Any ACCA member in public practice who intends to provide identity verification services on behalf of their clients will need to register with Companies House to become an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (authorised agent). As per guidance, once presenter requirements take effect in November 2026, only registered ACSPs will be permitted to file on behalf of clients.

You can apply to become an authorised agent directly with Companies House; registration opened on 24 March 2025 and the fee to become an authorised agent is currently £63.

Authorised agents have also been able to submit identity verification (IDV) checks on behalf of clients since 8 April 2025 – refer to separate guidance on our AML hub regarding the process and responsibilities for agents providing IDV checking services.

To be eligible to become an authorised agent, firms will need to have a UK AML supervisor in place – if your firm is supervised by ACCA, this will ensure you meet this criterion. If you’re unsure whether or not you are, please refer to ACCA’s guidance note. If you do not meet the criteria outlined in the guidance, then you will need to take steps to determine who your AML supervisor is and make arrangements with the relevant body if you haven’t already.

When applying to Companies House to become an authorised agent, you will need to prove that ACCA is your firm’s AML supervisor; to do this you will need to provide Companies House with your firm’s name and firm registration number – this is different from your individual ACCA membership number (you can find your firm registration number by searching for your firm on ACCA’s firm directory).  The registration number can be found when you click on your firm name under your contact details.

If you provide your individual membership number instead of your firm registration number to Companies House they will reject your application as they will not be able to verify that your firm has an AML supervisor. This could lead to significant delays in becoming an authorised agent as you will need to resubmit with the correct firm registration number. You will also need to verify your identity so be sure to have the necessary approved identity documentation to hand.

ACCA provides a list of supervised firms to Companies House on a regular basis, and the applications are matched with these details. Some common reasons for an application being rejected are:

• incorrect AML ID – using your personal ACCA membership number instead of your supervised firm’s ID (please check on the ACCA directory for your firm ID).
• correct name format – eg using Ltd instead of Limited or vice versa. Although Companies House has been working on a solution to this issue, and in most cases it may not be an issue, you should try and match these details as they appear on the firm directory to avoid an erroneous rejection
• mismatched or truncated names - where dots or spaces are used interchangeably, eg ABC Limited vs A.B.C. Limited or A B C Limited. Again, try and ensure the name matches exactly as shown on the ACCA directory.

Once you have completed the registration process Companies House will set up an authorised agent account and issue you with agent codes (much like HMRC’s agent codes for authorised tax agents).

Legal requirements

There are certain legal requirements all ACSPs must adhere to once registered and any breaches of these could result in the account being suspended, the agent’s name being published on a suspension list and/or receiving a fine or a criminal prosecution. The key legal requirements are set out below.

Companies House authorised agents must comply with the following legal requirements:

1. The agent must always be registered with at least one Anti-Money Laundering (AML) supervisory body.
2. The agent must tell us if there is a change to any of the information we hold about the agent. They must do this within 14 days.
3. If we request it, the agent must provide more information:
   1. about the agent’s filings with Companies House
   2. about identity checks, if the agent verifies someone’s identity for Companies House
   3. to prove the agent is complying with their legal responsibilities
4. The agent must keep records of any identity checks for seven years, if they have verified someone’s identity for Companies House.

For full guidance, read 'Being an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP)'.

Useful resources     

Visit the ACCA AML hub for ACSP guidance