Companies House Crackdown: UK Demands Identity Verification Enforcement

Companies House has launched a major crackdown, sending nearly a million non-compliance letters to businesses failing to verify identities. This action, between November 2025 and May 2026, reveals significant disarray within the UK’s corporate registry, with 183,000 controlling shareholders still in default.

New Enforcement Powers Take Effect

Historically, Companies House lacked the authority to verify submitted information, making it vulnerable to misuse by kleptocrats and fraudsters. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECTA) has since empowered the registry with new identity verification capabilities, which began in November 2025.

• Full enforcement of ECTA is slated for November 2026, following a 12-month transitional period.
• Companies House can now impose penalties including disqualifications, fines, and criminal prosecution.
• The registry has already referred cases to the Insolvency Service, leading to 19 investigations.
• ECTA powers have been used to remove numerous fraudulent addresses and incorporation documents.

Remaining Gaps and Global Implications

Despite these advancements, gaps remain in the current program. It does not yet cover limited partnerships, corporate directors, or corporate members of LLPs, leaving potential avenues for exploitation.

Strong enforcement is crucial to validate these warnings and prevent criminals from exploiting the UK’s corporate system for financial crime. The integrity of the UK’s corporate registry is a key focus for the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which previously raised concerns in 2018. Transforming Companies House into a fully legitimate and verified database is considered essential for the global fight against financial crime.