What is an ACSP? Companies House ID Verification, Charges & Rules Guide

An Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) is a professional organisation officially registered and authorised by Companies House under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA). The ACSP framework fundamentally reshapes UK company administration by introducing a statutory gatekeeper layer: only authorised ACSPs, or individual directors acting directly through GOV.UK One Login, can verify identity or deliver statutory filings on behalf of companies to the registrar.

The statutory role and services of an ACSP: under ECCTA legislation, an ACSP is legally empowered to: (1) conduct remote identity verification on UK company directors, Persons with Significant Control (PSCs), and relevant officers to official government identity standards; (2) deliver verification statements directly to Companies House, enabling the issuance of a personal 11-character verification code; (3) incorporate new UK limited companies (Ltd), public companies (Plc), LLPs, and overseas company branch registrations; and (4) file statutory annual accounts, confirmation statements, and statutory register updates on behalf of client entities. Note on implementation timeline: while ACSP identity verification operates ahead of the mandatory director verification deadline, third-party statutory filing exclusively via authorised agents is phased by Companies House to take effect from late 2026.

Mandatory qualifications and AML supervision: becoming an ACSP is not a routine administrative registration. To secure and maintain ACSP status with Companies House, an organisation must: (1) be formally registered and supervised for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance by an approved UK supervisory body (such as AAT, ACCA, ICAEW, HMRC, or the Solicitors Regulation Authority); (2) satisfy comprehensive fit-and-proper tests for all owners, partners, and compliance principals; (3) verify identity to the Companies House identity verification standard, which can be met either with certified digital identity technology under the UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF) or by a trained person checking documents, the framework is not compulsory; and (4) keep records of any identity check carried out for Companies House for seven years. Fileminder Ltd is an authorised ACSP registered with Companies House and supervised by AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) for AML compliance.

ACSP charges and fee transparency: what do ACSPs charge for Companies House identity verification? Fees across the UK market vary substantially, and there is no published survey of them, so treat any range you are quoted, including ours, as a starting point rather than a market rate. Ask any provider what is included and whether there are processing fees on top. Fileminder's remote identity verification starts from £198 per director, and the Company Compliance and Managed Finance plans include it for one director. The price covers checking your documents (a current passport from any country; a national ID is first checked against the current Companies House standard), the identity check itself, and the submission to Companies House.

How to check the official Companies House ACSP publication list: before entrusting your passport or confidential corporate records to any third-party firm, you should verify their authorization. Companies House publishes an official list of registered Authorised Corporate Service Providers on GOV.UK who have consented to publish their details. You can look up providers by business name, town, or AML supervisory body. Engaging an unverified intermediary means they cannot deliver statutory identity confirmations to Companies House, leaving your director verification uncompleted.

Practical guidance for Arab and overseas directors: for directors based in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, or elsewhere across the Arab world, the ACSP route is often the most convenient pathway. While direct verification via GOV.UK One Login typically relies on a compatible smartphone app and biometric chip (or in-person UK Post Office verification for UK residents), overseas directors without UK biometric credentials or NFC capability often find working with an ACSP like Fileminder far more accessible. Authorised ACSPs can verify directors remotely using accepted international identity documents (including valid passports and eligible national IDs) backed by dedicated bilingual Arabic and English support during regional business hours.