ACSP vs GOV.UK One Login: which Companies House identity verification route should you choose?

TL;DR. GOV.UK One Login is the free direct route where it supports your identity evidence. An ACSP charges for a supported review and submission service, with provider-specific targets. For overseas directors, non-standard documents, name mismatches, or a failed direct attempt, ask an ACSP to confirm eligibility before paying.

There's surprisingly little neutral information online about which verification route to use. Most ACSPs publish content that reads like a sales pitch for ACSPs. The official GOV.UK guidance, conversely, lists both routes equally without telling you which one to actually use. This piece tries to fix that.

We're an ACSP. We have an incentive to push you toward the paid route. But charging people who'd be better off using the free service is a bad long-term business — they refund-request, they leave bad reviews, they tell colleagues we're a scam. So we'd rather be straight with you.

The short answer

Read on for the reasoning behind each row.

How each route actually works

GOV.UK One Login

Open gov.uk/identity-verification-companies-house. You log in (or create a One Login account), then choose between:

• Biometric flow — open the GOV.UK ID Check app, scan your passport chip, do a 30-second selfie video. Total time: about 8 minutes if everything works first try.
• Document-based flow — upload photos of your ID and address proof, then answer 4–6 multiple-choice questions drawn from your UK credit file.

If you pass the direct flow, Companies House processes the verification and provides the Personal Code. Check the current official guidance for delivery and account-display details.

Cost: £0. Companies House charges nothing for identity verification. GOV.UK One Login is centrally funded.

ACSP

You choose an ACSP from the authorised provider register, pay them their fee, and submit your documents through their secure portal. A human reviewer at the ACSP authenticates the documents, runs sanctions checks, performs a video or selfie liveness check, and submits the verification record to Companies House.

After an ACSP submits an approved verification, Companies House processes the submission and controls Personal Code issuance and delivery. An ACSP should distinguish its own review and submission target from the time taken by Companies House.

Cost: £15–£100+ depending on provider and service tier.

The actual differences

Cost

Cost is the clearest difference. £0 vs £35–£45 typical. If money's a factor at all and you're eligible for One Login, it's a no-brainer.

Speed

If a filing deadline is close, check the current official route immediately. An ACSP may offer priority review, but it cannot control when Companies House issues or delivers the Personal Code.

Eligibility

This is the deciding factor for most people.

One Login requires either:

• A chip-enabled passport on the GOV.UK supported list, or
• A current UK credit footprint with enough data to answer KBA questions

ACSP providers may support a broader range of evidence, but acceptance depends on the provider's approved process, the applicant's documents, and applicable sanctions and risk checks.

If you don't fit One Login's narrow window, an ACSP is your only practical option.

Failure recovery

What happens when verification fails — for the kind of reason that's not your fault?

One Login failures:

• Automated, no human in the loop
• Lock-out after 3 failed attempts in 24 hours
• No appeal process
• No guidance on what failed (you get a generic "we couldn't verify your identity" message)

ACSP failures:

• A human reviewer caught the issue
• You get told what went wrong (name mismatch, address proof too old, selfie too dark)
• You can resubmit corrected documents same-day
• The ACSP can often work around minor issues that One Login can't (e.g., applying a transliteration adjustment for non-Latin names)

If you have any unusual situation — recent name change, non-standard ID, address discrepancy — an ACSP's human review is genuinely valuable.

Support during the process

One Login: a help page, no email, no phone. If you're stuck, you're stuck.

ACSP: depends entirely on the provider. Premium ACSPs have email + phone support and respond within hours. Cheap ACSPs sometimes have ticket-only support with 48-hour SLAs. Check before paying.

Liability for errors

One Login: you're responsible for the accuracy of what you submit. If you make a mistake, you fix it.

ACSP: the ACSP is responsible for verification accuracy. If they make a mistake (verify the wrong person, accept a fraudulent ID), Companies House can sanction them, and you have recourse against the ACSP under the standard regulated-service consumer protections. In practice this matters very rarely, but if you ever fall into a dispute about who's verified, the ACSP route gives you someone to call.

