Companies House identity letter is not a misconduct case
A Companies House letter about identity verification is a filing task, not evidence that you are suspected of misconduct. If you are a person with significant control (PSC) and not a director, and November is your birth month, you must give Companies House your personal code by 14 November 2026.
Directors and PSCs get these letters because identity checks have been required since 18 November 2025, not because a misconduct file has been opened. If you were a director before that date, the company gives your personal code with its next confirmation statement during the 12 months beginning 18 November 2025, ending on 17 November 2026. A PSC who is also a director then has 14 days from the day after the confirmation statement date. A PSC who is not a director has the first 14 days of their birth month. The commencement regulations set 1 November 2026 as the start for a November birthday. A default letter comes only after a missed date, sets out an offence, and says enforcement may follow without further notice. It is not a winding-up petition, a personal guarantee call, or a disqualification case. An authorised corporate service provider (ACSP) may charge for a check you can do free.
This week, search each company on the Companies House register and read the due date for every role. Verify once through GOV.UK One Login. Companies House says that service is free of charge. Do not post or email identity documents. Use accepted photo ID, or the bank or Post Office route if you live in the UK and have none. You get one personal code. Enter it on the confirmation statement for each director role. The company cannot file that statement until every director is verified. For each PSC role, use the Provide identity verification details for a PSC service, and only inside the 14-day window. An early confirmation statement does not move that window. If the window is still open, request a 14-day extension before the deadline. After the deadline, that route is closed.
If your date has passed, verify now. Acting as an unverified director is an offence under section 167M of the Companies Act 2006. A PSC who fails without a reasonable excuse commits an offence under section 790LT. In England and Wales the summary penalty for either offence is a fine. In Scotland and Northern Ireland it is a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, with a daily default fine. Companies House may prosecute, issue a financial penalty, or refer a director who keeps acting to the Insolvency Service. It treats three or more offences in five years as serious, and prosecution may then bring a conviction, a fine and disqualification. This letter does not start a wrongful trading case. Reply to a default letter inside the time it gives. A late reply will not be considered. An accepted representation usually pauses enforcement for up to two months.
Open the register today, list every role and date, and finish the free check before you pay an intermediary.
