BRITVEX ADVISORY LTD · COMPANIES HOUSE TROUBLESHOOTING · Editorial review: 11 November 2026

Quick answer: If your Companies House personal code is missing, rejected or not recognized, first confirm that you have completed identity verification and are using your 11-character personal code, not the company’s authentication code. Find the code in the Companies House account linked to the verification or the email used by your Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). If the code exists but cannot be linked to your director or person-with-significant-control (PSC) role, check for incorrect date-of-birth information and whether the ACSP submitted different identity details. Do not repeat identity verification simply because a filing fails unless Companies House instructs you to do so.

This guide is for someone who is already trying to use a Companies House personal code or whose identity verification has stalled. It is not another general introduction to the new identity-verification regime. Britvex’s Companies House identity-verification service covers who needs to verify and the verification routes; this article focuses on diagnosing and resolving actual problems. For help with a verification order, use the Britvex ACSP enquiry. For an existing company filing or data correction, use our Get a Quote.

First identify which problem you actually have

People often describe four different failures as “my personal code doesn’t work”: no code was received, a code cannot be found, a code is refused when entered, or an identity-verified director/PSC has not yet connected the code to the correct role. The remedy depends on the stage.

Treat these as diagnostic categories, not official error messages. Take a screenshot of the exact wording for your own secure support record, but do not share the personal code, full date of birth or identification documents publicly.

What is the Companies House personal code and what is it not?

A Companies House personal code is 11 characters. Companies House issues it following successful verification of an individual, whether the check is completed through GOV.UK One Login or a registered ACSP. It belongs to you as a person, not to one company and not to each directorship separately. You normally verify your identity once and use the same code whenever the rules require you to connect another role.

A personal code is not a Companies House company authentication code, a Government Gateway reference, an HMRC UTR, an email one-time passcode or a company registration number. Your company authentication code helps authorize certain company filings; it does not prove a director’s identity. The personal code must be entered in the identity-verification step for the relevant filing or PSC service.

The personal code should be kept secure and shared only with a person legitimately filing on your behalf. Do not place it on a public website, a CV, an unencrypted public document or a social-media screenshot. Companies House can replace a code believed compromised, cancelling the old one.

Where to find your personal code after GOV.UK One Login verification

Step 1: use the account linked to the identity check

Sign in to Companies House using the details associated with the identity-verification process and open Manage account to find the personal code. Companies House says you should use the same email address used when verifying. Logging into a different Companies House account can make a successfully issued code appear to be missing.

According to the updated Companies House guidance, people who completed verification through GOV.UK One Login after 8 July 2026 also receive the code by email. This is historical context about the delivery method, not a guarantee that every previously verified person will have an original email copy. The account’s Manage account area remains an important retrieval route.

Step 2: check if the verification actually completed

Starting the GOV.UK One Login process, scanning a passport or visiting a Post Office is not always the same as receiving a successful result. If you used the Post Office route, look for the GOV.UK verification result. Once successful, sign in to Companies House to view the code. If the result is incomplete or failed, follow the supported verification-help route rather than treating a missing code as proof that the identity check succeeded.

Step 3: review email and account-access issues

Check the email address used, inbox filters, spam/junk, and whether you have more than one login. For login trouble, use official account recovery rather than sending passwords or multi-factor authentication codes to anyone claiming to be an agent. A Companies House sign-in change does not itself mean you must verify your identity a second time.

Where to find your personal code after an ACSP verified you

If an approved ACSP such as Britvex verified your identity, Companies House sends the personal code to the email address the agent submitted. The ACSP performs the checks and reports the result; it does not invent or issue the code itself. Companies House says the email is normally sent within a few hours, although delivery and investigation can vary.

If no code arrives:

1. Confirm with the ACSP that it completed the verification and reported a successful outcome.
2. Check the precise email address the ACSP supplied—not just the address you normally use for company filing.
3. Check spam, junk and filtered email folders.
4. If the agent entered the wrong email address, ask it to correct the verification details through the permitted Companies House process.
5. If the email was correct, follow Companies House guidance to contact the authority and ask for the ACSP team to resend the code email.
6. When you have the code, consider saving it to your Companies House account so you can retrieve it later.

