How to get your Personal Code from Companies House: step-by-step (2026)

TL;DR. The Personal Code is a 16-character identifier you receive after Companies House verifies your identity. The free way is GOV.UK One Login — 8 minutes if you have a current biometric passport and a UK credit footprint. The paid way is an ACSP (£15–£60 typical) for everyone else. Below is the exact process, the documents you need at each step, and the specific failure modes that send people back to square one.

There's plenty of generic "what is a Personal Code" content out there. This isn't that. This is the actual flow, written for someone who needs to get it done this week.

What a Personal Code is, in one paragraph

A Personal Code is a permanent 16-character alphanumeric identifier issued by Companies House after you complete identity verification. It looks like K7H2-9PXM-3LRN-8QWE. You quote it on every Companies House filing you ever make — incorporation, director appointment, Confirmation Statement, share allotment, everything. It is tied to you, not to any specific company. If you're a director of three companies, you use the same Personal Code on all three. If you stop being a director and come back ten years later, you still use the same code.

It is not a password. The Personal Code itself is not used for login — your GOV.UK One Login or your filing software credentials still do that. The Personal Code is an identifier. Think of it like a National Insurance number: not secret, but worth treating carefully.

Before you start: the four questions that determine your route

Ask yourself these before opening anything. They take 30 seconds and will save you an hour of clicking.

1. Do you hold a current chip-enabled passport?

If yes, and it's from a country on the GOV.UK ID Check app's supported list (see the current list), the biometric route via One Login will probably work. If no — skip One Login's biometric flow entirely.

2. Do you have a UK credit footprint?

The document-based fallback inside One Login asks knowledge-based authentication questions drawn from your UK credit file. If you have a UK mortgage, current account, or credit card with at least 12 months of history, this works. If you're a non-UK resident, recent arrival, or have a thin file — it won't.

3. Does your name match the Companies House register exactly?

Go to Companies House WebCheck and look up your company. Check your name and date of birth exactly as held. If the name on your passport differs (married name, anglicised name, transliterated name) — fix the register first with form CH01 (directors) or PSC04 (PSCs). Verifying with mismatched names is the single most common reason for failed applications.

4. Are you in a rush?

One Login issues the Personal Code within a few hours, usually faster. ACSPs typically deliver in 1–3 working days. If your Confirmation Statement is due in 48 hours and you've left it late, One Login is the only realistic free option; the priority tier of an ACSP (24-hour delivery, usually £45–£100) is the realistic paid option.

Route A: GOV.UK One Login (free, ~8 minutes)

Open https://www.gov.uk/identity-verification-companies-house and click the green button. You'll be redirected to GOV.UK One Login.

Step 1: Sign in or create a One Login account

If you've used HMRC's personal tax account, the Tell Us Once service, or renewed a UK passport online in the last few years, you probably already have a One Login. Use the same credentials.

If you don't have one, creating an account takes 2 minutes — email address, password, and a 2FA method (authenticator app or SMS).

Step 2: Start identity verification

After login, choose "Verify my identity for Companies House". One Login will ask whether you want to use the biometric flow (smartphone app) or the document-based flow.

Step 3a: Biometric flow (smartphone)

You'll be given a QR code on screen. Open the GOV.UK ID Check app on your phone (download it from the App Store or Google Play if you haven't already), scan the QR code, then follow the in-app instructions:

Photo of the photo page of your passport. Hold the phone steady, fill the frame.
Chip scan. Hold the phone against the back cover of the passport. The chip is embedded near the cover, not the photo page — if it's not reading, slide the phone slowly across the back cover until it picks up.
Selfie video. You'll be asked to read three random words aloud while the camera films you. This is the liveness check — it confirms you're a real person, not a static photo or a deepfake.

If everything passes, you'll see a green tick within 60 seconds. Close the app, return to the One Login web page, and click "Continue". Your Personal Code is issued and emailed to you within minutes.

Step 3b: Document-based flow (no app)

If you don't have a phone, don't have a chip-enabled passport, or just prefer not to use the app, you can use the document-based flow. You'll:

Upload photos of your photo ID and one address proof.
Answer 4–6 knowledge-based authentication (KBA) questions drawn from your UK credit file. Examples: "Which of these is a previous address?" and "Which lender holds your current mortgage?"

If you get the KBA questions right, your identity is verified and the Personal Code is issued. If you get more than two wrong, you're locked out for 24 hours and must try again.

Step 4: Receive your Personal Code

You'll see the Personal Code on screen at the end of the flow and receive it by email. Save it immediately — to a password manager, a printed copy in a locked drawer, or a secure note. You'll need it on every filing.

It will also appear automatically in your Companies House WebFiling profile within 24 hours.

Route B: ACSP (paid, 1–3 working days)

Use this route if One Login isn't an option — your passport isn't supported, you don't have a UK credit footprint, you've already tried and failed, or you simply want someone else to handle it.

