Letter of Recommendation to Appoint New Directors (Identity Verification Compliant) 
Whilst not required by either the Companies Act 2006 or the model articles, it may be useful for companies looking to appoint a new director to have a candidate proposed to them as a new director. This template form of letter may be used to recommend a candidate particularly as any prospective director must consent to be appointed before the appointment takes effect. The letter confirms that the proposed candidate is a fit and proper person to be a director of the company, is not subject to (nor has ever been subject to) disqualification, as well as including the individual’s particulars.
This template has been updated to confirm that as part of the recommendation process, the prospective director has been successfully ID verified.
The introduction of the identity verification (IDV) regime is one of the key changes to UK company law under the Economic Crime & Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA). Directors will need to be ID verified to act under the provisions of the ECCTA and there will be potential civil and criminal penalties for failure to do so. The voluntary period for IDV opened on 8th April 2025. IDV applies to directors irrespective of their nationality or where they are resident.
The ECCTA gives Companies House new and enhanced powers to help disrupt economic crime and the IDV regime is a key component of this.
Once fully implemented, it will no longer be possible to register an appointment of a director at Companies House nor for that director to act, until they have been ID verified.
Our guidance note here provides further details. IDV is expected to become a mandatory requirement for newly appointed directors from Autumn 2025.
The document is in open format. Fields should be completed and wording in square brackets is optional and can be deleted or retained according to requirements.
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