-08-01). The ratio between those two figures, roughly 1.7 to 1, is one of the higher ones in the dataset and shows how much of the county's company formation happens outside the city boundary.
Leicester sits in the middle of a dense east Midlands cluster: Nottingham (46,435), Northampton (25,754), Derby (22,770), Milton Keynes (28,070) and Loughborough (7,118) (Companies House bulk data). Leicester and Nottingham are within a few hundred companies of each other, which makes the pair the second-largest twin centre in England after Manchester and Liverpool.
Postcode areas covering Leicester
- LE — Leicestershire: 79,922 live companies
Neighbouring post towns we also serve: Nottingham (46,435), Derby (22,770), Northampton (25,754), Loughborough (7,118), Milton Keynes (28,070). All figures from the Companies House Free Company Data Product, snapshot 1 August 2026.
Typical Leicester companies, and what that means for verification
Leicester's register carries a notably high share of small trading companies in textiles and manufacturing, wholesale and distribution, food, and professional and IT services, together with a large number of companies whose directors are non-UK nationals resident in the UK. That last group is where most of the confusion sits. A biometric passport from any country is accepted for identity verification, so nationality on its own is never a barrier (GOV.UK). What causes rejections is document detail: an expired passport is not accepted at all, a driving licence may be expired by no more than 90 days, and a biometric residence permit or card by no more than 18 months. Checking that before you start saves a failed attempt.
Do Leicester directors need an appointment?
Bedford is our nearer appointment location for east Midlands applicants, with London–Stratford as the alternative. Even so, most Leicester directors have no reason to travel: the digital check runs on your own phone in about ten minutes, and where two original documents must be seen we run a scheduled video appointment. The fee is £125 for a UK-resident applicant either way.
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 Leicester 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 Leicester 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 Leicester 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.
Leicester verification questions
The questions we are asked most often by directors and PSCs of Leicester companies.
How many companies are registered in Leicester?
There are 46,690 live companies registered to the Leicester post town and 79,922 across the LE postcode area, on the Companies House snapshot of 1 August 2026.
I live in Leicester but hold a non-UK passport. Is that a problem?
No. A biometric passport from any country is accepted. As a UK resident your fee is £125, and nationality makes no difference to the process.
My passport expired last year. Can I still use it?
Not for this. An expired passport is not accepted. A UK photo driving licence may be expired by no more than 90 days, and a biometric residence permit or card by no more than 18 months.
Which of your offices is closest to Leicester?
Bedford. That said, most Leicester applicants complete the check remotely and never need an appointment at all.
Do I need a separate code for each of my companies?
No. The code is personal to you, not to your company, and one verification covers every directorship you hold.
Related pages
Ready to verify a Leicester 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