Step 1: Choose an ACSP

Browse the register of authorised ACSPs. There are hundreds. A few practical filters:

Price range. £15–£35 for basic services, £35–£60 for standalone verification with named support, £60–£100+ for overseas-director services with notarisation handling.
Delivery time. Standard delivery is 3 working days. Priority delivery is 1 working day at most providers; same-day exists at a few but costs more.
Specialism. Some ACSPs cater to UK residents only; others specialise in overseas verification, complex name changes, or trust structures.

Step 2: Submit your documents

You'll typically be asked for:

Photo ID: passport, BRP, or EU/EEA national ID card. Some ACSPs accept UK driving licences as a backup.
Address proof: utility bill, bank statement, council tax bill, or HMRC letter, dated within the last 3 months.
A short selfie or live video call. Required by most ACSPs to confirm you're the person on the ID.
The company number and your role. So the ACSP can cross-check against the Companies House register.

ACSPs usually have a secure upload portal. Don't email passports to a generic inbox — if the ACSP only accepts email, that's a red flag.

Step 3: Review and verification

A human reviewer at the ACSP runs your documents through:

A document authenticity check (passport MRZ verification, hologram check)
A liveness check on the selfie or video
Sanctions/PEP screening
Cross-check against your Companies House record

This is where most rejections happen. If the ACSP finds a name mismatch or an unreadable address proof, they'll come back to you. Good ACSPs do this within hours of submission; bad ones leave you in a queue for days.

Step 4: Personal Code issued

When the ACSP confirms your identity, they submit the verification record to Companies House. The Personal Code is issued within 1 hour and the ACSP emails it to you.

It's the same Personal Code you would have received from One Login — Companies House doesn't differentiate between routes. The route only affects how the verification was performed, not what you get out of it.

What gets people rejected

We've seen the same handful of failures repeatedly. None of them are interesting. All of them are avoidable.

Name doesn't match

If the register says "Robert James Smith" and your passport says "Bob Smith", verification will fail. Fix the register with CH01 (directors) or PSC04 (PSCs) before starting verification.

Address proof too old or wrong type

Utility bills more than 3 months old are rejected. So are mobile phone bills (Companies House and most ACSPs treat mobile contracts as too easily transferable). Joint statements addressed to "Mr & Mrs" are rejected unless your individual name is on the document.

Passport expired

Even if you only need IDV, an expired passport is rejected outright. Renew the passport first if it's expired or within 6 months of expiry.

Selfie too dark, too bright, or partially obscured

The liveness check is automated. Indirect natural light, no shadows, no glasses, no hat, neutral expression, mouth visible. Don't wear lipstick that washes out your lip definition.

Multiple attempts in a short window

One Login locks you out for 24 hours after 3 failed biometric attempts. Some ACSPs flag the same person trying repeatedly. If you've failed twice, stop and figure out why before trying again — usually it's one of the issues above.

Sanctions or PEP false-positive

Common names (Mohammed Khan, Wang Wei, John Smith) sometimes trigger sanctions matches against entirely different people. This isn't a rejection — it's a pause. The verifier asks for additional context and resolves it manually.

After you get the code

A few practical points that aren't obvious:

Store it like a passport number. Not secret, but worth protecting. Don't email it around.

Update WebFiling. If you use Companies House WebFiling, your profile will pick up the Personal Code automatically — but check that it shows on your profile within 24 hours of issuance. If it hasn't appeared after 48 hours, contact Companies House (the ACSP can chase if you used one).

Tell your accountant. If you have an accountant who files on your behalf, they need your Personal Code to make filings against your director record. Most accountants now ask for it on onboarding.

One code, every company. You don't need a new code each time you become a director. Same code, every company.

No expiry. The code doesn't expire. Your underlying passport can expire and be renewed; the code stays the same.

What if I'm not in a hurry?

Use the free route. There's no quality difference between One Login verification and ACSP verification — both produce the same Personal Code, both result in the same "verified" status on the public register.

Pay for an ACSP when:

The free route isn't open to you (overseas, no UK credit file, unsupported passport)
You've already failed the free route and don't know why
You need delivery in less than 3 working days
You have edge-case issues (name changes, sanctions false positives, complex trust structures) that benefit from a human reviewer

If none of those apply, pay zero and do it yourself in 8 minutes.

Sources and references

Get a Personal Code in 1–3 working days

If the free route isn't workable for your situation, VerifyDirector is an Authorised Corporate Service Provider that runs document-review verification with delivery in 3 working days standard, or 1 working day express.

See pricing — £35 standard, £45 express
Reading this from outside the UK? Our overseas director guide explains exactly what works from your country.

If you can use GOV.UK One Login, do that instead and save your money. We're only worth paying when the free route is closed.