Company law – UK Government publishes updated ECCTA transition plan

Companies House has updated its ECCTA transition plan, confirming a delay to the next phase of the IDV rollout

Companies House has published an updated transition plan which sets out its expected timeline for the commencement of the remaining key provisions of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA). 

This update follows the publication of the Government’s third progress report on the implementation of the ECCTA in June 2026 (see our blog post here on the third progress report). 

As anticipated, the introduction of identity verification (IDV) requirements for those filing on behalf of companies has been delayed from “no earlier than November 2026” to “no earlier than November 2027”.  Companies House has said that it will give at least six months’ notice before these requirements are brought into effect. The timing for the implementation of these requirements had already been delayed in January 2026 to allow Companies House to complete the first phase of the rollout of mandatory IDV – for directors and individual PSCs – under the ECCTA, and to reflect on feedback received from this first phase (see our blog post here for further details on this earlier delay).

The updated transition plan also anticipates that “by no earlier than the end of 2026”:

• limited partnerships will be subject to increased transparency requirements;
• the first phase of the rollout of mandatory IDV will be complete and Companies House will be able to commence steps to ensure compliance by those in-scope individuals who are in default; and 
• Companies House will be able to reject documents delivered by disqualified directors.