Privacy and data handling

One Login: data handled by HM Government under the Data Protection Act 2018 and UK GDPR. Strong protections, low audit visibility.

ACSP: data handled by a private firm under UK GDPR, with additional Companies House oversight as part of the ACSP authorisation. Some ACSPs publish detailed retention policies (typically 7 years for compliance reasons); others are vague.

If data minimisation matters to you (e.g., you don't want your passport scan held by a private firm for 7 years), One Login is the cleaner choice.

When an ACSP is genuinely worth the money

Even at our most honest, here's when paying makes sense:

1. You can't use One Login

The largest cohort. If your passport isn't supported and you don't have a UK credit footprint, you have no free option. An ACSP is your only route.

2. You've already failed One Login

If you've burned through your 3 attempts and don't know why, paying an ACSP to get it right is faster than waiting 24 hours and guessing again. The ACSP can tell you what failed — that's the value.

3. You have an edge case

Recent name change, common name with sanctions false-positive history, gender marker mismatch, jointly-held address proof, very recent arrival in the UK — all of these benefit from a human reviewer who can apply judgment.

4. You're filing a Confirmation Statement and you forgot

If a Confirmation Statement deadline is close and you do not have a Personal Code, check One Login eligibility or ask an ACSP to confirm its priority review and submission target immediately. Neither route should be described as guaranteeing Companies House issuance by a particular time.

5. You want the work delegated

If you genuinely don't want to think about it, paying £35 for someone else to handle the whole process is a legitimate trade-off. Time has value.

When an ACSP is not worth the money

Equally honest:

1. You have a current biometric UK passport and a UK credit footprint

One Login is free and can be quick for eligible applicants. If it supports your evidence and you do not need assisted review, a paid route may add no practical value.

2. You're being upsold "premium" packages

Some ACSPs bundle verification with company secretary services, registered office services, and "compliance monitoring" at £150–£500. If all you need is a Personal Code, you do not need the bundle. The Personal Code alone is enough.

3. The ACSP charges more than £60 for a standard application

Compare the published fee, evidence requirements, refund terms, support scope, and whether the provider separates its review target from Companies House processing time.

4. The ACSP refuses to tell you what's included

Vague pricing pages, "starting from" prices, hidden expedite fees — walk away. A legitimate ACSP publishes its fees and tells you exactly what you're getting before you pay.

5. The ACSP isn't on the official register

This is the deal-breaker. If they're not on the Companies House ACSP register, they cannot verify your identity for Companies House. They might be running a scam, or they might be a legitimate firm that hasn't yet been authorised — either way, they can't deliver what you're paying for. Always check the register before paying any provider.

The decision flow, one more time

START
  │
  ▼
Do you have a current biometric passport
  on the GOV.UK supported list?
  │       │
  │ YES   │ NO
  │       │
  │       ▼
  │   Use ACSP (this is your only route)
  │
  ▼
Do you have a UK credit history (mortgage,
  current account, credit card, 12+ months)?
  │       │
  │ YES   │ NO
  │       │
  ▼       ▼
Use     Try One Login biometric flow first.
One     If it fails, use ACSP.
Login

These two questions are a useful starting point, but document eligibility and individual circumstances still need to be checked.

The brutal honest summary

We make money when you use an ACSP. So you'd expect us to argue that ACSPs are better.

But the truth is: GOV.UK One Login is a genuinely good service for the people it works for. If you can use it, use it. We'd rather earn your trust by being honest than earn £35 from someone who didn't need to pay.

We'd love your business if One Login doesn't work for you. Otherwise, save your money and bookmark us for next time.

Sources and references

• Companies House identity verification (gov.uk)
• GOV.UK One Login service
• Authorised Corporate Service Provider register
• Companies Act 2006 — Section 853A (criminal offence for failure to verify)

Still not sure which route is right for you?

If you're on the fence, here's the simplest test: try GOV.UK One Login first. It's free. If it works, you're done. If it doesn't, the failure tells you whether you need an ACSP.

If you already know you need an ACSP, see our pricing.