How to meet Companies House identity verification standard · Step 2: Get evidence to verify the person’s identity

Option 2

how to meet companies house identity verification standard step 2 get evidence to verify the person s identity documents that can be used as evidence option 2 · in force: unknown

Captured source text (L5)

Option 2

You must use option 2 if the documents are being checked by a person, either remotely or in person. You must be satisfied that the process you use is sufficient to validate the documents provided.

The person being verified will need to provide **2 documents in total**. They must provide **either**:

- 2 photographic identity documents from group A - 1 photographic identity document from group A, and 1 document from group B

If the person you’re verifying does not live in the UK, they must provide at least one government issued document.

**Group A** documents they can provide are:

- passport or Irish passport card – these can be up to 18 months expired - identity card with biometric information from the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein - UK biometric residence permit (BRP) – these can be up to 18 months expired - UK biometric residence card (BRC) - UK accredited PASS card - UK or EU driver digital tachograph card - UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and EU photocard driving licence (full or provisional) - UK HM Forces ID Card - UK HM Armed Forces Veteran Card - UK Frontier Worker permit - photographic work permit (government issued) - photographic immigration document - photographic visa - UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man firearms licence - another type of [photographic ID listed on PRADO (opens in a new tab)](https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prado/en/prado-start-page.html)

**Group B** documents they can provide are:

- birth or adoption certificate - marriage or civil partnership certificate - non-photographic immigration document - non-photographic visa - non-photographic work permit - bank or building society statement - UK local authority or social housing rental agreement – this must be for the person’s current address - mortgage statement – this must be for the person’s current address - UK council tax statement – this must be for the person’s current address - utility bill – this must be for the person’s current address - insurance policy – this must be for the person’s current address

You will not need to provide a document reference number, expiry date, or country of issue for documents from group B.

Full captured verbatim text

You must use option 2 if the documents are being checked by a person, either remotely or in person. You must be satisfied that the process you use is sufficient to validate the documents provided.

The person being verified will need to provide **2 documents in total**. They must provide **either**:

- 2 photographic identity documents from group A
- 1 photographic identity document from group A, and 1 document from group B

If the person you’re verifying does not live in the UK, they must provide at least one government issued document.

**Group A** documents they can provide are:

- passport or Irish passport card – these can be up to 18 months expired
- identity card with biometric information from the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein
- UK biometric residence permit (BRP) – these can be up to 18 months expired
- UK biometric residence card (BRC)
- UK accredited PASS card
- UK or EU driver digital tachograph card
- UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and EU photocard driving licence (full or provisional)
- UK HM Forces ID Card
- UK HM Armed Forces Veteran Card
- UK Frontier Worker permit
- photographic work permit (government issued)
- photographic immigration document
- photographic visa
- UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man firearms licence
- another type of [photographic ID listed on PRADO (opens in a new tab)](https://www.consilium.europa.eu/prado/en/prado-start-page.html)

**Group B** documents they can provide are:

- birth or adoption certificate
- marriage or civil partnership certificate
- non-photographic immigration document
- non-photographic visa
- non-photographic work permit
- bank or building society statement
- UK local authority or social housing rental agreement – this must be for the person’s current address
- mortgage statement – this must be for the person’s current address
- UK council tax statement – this must be for the person’s current address
- utility bill – this must be for the person’s current address
- insurance policy – this must be for the person’s current address

You will not need to provide a document reference number, expiry date, or country of issue for documents from group B.

What this provision means

Model summary, checked against the text on the left.

Relevance to Signicat: 3/3 · detailed summary (L4) Status: not needed for a short provision · Stored artifact; current recipe verification unavailable

Verifiers conducting human document checks must obtain two eligible documents according to Group A and Group B rules.

Only the one-line summary above is stored for this provision; the text itself is the evidence.

Refers to

No captured references.

Referred to by

No captured references.

Part summaries

0 of 0 parts have a verified summary.

L1 unavailable for current verification: the overall summary needs every part verified. Provisions and the verified summaries remain readable.

