It’s important that Companies House knows who’s filing information on the public register to make sure the information we hold is accurate, transparent, and not being used for fraudulent purposes. However, we do not currently have a full picture of who’s filing this information.
Identity verification is an important part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act. Under the act, Companies House will be required to verify the identity of anyone who’s submitting information to the public register, including those acting on behalf of a company.
Why we’re introducing identity verification
Our new powers will make the information we hold more accurate and transparent. It will also allow us to work more effectively with regulators and supervisory bodies through data and intelligence sharing.
Requiring third party agents to register their business and verify their identity will allow us to confidently identify who’s filing on the register and acting on behalf of companies. We'll also be able to quickly identify when an agent may not be acting with a lawful purpose, and we’ll be able to take action. This will help us to effectively protect lawful businesses and the public.
Authorised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs)
In the future, all third-party providers will need to register their business as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) before they can submit information and carry out identity verification checks on their clients. Over the coming months, we’ll explain when these changes will come into effect.
An ACSP is a business that’s covered by Money Laundering Regulations, such as:
- Professional Service Providers (for example, accountants and solicitors)
- Trust and Company Service Providers (for example, company formation agents)
Standards to become an ACSP
To become an ACSP, agents must be supervised within the UK by one of the relevant Anti-Money Laundering (AML) supervisory bodies, such as:
- HMRC
- Financial Conduct Authority
- The Gambling Commission
There are 25 supervisory bodies in the UK in total. You can find a full list on GOV.UK.
As part of the ACSP registration process, we'll ask for the AML supervisory body membership number for the business, sometimes called an ID number. It’s important to make sure this is accurate.
Agents who operate as a sole trader or are part of a company that’s not registered with Companies House will still need to register as an ACSP, but will be asked for more details. This is so we can cross-reference the information provided with the AML supervisor’s data, as Companies House does not hold any records for non-incorporated companies.
If you’re a software provider, filing information on behalf of a company or third-party provider, you’ll also need to register as an ACSP. You’re now included in the new legislation because you’re responsible for filing information on the register through your software service.
The registrar has new powers to ensure compliance of ACSPs. This includes the ability to suspend or cease an ACSP, for example if the registrar has reason to believe an ACSP is no longer a fit and proper person.
Registering to become an ACSP
If you hold a senior role within the business, such as a director, you'll need to complete a registration process to register your business as an ACSP. You'll be asked to complete identity verification as part of the application. You’ll provide information about the business, which you’ll need to keep up to date once registered as an ACSP. If your business is a sole trader, you will need to provide additional information, for example your name and date of birth.
Once registered, the ACSP will be provided with a new digital account and a unique identity number. This will allow them to file information and complete identity verification checks for their clients and enable Companies House to identify that the information has come from an authorised source.
The person registering the business as an ACSP will be able to add other people who work for the business to the ACSP account once it has been registered and approved. These employees will not be subject to identity verification but will be allowed to access services on behalf of the authorised agent, such as being able to carry out identity checks and file accounts for clients.
Next steps
The new registration service, combined with an intelligence and enforcement process will help us to maintain the accuracy of the information agents provide us. This will help protect the public and disrupt fraud.
If you’re an agent, you do not need to do anything yet. We’ll announce when the registration service will launch in advance to give you plenty of time to prepare, and we’ll publish guidance on GOV.UK to help you with your responsibilities. In the meantime, you can get ready by making sure you understand:
• the standards you need to meet before applying to become an ACSP
• where to find your AML membership number
To find out more about the changes to UK company law, visit our website, sign up for email newsletters and follow us on social media.
22 comments
Comment by Phil Jones posted on
Directors of a company will be required to provide ID but not register as ACSPs... Is that right..?
Comment by Luke C posted on
Hi Phil, thanks for your question.
That’s correct. Only someone acting on behalf of another company needs to register as an ACSP. Directors of a company acting on behalf of their own company do not need to register as an ACSP, but do need to still verify their identity when this becomes a requirement.
