Changes to law relating to Identity verification
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 has been approved by Parliament and received the Royal Assent in October 2023. However, the first set of changes was only introduced in March 2024. The latest and one of the most anticipated changes to be introduced by the Act relates to an Identity verification process, which is due to come into force on 25th March 2025.
Under this new process, identity verification will be compulsory for new directors and people with significant control (PSCs), existing directors and PSCs, LLP members, and anyone acting on behalf of a company. Therefore, anyone wishing to incorporate, administer, own or control (or currently owns or controls) a company in the UK will have to verify their identity through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (“ACSP”).
As the identity verification is aimed to be introduced in phases over the coming months, there is nothing to be done by the directors, shareholders or LLP members at this stage. From 25th March this year, individuals will be able to voluntarily apply to verify their identity directly with Companies House or through an ACSP. Companies House aim to make this a compulsory requirement for all new and existing directors and PSCs by autumn 2025.
The registration process to become an ACSP opens on 25th February 2025 with each ACSP needing to be supervised within the UK by one of the relevant Anti-Money Laundering (AML) supervisory bodies. As a firm of Scrivener Notaries, Saville Notaries is supervised for AML by the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury and will be registering as an ACSP once the process is open.
If you or any of your clients are new or existing directors and PSCs, LLP members, or anyone acting on behalf of a company, Saville Notaries will be able to provide professional, fast and reliable services to help you navigate the changing landscape brought about by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. It is also an opportunity to be onboarded with the firm for notarisation and legalisation services, providing seamless KYC for overseas registries and banks.
For further information, please contact the governance team at governance@savillenotaries.com or any of the individuals below:
Rob Kerss – Partner, Scrivener Notary and Company Secretary – rkerss@savillenotaries.com
Saffiyah Mengrani – Associate and General Notary – smengrani@savillenotaries.com
Roman Egorov – Trainee – regorov@savillenotaries.com
Marta Prados – Trainee – mprados@savillenotaries.com