Britvex can investigate an identity-check case that Britvex actually handled, subject to client authentication and the relevant records. If another ACSP completed the verification, that agent is normally the first contact for its submission details.

The error says your personal details do not match Companies House records

This is one of the most important technical causes of a code that appears invalid. The identity data linked to the code must match the person’s details on the Companies House register when the code is connected to the director or PSC role. Companies House identifies three common issues: incorrect code entry, an incorrect date of birth in company records, and inaccurate details reported by the ACSP.

Check the code, role and company first

Enter the full 11-character personal code, copying it from the original secure source. Ensure you have not substituted the company authentication code or typed an extra space. Then verify you are completing the right service for the correct company and individual. A code for a real person cannot be used to satisfy someone else’s director appointment.

Check the date of birth on the company record

If the date of birth held for an appointment is wrong, simply typing the correct date into a new form may not fix the underlying filed record. Companies House directs businesses to replace the original filing that contained the wrong date of birth, depending on how the person first became a director or PSC. Its correction guidance explains the route.

For example, where a director was appointed through AP01 after company formation, the correction may be made through a WebFiling replacement of the earlier appointment. Different procedures apply to original incorporation (IN01), a later PSC01 filing, PSC entries originally reported via CS01, or historical appointments. Do not submit whichever form looks familiar without checking the company’s filing history.

Allow time for Companies House to process a correction

Companies House has published that correcting a date of birth may take up to 20 working days in periods of high demand. The corrected detail must appear on the register before the verification connection can be completed. This is a reported processing indication, not a deadline guarantee. Starting the correction early is crucial where a confirmation statement or PSC identity deadline is approaching.

Check the details the ACSP reported

If an ACSP checked the identity, ask it to review the information reported to Companies House against the supporting identity documents and the register. The ACSP may need to update the verification details. Do not alter the person’s actual identity data or reverify with inconsistent dates merely to make a form pass.

Director verification: code rejected during a confirmation statement

For an existing director, the personal code is generally supplied as part of the company’s next confirmation statement filing. Where several directors are appointed, do not assume that the code of one verified director covers the rest. Each required individual needs the appropriate verified identity and code connection.

The statement can fail because the director has not completed verification, the code is wrong, dates of birth do not match, or the filer is attempting the wrong step. Review the company record and directors one by one before submitting again. Britvex’s confirmation statement service can be connected to a broader company compliance review where appropriate.

Why the deadline is not a single universal calendar date

Companies House applies role-specific timing. Existing directors must provide their code in connection with the relevant confirmation statement. The published guidance explains a 14-day period beginning the day after the company’s confirmation-statement date; filing the statement early does not bring that prescribed period forward. Individuals who become directors now must complete identity verification before appointment and provide their code in the relevant appointment or incorporation process.

Because each company has different statement dates, telling everyone to “wait until the final transition date” can cause missed deadlines. Check the company’s actual public register and filing timetable instead. Companies House: When you need to verify contains the role-specific rules.

PSC verification: why the same code needs a different submission

A person with significant control (PSC) can be a director of the same company, but the roles have separate legal connection steps. Entering the personal code on the company’s confirmation statement for the director role does not necessarily complete the PSC requirement.

PSCs generally use Companies House’s separate Provide identity verification details for a PSC service. An existing PSC who is not a director of the same company has a 14-day filing period linked to the start of their birth month under the published arrangements. Someone who is also a director follows a timing route tied to their relevant director verification period. A new PSC has separate notification and submission rules. Check the exact personal deadline shown by the official service or register.

Can you submit a PSC personal code early?

Companies House says the PSC service may only allow submission once the prescribed 14-day window opens. A message that the window is not yet open is a timing issue, not necessarily a code failure. Use the official service to view the period and plan accordingly.