Comment by Carmen Stevens posted on
Please can you clarify the comment "if you're a software provider.....you'll also need to register as an ACSP". Software providers do not carry out the filings on behalf of companies, company secretaries and ACSPs use the software platforms to file instead of using web-filing - how will the "new digital account" for ACSP's therefore work with the software platforms?
Comment by Luke C posted on
Hi Carmen, thank you for your question.
Software providers will need to register to become an ACSP if you’re delivering information to Companies House through your software on behalf of your clients, and you are:
- responsible for paying
- engaging directly with Companies House
You will not need to become an ACSP if your clients are using your software but have their own accounts with Companies House.
Companies House will design the processes so that you can provide the relevant information as part of your software submissions. We’ll give plenty of notice about the changes you’ll need to make and will be providing further detail on this in the near future.
Comment by Gill Long posted on
Hello
Please could you advise when this will come into force.
Many thanks
Comment by Luke C posted on
Hi Gill,
Over the coming months we’ll explain more about when these changes will come into effect. We will make sure we give plenty of notice before you need to take any actions.
Comment by JT posted on
When will ID verification come into force and how much notice will be given to comply?
Comment by Luke C posted on
Hi Julie, thanks for your comment.
We'll share more details about the timescales and when these changes will come into effect over the coming months. We will give plenty of notice before you need to take any actions.
Comment by Tony Kazaz posted on
Accountants registered as ACPS`s.
What will their duties, responsibilities and liabilities be.
Is there any time frame within which the requirement is to be mandated.
Comment by Luke C posted on
Hi Tony, thanks for your comment.
We will be publishing full guidance for ACSPs in the near future, including details around timescales and when these changes will come into effect. We will provide plenty of notice before you need to take any actions.
Comment by Gordon posted on
What are the timescales for this change, please? By when will my company's Accountants need to be formally registered in order to continue filing on my company's behalf?
Thanks.
Comment by Luke C posted on
Hi Gordon, thanks for your comment.
We'll share more details about the timescales and when these changes will come into effect over the coming months. We will give plenty of notice before you need to take any actions.
Comment by Yolanda posted on
Hi, we are a Trust & Corporate Service Provider registered in Ireland. Will it be a way for us to register to do third party filings?
Thanks in advance for your reply
Comment by Luke C posted on
Hi Yolanda, thanks for your comment.
To continue filing, you'll need to be AML supervised within the UK in order to become an ACSP, regardless of where your company is based. You can find guidance at http://www.gov.uk/anti-money-laundering-registration
Comment by David posted on
Please clarify , as a small bookkeeper practitioner , who is registered by HMRC "AML" , will they need to make an additional registration for ACSP
Comment by Luke C posted on
Hi David, thanks for your comment.
Anyone who intends to carry out identity checks and file information on behalf of other companies will need to register with Companies House as an ACSP, confirming that they are AML regulated.
Comment by Laszlo posted on
If I am both the director and the owner of my own company, and I am an EU citizen with no passport, only a national ID card, do I still need to complete the identity verification process? If so, when does it become mandatory, and how much time will companies be given to prepare?
Comment by Luke C posted on
Hi Laszlo, thanks for your comment.
Yes, you will need to verify your identity. We will give plenty of notice before you need to take any action, as well as publishing further guidance in advance before you need to do anything.
You can find out more about the accepted photo ID for GOV.UK One Login here: http://www.gov.uk/using-your-gov-uk-one-login/proving-your-identity
ACSPs will be able to consider a range of different documents to verify identities. We'll publish full guidance on the documents they will be able to use for verification in the future.
Comment by Jon E posted on
Do we yet know when these changes will be coming in?
Comment by Luke C posted on
Hi Jon, thanks for your comment.
We'll share more details about the timescales and when these changes will come into effect over the coming months. We will give plenty of notice before you need to take any actions.
Comment by Tony posted on
According to the Collins dictionary, in the "coming months" means:
"A coming event or time is an event or time that will happen soon."
Would you therefore agree that we may expect the changes will come into force this year.
Comment by Luke C posted on
Hi Tony, thanks for your comment.
We'll share more details about timescales when we can. We'll give you plenty of notice before you need to take any action.