ACSP registration explained: a UK accountancy firm's guide

What is an ACSP?

An Authorised Corporate Service Provider, or ACSP, is a firm registered with Companies House to verify the identity of directors and persons with significant control (PSCs) on a client's behalf, and to file documents at Companies House that require a verified identity.

ACSPs are typically accountancy firms, solicitors, company secretaries and trust and corporate service providers. The status was introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 and is operated by Companies House under Part 1 of that Act.

Do I need to register my firm as an ACSP?

No, registration is not compulsory. Your clients can verify themselves through GOV.UK One Login at no cost, and many will. The question is commercial, not regulatory.

Register as an ACSP if any of the following apply to your firm:

• You act for corporate clients who would rather pay you to handle compliance than do it themselves.
• You want to capture billable hours for identity verification work as a recoverable cost.
• You file regularly at Companies House on behalf of clients and want to continue doing so without each filing requiring the individual to verify separately.
• You have clients with overseas directors who would struggle with the GOV.UK One Login route.

Skip ACSP registration if your client base is small, mostly sole-director limited companies happy to self-verify, and your firm does not file at Companies House routinely on their behalf.

How much does ACSP registration cost?

The Companies House application fee is £55 at the time of writing. That is a one-off fee paid on application.

The fee is the small part. The real cost is the work involved in meeting and maintaining the ACSP standards: anti-money laundering (AML) supervision, internal procedures for identity checks, record-keeping, and ongoing reporting to Companies House.

Most accountancy firms registering as ACSPs are already AML-supervised through a recognised professional body (ICAEW, ACCA, AAT, CIOT or HMRC). If your firm is not already supervised, that gap must be closed before applying.

What can my firm do as an ACSP that it cannot do otherwise?

Three things that matter:

1. Verify identities on behalf of clients. You perform the photo ID and likeness checks yourself, under your ACSP authorisation, rather than asking the individual to do it via GOV.UK One Login.
2. Issue Personal Codes through Companies House on the client's behalf. The Personal Code is what links a verified identity to an appointment.
3. File documents at Companies House that require a verified identity, without each filing forcing the individual to verify separately first.

You also charge for the work. Many firms ACSP-route their larger corporate clients because the billable hours recover the cost of registration and process.

How do I apply for ACSP status?

The application is submitted directly to Companies House:

1. Confirm your firm is supervised for AML by a recognised professional body. If not, close that gap first.
2. Document your internal identity verification procedure. This covers how you check photo ID, how you confirm likeness, how you handle exception cases, and how you store evidence.
3. Apply through the Companies House ACSP application service. The fee is £55.
4. On approval, your firm receives an ACSP reference number. Use this whenever you act on a client's behalf at Companies House under the ACSP route.

Companies House publishes the current application guidance and forms on the GOV.UK website. Practice guidance from your professional body (ICAEW, ACCA, AAT) is also worth reading before applying.

What ongoing obligations come with being an ACSP?

• Continued AML supervision. Your firm must remain supervised throughout. Lapsing supervision suspends ACSP status.
• Record-keeping for every verification.You must retain evidence of every identity check you perform on a client's behalf for a period set by Companies House.
• Reporting suspicious activity. The ACSP role places you in the AML chain. Suspicious activity identified during a verification must be reported through the relevant channels (NCA SARs for AML, Companies House for register-specific concerns).
• Annual renewal and conduct review. Companies House conducts periodic reviews of ACSP conduct. Firms found to fall short of the standard can have their authorisation withdrawn.

ACSP vs self-verification: which path for which client?

You can mix both paths across your client base. A reasonable default split looks like this:

• ACSP-route: corporate clients with multiple directors and PSCs, clients you already file for routinely, clients with overseas directors, and clients who would rather pay than do the work themselves.
• Self-verify through GOV.UK One Login: sole- director limited companies with UK-resident directors, small clients on minimal compliance retainers, and any director who would rather handle it themselves.

Either way, your firm still needs to track the verification status of every officer and PSC across every client, store the evidence, chase the missing ones, and link each verification to the right confirmation statement deadline.

For the full per-client workflow, see the Companies House IDV 12-month transition checklist. For the mechanics of the self-verify path, see how to verify directors via GOV.UK One Login. For what a Personal Code is and how to store it safely, see Personal Codes explained.