The rules

Companies House privacy changes under ECCTA: what changed and when

The biggest Companies House changes for personal privacy are the ones that came in on 4 March 2024, 21 July 2025 and 18 November 2025. Here's what each one did to the personal details of a director or ex-director, and what it didn't.

Updated 24 Oct 2026 · 7 min read · By Rayhaan Moughal, Sidekick Accounting

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) has reshaped Companies House over about two years. Most of the coverage is about fraud and transparency, so it's easy to miss the parts that touch your own name, address and date of birth.

The short version for individuals: more of your details can now be removed from old filings, new identity checks sit behind your filings, and nothing already on the register gets tidied up unless you apply. The rest of this guide covers the dates.

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act in one paragraph

The Act received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. It gave the registrar of companies stronger powers to query, reject and in some cases remove information, and it brought in identity verification for directors and people with significant control (PSCs). Commencement has been staged, which is why there isn't one "ECCTA day".

Royal Assent: 26 Oct 2023
First changes in force: 4 Mar 2024
More details removable: 21 Jul 2025
ID verification compulsory: 18 Nov 2025
Earliest for presenters: Nov 2027

Dates confirmed on GOV.UK, Companies House or ICAEW

Timeline of Companies House changes under ECCTA

What happened, and when

26 Oct 2023Royal AssentECCTA becomes law. Most provisions wait for later commencement.
4 Mar 2024First changes switch onNew registrar powers, a registered email address for every company and the "appropriate address" rule for registered offices.
8 Apr 2025Voluntary identity verification opensIndividuals can verify with Companies House ahead of the deadline.
21 Jul 2025Wider right to remove personal detailsYou can apply to remove the day of your date of birth, signatures and business occupation, alongside the existing home address route.
18 Nov 2025Identity verification becomes compulsoryApplies to directors and PSCs.
No earlier than Nov 2027Presenter and ACSP requirementsDelayed by 12 months, per ICAEW in August 2026.

What changed on 4 March 2024

From 4 March 2024 Companies House could challenge information it thought was wrong or inconsistent with the rest of the register, and in some cases remove it. It also started annotating the register where something may be misleading, according to the Companies House blog.

Two other rules from that date matter to people who used a home address as a company address:

Registered office: a company must have an "appropriate address" at all times, and a PO box doesn't qualify. If the registrar finds an inappropriate one, it swaps in a default address and the company has 28 days to supply a proper one.
Registered email address: every company must give one. It isn't published on the register.

If your home was your registered office, the appropriate-address rule is a good reason to move it. We cover that in home address used as a registered office.

Companies House privacy: the 21 July 2025 change

This is the one that matters most if you want old filings cleaned up. On GOV.UK, the page on removing your home address says that from Monday 21 July 2025 you can also apply to remove your day of date of birth, your signatures or your business occupation. Law firm summaries add that the 2025 regulations widened the situations in which a home address can be suppressed, with a live registered office still excluded.

What changed	What it means for your personal details
Day of birth	Removable on documents filed before 10 October 2015. Month and year stay
Signatures	Removable. Your printed name stays, and charge instruments, deeds and debentures are excluded
Business occupation	Removable where stating it was required, for example on an AP01 appointment
Home address	Route already existed. You need a replacement if you're still a serving officer

The fee is £34 per document. The application is form SR01, and a director service address is what you'd give as the replacement.

Companies House identity verification: who and when

GOV.UK says identity verification has been a legal requirement since 18 November 2025. Voluntary verification opened on 8 April 2025.

New directors: provide a personal code with the appointment filing, or when incorporating.
Existing directors: provide the code in the company's next confirmation statement. A 12-month transition period has been reported elsewhere, but the GOV.UK pages we checked didn't state one.
PSCs: each has a 14-day window to provide their code, with the dates set by when they were registered and whether they're also a director.

For your privacy this adds a layer of checking behind the filing. It doesn't change what the public register shows about you, and it doesn't remove anything from past documents.

Presenter and ACSP verification has been delayed

Presenters are the people who file documents, and ACSPs are the registered agents who file for others. ICAEW reported in August 2026 that the requirement for presenters to verify, or to file through an ACSP, is delayed by 12 months to no earlier than November 2027, with at least six months' notice from Companies House.

What we could confirm: the ICAEW article says this. What we couldn't: GOV.UK's identity verification page gives no date for ACSPs or presenters, and says verification for people who file will come "at a later date". Treat November 2027 as the earliest, not a fixed date.

What this means for a director or ex-director

Serving director: verify your identity, keep a service address on the register and consider removing old home address, signature and day-of-birth entries.
Ex-director: you're not caught by verification, but your old filings are still public. The 2025 change is for you.

If you want to see what's out there, run the free scan. The cost and process are on the page about how to remove your home address from Companies House.

Questions

What is the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act?

It's the 2023 Act of Parliament (2023 c. 56) that gave Companies House new powers to check and correct the register and introduced identity verification for directors and people with significant control. It received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023, and its changes have been switched on in stages since then.

Do I have to verify my identity with Companies House?

If you're a director or a person with significant control, yes. Identity verification became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025. New directors give their personal code when they're appointed, and existing directors give it in their company's next confirmation statement.

Are the 2025 Companies House changes retrospective?

Partly. The right to apply to remove a day of birth, signature or business occupation covers documents already on the register, but only if you apply and pay £34 per document. Identity verification looks forward and doesn't alter old filings.

Did the 2025 changes remove my details from old documents automatically?

No. Since 21 July 2025 you can apply to remove more types of personal detail from documents already on the register, but you still have to apply for each document and pay £34 per document. Nothing is cleaned up for you.

When do agents and accountants have to verify or register as ACSPs?

Not yet. The requirement for presenters (people who file documents) to verify, or file through a registered Authorised Corporate Service Provider, has been pushed back to no earlier than November 2027, according to ICAEW in August 2026. Companies House has said it will give at least six months' notice.