Companies House opens registration for Authorised Corporate Service Providers
From 18 March 2025, accountants, lawyers, formation agents and other third parties could apply to Companies House to become Authorised Corporate Service Providers. ACSPs must be UK-based and supervised for anti-money laundering, and will verify clients' identities and file for them. Voluntary identity verification for individuals followed from 8 April 2025.
Companies House launched its service for third-party agents to register as Authorised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs) on 18 March 2025, the next stage of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA).
What changed
- Accountants, legal professionals, company formation agents and other corporate service providers can apply to register as an ACSP.
- An ACSP must be based in the UK, be registered with one of the UK's 25 anti-money laundering supervisory bodies, and keep records of the identity checks it carries out.
- The application must be made by someone in a senior role, such as a director, and needs the AML supervisor membership number.
- The registrar can suspend or end an ACSP's registration.
- Companies House expected up to 50,000 businesses to apply within 12 months.
What comes next (as announced)
- From 8 April 2025, individuals could verify their identity voluntarily through GOV.UK One Login or through an ACSP.
- Later, identity verification becomes compulsory for new directors and people with significant control (PSCs). Existing directors and PSCs verify over a 12-month transition, tied to the confirmation statement.
- Everyone filing for a company must be verified, and third-party agents must be ACSPs.
Who is affected
Agents that file at Companies House for clients, and companies that rely on them.
Later developments
Compulsory identity verification began on 18 November 2025. See our coverage of the rollout. Compulsory ACSP registration for agents filing on behalf of companies was later put back to no earlier than November 2027. See our coverage.