ECCTA Verification for Migrant Founders: The ACSP Route
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) introduced mandatory identity verification for every UK Ltd director and PSC (Person of Significant Control). Mandatory for new directors from 18 November 2025; rolling deadline through 2026 for existing directors via the next confirmation statement. For UK passport holders, verification is done directly via Companies House Online with a UK passport plus address evidence. For migrant founders without a UK passport, verification routes through an ACSP (Authorised Corporate Service Provider). This guide covers the ACSP route, the documents required, the cost, and the lender-side implications of ECCTA verification for any UK SMB loan application.
Director, BestBusinessLoans
Oliver leads BestBusinessLoans's editorial reviews and methodology. With a background in UK commercial finance, he oversees lender research, rate verification and review independence.
Last reviewed: 10 May 2026
What ECCTA requires
Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, every Ltd director and every PSC must complete identity verification at Companies House. The verification confirms the person matches the Companies House record. The verification is one-off; once complete, the founder carries a verified status across all current and future Ltd directorships. The verification is not the same as KYC or AML at a bank; it is a Companies House public-record assurance that the named director is a real person with verified ID. Lenders cannot underwrite a Ltd loan without ECCTA-verified directors as of late 2025 onwards because the public-record check fails on unverified directors.
Direct verification (UK passport route)
A founder with a UK passport verifies directly via Companies House Online or the Companies House mobile app. The flow asks for the UK passport details, biometric photo, proof of UK address (utility bill, bank statement under 3 months old), and the founder Companies House sign-in. Verification typically completes in 24 to 48 hours. No cost. Applies to UK-naturalised founders with UK passports as well as British-born founders.
ACSP route for non-UK passport holders
Migrant founders without a UK passport verify through an ACSP. ACSPs are regulated UK accountants, formation agents and law firms authorised by Companies House to perform identity verification. The founder presents a non-UK passport (any country) plus proof of UK address (utility bill, bank statement under 3 months old, council-tax bill) plus a current photograph. The ACSP performs the verification and submits the result to Companies House. Cost typically £50 to £150 per founder, one-off. Verification typically completes in 5 to 10 working days. The full ACSP register is published at the Companies House gov.uk register page.
Multi-director Ltds: every director and PSC verifies separately
A Ltd company with multiple directors and PSCs needs every named individual verified. A single unverified director or PSC blocks the company from filing the next confirmation statement, which compounds quickly into an inactive Companies House record and lender no-fly status. The realistic move for any multi-director migrant-founder Ltd is to plan ECCTA verification for every named individual at the same time, through the same ACSP, before the next confirmation statement falls due. ACSPs offer multi-director packages at modest discount.
Lender-side implications
UK SMB lenders pull Companies House records as part of underwriting. Unverified directors flag immediately at the public-record stage and trigger a hard pause on the application until verification completes. Lenders do not perform ECCTA verification themselves; the founder must complete the verification before applying. A Ltd with all directors and PSCs verified, clean confirmation statement, current registered office and accurate director and PSC list sits cleanly within underwriting. ECCTA verification is now point 5 of the BBL pre-application checklist (see business-loan-checklist-pre-application).
Multilingual ACSP support
A growing number of UK ACSPs offer multilingual verification: Polish, Romanian, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil, Vietnamese, Arabic, Mandarin, Cantonese. The verification documents (passport, address evidence) work the same regardless of language; the language support is on the customer-service side (intake, document explanation, verification confirmation). Founder communities often share preferred ACSPs through community accountant networks; our broker panel includes accountants with multilingual ACSP capacity for routine referrals.
FAQ
How long does ACSP verification take?
5 to 10 working days end-to-end for a typical case. The time breaks down: 1 to 2 days for ACSP intake and document collection, 2 to 4 days for the verification process itself, 1 to 4 days for the Companies House update to flow through. Faster turnaround is sometimes available at premium ACSPs for urgent cases.
Can my UK accountant be the ACSP?
Only if the accountant is on the Companies House ACSP register. The register lists authorised ACSPs by name; the accountant either is on the register or not. Most regulated accountancy firms (those holding ICAEW, ACCA or CIMA practising certificates and a money-laundering supervisory body registration) qualify and have registered. Smaller bookkeeping practices may not have ACSP authorisation; verify before instructing.
Does ECCTA verification expire?
No, the verification is permanent. Once verified, the founder carries the verified status across all current and future Ltd directorships. Companies House may request re-verification in cases of significant identity change (legal name change) or for fraud-prevention reasons, but routine re-verification is not required.
What if my passport expires or my address changes after verification?
The verification persists; the founder is verified, the supporting documents are not. Address updates flow through Companies House as standard director-record updates. Passport renewal does not invalidate the verification. Significant identity changes (legal name change, formal residency change) may need re-verification through the ACSP at modest cost.
Can a non-UK-resident director be ECCTA-verified?
Yes. ECCTA verification is identity-based, not residence-based. A non-UK-resident director uses a non-UK passport plus a non-UK address evidence (where the ACSP accepts non-UK address) and verifies through an ACSP that handles international cases. Some ACSPs specialise in international director verification for foreign-owned UK Ltds; the cost is somewhat higher (£100 to £250 per director) reflecting the additional document handling.
Will ECCTA verification show up on the Companies House public record?
Yes, in the form of a verified-status flag on the director record. The supporting documents (passport details, address evidence) are not published; only the verified-status flag is public. Lenders, banks and counterparties can rely on the public-record flag without separately verifying the underlying documents.
How does ECCTA interact with UK Sharia-compliant finance applications?
The same way it interacts with any UK SMB finance application: every director and PSC must be ECCTA-verified before the lender can underwrite. UK Sharia banks (Al Rayan Bank, Gatehouse Bank, BLME, QIB UK) follow the same Companies House public-record process as any UK lender. Migrant founders applying for Sharia commercial finance need the same ACSP verification as for conventional finance.
Reviewed by Oliver Mackman, Director. Last reviewed: 2026-05-10.