If the PSC needs more time

Companies House provides a way to request a 14-day extension for a PSC through the PSC verification-details service, subject to the official conditions. The request must be made before the relevant deadline has passed and within the permitted application period. Do not assume this extension exists automatically for every director’s filing obligation. If close to a deadline, preserve evidence and use the official service immediately.

One person, several companies or both director and PSC roles

Imagine a founder is a director of Companies A and B and a PSC of Company A. Once the founder successfully verifies their identity, one personal code generally belongs to that individual. They may still need to connect it through the required director filing for A, through the separate filing for B and through the PSC service for A. Three uses of the same code do not imply three separate identity checks.

Actual dates vary. Check each company record and individual role rather than applying a blanket date to everyone in a corporate group.

Is the code invalid because the person used a different email address?

The email issue depends on the stage. The email address used to sign in can affect where a GOV.UK One Login verification-linked code is visible. For an ACSP verification, the supplied email determines where Companies House delivers the code. Separately, WebFiling and Companies House accounts may need matching email arrangements when using relevant account features. None of these account issues makes a personal code belong to a company instead of an individual.

Do not create repeated identity-verification attempts under several email addresses as a trial-and-error method. First identify where the original successful verification is stored and recover access through the supported Companies House route.

Personal code missing, compromised or used by the wrong person

A genuinely lost code

Use Manage account or the verified ACSP email route above. For a successful ACSP check with a correct email address but missing delivery, Companies House guidance explains how to request the message again. A lost code does not itself require a second identity check.

A compromised code

Companies House can change a personal code if you believe it was disclosed improperly. It then sends the replacement and cancels the former code. If you suspect abuse, contact the authority through the published channel. An unauthorized person may hold a code, but that does not mean every company filing was legitimately authorized.

Someone claims to be an agent and asks for your full identity credentials

An appointed filing agent may legitimately need the personal code for a specific authorized filing, but you should not disclose your government login password, multi-factor authentication codes, full scanned passport or unrelated financial data over an unverified link. Confirm the agent and service relationship first. Britvex uses its secure portal for appropriate identity documents and engagement details.

A practical recovery workflow for business owners and staff

1. List the affected person, company and role. Establish whether this is a director appointment, confirmation statement, PSC submission or retrieval problem.
2. Check verification outcome. Confirm a successful One Login/ACSP check, not merely an application in progress.
3. Retrieve the original personal code. Go to Manage account or the Companies House message sent to the ACSP-supplied email.
4. Read the exact failure text. Distinguish missing code, mismatched personal details and the wrong filing window.
5. Compare the register. Confirm the director/PSC and date of birth records through the proper authorized channel.
6. Correct the source. Replace a wrongly filed birth date; get the verifying ACSP to correct its reported data if required.
7. Check the deadline and any permitted extension. Do not rely on a universal transition date.
8. Submit through the correct role-specific process. Preserve the acknowledgment and verify the filing status.

For companies with numerous officers and PSCs, create a protected tracking sheet showing each person, company, role, verification outcome, date, code held securely and filing status. Never put the code itself in an ordinary shared spreadsheet. Use a secure access-controlled system instead.

Case study: a rejected code during a company filing

A company has three directors. Director A successfully verified via GOV.UK One Login and retrieves an 11-character code. Director B was verified by an ACSP but is checking the wrong email account. Director C’s date of birth was entered incorrectly on an older AP01 appointment filing. The company’s confirmation statement cannot be completed as expected.

• A: retrieve and submit the existing personal code through the appropriate director step.
• B: ask the ACSP to confirm the email it submitted; recover the Companies House email or request permitted correction/resending.
• C: locate the original AP01 appointment in filing history, use the official correction route and allow processing time.
• Company: check the applicable statement deadline and coordinate any necessary formal assistance. Do not pretend A’s valid code covers B and C.

The work is a record-matching and filing workflow, not three new identity verifications. This example is illustrative; particular circumstances may require Companies House support.

