Company law – regulations on identity verification for LLPs and overseas companies published

Regulations applying the company law provisions on identity verification (IDV) to limited liability partnerships (LLPs) and overseas companies have been published. 

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) is introducing IDV requirements for all new and existing company directors, people with significant control (PSCs) and those filing information with Companies House. 

The government has now: 

• published draft regulations under the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000 that apply the company law provisions on IDV to all new and existing members and PSCs of LLPs; and
• made regulations under the ECCTA that apply the provisions on IDV to: (i) the directors and PSCs of unregistered companies; and (ii) the directors of overseas companies with establishments, or branches, in the UK. 

These follow the publication of regulations and rules that set out the detail of how the IDV regime will work in practice for companies – The Registrar (Identity Verification and Authorised Corporate Service Providers) Regulations 2025, made in January 2025, and the Companies House rules, published in February 2025 (see our blog posts here and here).

Individuals can verify their identity in a number of ways, including directly with Companies House (using GOV.UK One Login) or through an authorised corporate service provider – see our blog post here for more detail. For a full summary of the changes to company law and Companies House being made by the ECCTA, see our overview and series of snapshots available here.

The provisions on IDV in both sets of regulations will come into force when the equivalent company law provisions in the ECCTA are brought into force, expected to be in autumn 2025.