The Government has recently announced its White Paper on proposed Companies House reforms. Whilst there is no timescale as yet for legislation to be passed, and it is acknowledged that there are significant hurdles, there are some major changes proposed to Companies House registration and ID verifications for directors and PSCs. In brief:

1. Each new and existing director and PSC will have to verify their identity with Companies House. They can either do this personally or through a third-party agent. If they do not then both they and the company are liable to sanctions and a civil penalty.

2. The process will be digital, with each director/PSC having to upload a passport/driving licence and then verifying it against a photo taken of them during the verification process. Once done, this will create an account that can be reused for appointments at different companies.

3. As a third-party presenter on behalf of clients, Eaton Smith will have an account with Companies House and can carry out the verification process on their behalf subject to receiving the relevant documents. The stated position is that verification by a third-party present should be no less onerous than by the individual verification process.

Any new appointment of directors will not be completed until a verified account of the director held by Companies House (either done individually or through a third party-agent) is crossed-checked against the details in the appointment document (AP01).

In addition:

4. Corporate directors will be banned unless:

• The corporate director only has directors who are natural persons;
• Each director has verified their identity through the above process; and
• The corporate director is based and registered in the UK.
  

5. Companies will need to have a statement of shareholders and this list will need to be updated annually (rather than the current Confirmation Statement).

6. As a consequence of the above, Companies House filing fees are to be increased. There is no confirmation as to quantum yet, but the aim is that they will be ‘internationally competitive’.

As an interesting aside, small companies will in the future have to file P&L accounts as well as a balance sheet. This is intended to move towards a ‘file once’ system with HMRC, where information submitted is shared with both agencies.