Verification findings (20)

synthesis coverage: missing/unverified L2 main

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:govuk/companies-house-idv-standard#how-to-meet-companies-house-identity-verification-standard-chunk-1

synthesis coverage: missing/unverified L2 step-1-ask-for-information-about-the-person

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:govuk/companies-house-idv-standard#how-to-meet-companies-house-identity-verification-standard-step-1-ask-for-information-about-the-person

synthesis coverage: missing/unverified L2 step-2-get-evidence-to-verify-the-person-s-identity

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:govuk/companies-house-idv-standard#how-to-meet-companies-house-identity-verification-standard-step-2-get-evidence-to-verify-the-person-s-identity

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:govuk/companies-house-idv-standard#how-to-meet-companies-house-identity-verification-standard-step-2-get-evidence-to-verify-the-person-s-identity-documents-that-can-be-used-as-evidence

synthesis coverage: missing/unverified L2 step-3-check-the-evidence-is-real

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:govuk/companies-house-idv-standard#how-to-meet-companies-house-identity-verification-standard-step-3-check-the-evidence-is-real

synthesis coverage: missing/unverified L2 step-4-check-it-is-a-real-identity-and-it-belongs-to-the-person-claiming-it

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:govuk/companies-house-idv-standard#how-to-meet-companies-house-identity-verification-standard-step-4-check-it-is-a-real-identity-and-it-belongs-to-the-person-claiming-it

synthesis coverage: missing/unverified L2 step-5-keep-records-of-the-identity-checks

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:govuk/companies-house-idv-standard#how-to-meet-companies-house-identity-verification-standard-step-5-keep-records-of-the-identity-checks

synthesis coverage: missing/unverified L2 step-6-decide-if-you-can-verify-the-person-s-identity

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:govuk/companies-house-idv-standard#how-to-meet-companies-house-identity-verification-standard-step-6-decide-if-you-can-verify-the-person-s-identity

synthesis coverage: missing evaluation uk:govuk/companies-house-idv-standard#how-to-meet-companies-house-identity-verification-standard-step-6-decide-if-you-can-verify-the-person-s-identity-if-you-can-verify-their-identity

Instrument tier unavailable

Change history as published

Documents that have been cancelled or replaced with a newer one are now on the list of documents that cannot be used as evidence to verify someone's identity. eVisa is now on the list of photographic identity documents someone can provide an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) when documents are being checked with identification document validation technology. Insurance policy is now on the list of Group B documents someone can provide an ACSP when documents are being checked by a person. · 2026-06-19T13:28:14Z

Update to 'Option 1'. For option 1, you must use identification document validation technology (IDVT) to validate the cryptographic features of the document. If the document does not have cryptographic features (for example, if it’s a non-chipped document such as a UK driving licence), the technology you use must be able to validate the physical security features to verify the document. · 2025-12-09T11:31:43Z

Bullet point for group A documents changed back to previous content: 'another type of photographic ID listed on PRADO'. · 2025-10-15T16:03:10Z

Bullet point updated for group A documents you can provide: 'another type of photographic ID from the EU, its member states, or other countries participating in PRADO'. · 2025-10-09T16:19:20Z

Updated wording in Option 1 and Option 2: 'photographic identity' documents. Amended wording in Step 3: 'Companies House cannot recommend any specific training providers but they must follow the Home Office best practice guide'. Added bullet to Step 4: 'insurance policy documents that show the person’s home address'. · 2025-09-05T10:03:17Z

Improvements to guidance following user feedback. · 2025-04-08T10:30:04Z

The service to voluntarily verify your identity will be available on Tuesday 8 April 2025. · 2025-03-12T10:00:05Z

Other ways to verify someone’s identity – The launch of the service to register as a Companies House authorised agent has been postponed. We’ll update this page when a new date is confirmed. · 2025-02-24T10:26:05Z

Added translation · 2025-02-19T00:00:00Z

Pending effects amendments not yet applied to this text

No captured pending effects.

Provenance

Every claim the system makes about this text is traceable to these identifiers.

Instrument: uk:govuk/companies-house-idv-standard
Part: Step 2: Get evidence to verify the person’s identity
Version: 1aea6a36c3e5a3bfe18a0f91…
Content hash: sha256 1b102431d865b929283c9c9a…
Source: gov.uk/guidance/how-to-meet-companies-house-identity-verification-standard