Companies House Compliance Updates – FAQ for Directors

1. What’s changed at Companies House?
Compliance is now stricter, with tighter checks on identity, filing accuracy, deadlines, and consistency across company records.

2. What is director identity verification?
Directors must verify their identity to be appointed and to continue acting as a director, improving transparency and accountability.

3. What if identity verification isn’t completed?
Directors may be unable to act, and the company could face compliance restrictions.

4. How are filing rules changing?
Late, incomplete, or inaccurate filings are more likely to be rejected and may lead to penalties.

5. What records are under closer review?
Director details, Persons of Significant Control (PSC), and ownership/shareholding information must match across all filings.

6. Why does data consistency matter?
Companies House is cross-checking records more closely. Inconsistencies may trigger queries, rejections, or enforcement action.

7. What should directors do now?

8. How can an accountant help?
Accountants can provide practical, ongoing support to help companies meet Companies House requirements using information supplied by the client.

They can also help manage filing deadlines to reduce the risk of late submissions, identify possible discrepancies between internal records and Companies House data, and advise on disclosure requirements relating to directors, ownership, and shareholdings.

In addition, accountants can highlight potential compliance issues based on the information available and support directors in understanding and meeting their ongoing reporting responsibilities.

9. What are the risks of non-compliance?
Penalties, rejected filings, director restrictions, and in serious cases, disqualification.

10. What’s the overall impact?
Directors now carry greater personal responsibility, with a stronger focus on accurate, consistent, and timely reporting.