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UK regulation and standards

Companies House verification

Confirmation of a company's identity and standing against the Companies House register, including the identity verification requirements introduced under recent legislation.

Full explanation

Companies House verification is the confirmation of a company's identity and standing against the Companies House register, the UK's official record of registered companies. It covers basic facts such as whether a company exists and its registered details, and, increasingly, the verified identity of the people behind it.

Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, identity verification at Companies House is being strengthened, introducing checks on directors and people with significant control. This makes the register a more reliable source for confirming who actually stands behind a supplier.

For accounts payable, it is one authoritative input into supplier verification: a necessary check on corporate existence and ownership, best combined with bank-detail confirmation to establish both who a supplier is and where their money should go.

Companies House

Identity verification at Companies House is being introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, phasing in checks on directors and people with significant control.