Why Is My Companies House Director ID Verification Failing?

The mandatory Companies House Director ID verification requirement came into force from 18th November 2025.

For most people, the free Gov.UK One process works fine. I've got a step-by-step guide with video of this process here. However, as a registered ASCP (Authorised Corporate Service Provider) in Bromley, London, I've fielded 30+ queries where the process has not worked.

These are my findings so far and I'll update this blog post over time when I get more information.

General Findings So Far

🤩 directors are doing their best to comply with the requirements

📅 directors generally understand that the 18th November was the start of the requirement rather than the hard deadline

☎️ the helpline is a horrible experience if the automated process has failed for you. It looks like they are overwhelmed and there are long waiting times. Specifically, if the process has failed then they are not allowed to tell you why, which is super frustrating.

📮 the post office verification option isn't working. This is because part of this process also requires a Gov.UK One account. The guidance for this process is here (Companies House Link).

😢 the real "feels bad" story was a call from an 84 year old woman who never owned a passport or driving licence. It sounded like I was her last resort and I simply couldn't help her. She was trying her best but hers was the ultimate edge case. There isn't a digitally excluded option for this requirement. She was going to write to her MP.

Why Is My Companies House Director ID Verification Failing?

The known reasons so far are:

• Broken NFC chip in your passport. This seems to be the number 1 reason because the Gov.UK One process relies on this. If you phone up Companies House, they will guide you to a ACSP.
  

• Incorrectly input characters from your passport or driving licence. Be careful with zeros (0) and ohs (O)!
  

• Too many failed attempts seem to cause a permanent system lockout

My speculations based on what the callers have told me are:

• Middle names! Is your middle name cut off on your ID? Does it match with Companies House?
  

• Recently changed surname
  

• Name mismatch with Companies House
  

• Home address not matching with official systems. This will be similar to credit report issues from not keeping your address up to date on official documents. This is a possible reason for the "we could not find a match when we checked your details with another organisation" error that you could be emailed with.

What Can I Do?

Use Alongside Accounting's director ID verification service to get around the above issues: https://www.alongsideaccounting.com/verify-director-id