Letter to People with Significant Control Regarding ID Verification 
The introduction of identity verification is one of the key changes to UK company law under the Economic Crime & Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA). This applies to new and existing company directors, new and existing PSCs (both individual PSCs and relevant legal entities (RLEs)), as well as those delivering documents to Companies House. All these parties will need to be ID verified under the provisions of the ECCTA and there will be potential civil and criminal penalties for failure to do so. The voluntary period for identity verification (IDV) opened on 8th April 2025.
The ECCTA gives Companies House new and enhanced powers to help disrupt economic crime and the IDV regime is a key component of this.
This template letter from a company to its PSCs outlines in broad terms the IDV regime applicable to PSCs to enable them to understand what the regime is, the timescales involved and the steps that both they and the company need to undertake in preparation.
Companies House (March 2025) issued its intended implementation timetable for much of the rest of the ECCTA that is not yet in force; this includes the IDV regime. The regime will be implemented in phases and has now commenced with voluntary IDV (from 8th April 2025) and is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. This letter has been updated to reflect this timetable and the transition period that will see more than 7 million people going through enhanced checks. Given the intended timeline, for companies that have not already done so, communicating with its PSCs is now a matter of some importance and urgency. This letter is a good starting point. This letter encourages PSCs to take advantage of early verification. Verifying early means that if complications arise there is less likelihood of missed deadlines and potential fines for non-compliance as well as being ahead of the vast bulk of people that will be ID verifying once the regime becomes compulsory.
Companies House guidance in relation to the IDV process is available here.
Requisite details should be inserted into the highlighted fields or the wording can be adjusted to suit your purposes. Wording in square brackets is optional. If it is required, then the brackets should be deleted and the wording within them retained. If the wording is not required, then it can be deleted.
Once you have subscribed to the appropriate document folder click on the “Download Document” button below. You will be asked what you want to do with the file. It is recommended that you save the document to a location of your choice prior to viewing.
Letter to People with Significant Control Regarding ID Verification is part of Corporate. Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Corporate for 1 year.