When Britvex ACSP support is useful—and its limits

Britvex is an approved Companies House Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) and is supervised by HMRC for anti-money laundering purposes. We can offer an agreed-fee identity-verification service, and in scope can review verification status, supporting evidence, mismatches and related Companies House compliance work. Where the original verification was performed by Britvex, we can investigate details of that ACSP submission after authenticating the client. Companies House issues the personal code, not Britvex, and ultimately controls any replacement or account correction.

A new paid verification is not automatically required because someone lost a code. GOV.UK One Login provides a free self-verification route when the user can complete it. Britvex’s optional service is appropriate where the client chooses an ACSP or needs coordinated assistance that is within Britvex’s professional scope. Fees should be confirmed before any work starts.

Need help with a code, verification or filing? Use the Britvex identity-verification service, order ACSP verification, or use the Get a Quote form and select Confirmation statement or company changes if the issue is a company filing. You can also access the client portal and support. Telephone +44 20 3758 7500 or email info@britvex.co.uk.

Frequently asked questions

How many characters are in a Companies House personal code?

Companies House says it contains 11 characters and is issued to an individual after successful verification. It is separate from the company authentication code or HMRC login information.

Where can I find my personal code if I verified using GOV.UK One Login?

Sign in to the relevant Companies House account, using the email associated with the verification, and open Manage account. Check the official email as well if the code was sent after verification.

I verified through an ACSP but received no code. What should I do?

Contact the ACSP to confirm it submitted a successful check and the correct email. If the email was wrong, the ACSP must deal with that correction. If correct and the code email is missing, Companies House guidance provides an ACSP-team resend route.

Can Britvex give me a new Companies House personal code directly?

No. Companies House issues and can replace the personal code. Britvex can perform eligible ACSP identity checks and assist with its own submitted verification details or agreed company-compliance work.

Why does Companies House say my date of birth does not match?

The data linked to the code and the person’s registered director or PSC appointment may differ. Check the original filing and use the official date-of-birth correction process where the register is wrong; or ask the verifying ACSP to correct inaccurate data it submitted.

How long does a Companies House date-of-birth correction take?

Companies House says it may take up to 20 working days in periods of high demand. The update needs to be processed before a code can be connected if the mismatch is the cause. Actual handling times may vary.

Do I need a new personal code for every limited company?

No. Normally the same successfully verified person uses one personal code for each relevant directorship and PSC role, but must complete the required connection process for each role and company.

I am both a director and PSC. Do I enter the code twice?

You may need to provide the same code separately for your director role and PSC role. Director confirmation-statement filing does not by itself necessarily satisfy the separate PSC verification-details requirement.

Can I provide the PSC code before my 14-day period starts?

Companies House’s PSC service generally permits submission during the prescribed window. Check your actual dates through the official PSC service rather than treating an early-submission message as proof that the code is invalid.

Can I get an extension if I cannot complete PSC verification details on time?

Companies House provides a 14-day PSC extension request through the official service, subject to the rules and application period; it must be made before the deadline. Do not assume that the same extension applies to every director filing.

Should I verify myself again if my code is rejected?

Usually not. Companies House states that verification is generally only needed once and people should not verify again unless instructed. First identify a code-entry error, mismatched record, wrong account or role-specific filing issue.

What if my personal code has been shared with someone I do not trust?

Contact Companies House through its official contact route and request advice about replacement. Companies House can issue a new code and cancel the previous one if it has been compromised. Review who has authorized access to company filings.

Official sources and further reading

• Companies House: Personal codes — retrieval, use, data mismatches and replacement
• Companies House: Verifying your identity and the ACSP route
• Companies House: Correcting a date of birth
• Companies House: When your verification details are required
• Companies House: Provide PSC verification details or request an extension
• Companies House: Using an authorised agent
• Companies House: Identity-verification help

This guide is general information about UK Companies House processes, not individualized legal advice. Roles, appointment dates and correction routes affect the outcome. BRITVEX ADVISORY LTD is an approved ACSP and HMRC AML-supervised professional-services firm. Never email identity documents or personal codes to unknown parties.