VS01 Verification Statement Guide for PSCs (2025 Update)

From 18 November 2025, every individual who is a Person with Significant Control (PSC) must verify their identity and link their verified identity to each company or LLP where they are recorded as a PSC. Companies House will only accept PSC filings when the individual has completed verification and their Personal Verification Code (PVC) has been supplied.

This guide also explains how users of our company management portal can provide all PSC verification details electronically without completing or handling Companies House forms. Our system automatically incorporates the required information into the correct filings.

This guide explains:

• What the VS01 form is
• Who must use it
• How newly appointed PSCs provide their PVC
• How existing PSCs on 18 November 2025 provide their PVC
• How Companies House allocates the 14‑day submission window for existing PSCs
• What information the VS01 requires
• How it is filed

What is the VS01 form?

VS01 is Companies House’s new Verification Statement for individual PSCs. Its sole purpose is to allow an already‑verified PSC to submit their Personal Verification Code (PVC) for a specific company or LLP.

You submit one VS01 per PSC appointment. If someone is a PSC of four companies, four VS01 forms must be filed.

The VS01 is only used for:

• PSCs who were already listed on the public register on 18 November 2025, and
• PSCs whose PVC was not supplied when they were first notified after 18 November 2025.

Identity verification for PSCs: the starting point

Directors vs PSCs (important distinction)

Directors and PSCs both need to complete digital identity verification, but the way their Personal Verification Codes (PVCs) are submitted to Companies House is different:

• Directors do not use the VS01 form. Their PVC is supplied either at the point of appointment (via IN01/AP01) or through the first confirmation statement filed on or after 18 November 2025.
• PSCs, on the other hand, supply their PVC either during their PSC appointment notification (IN01/PSC01) or — for those already on the register on 18 November 2025 — via the VS01 Verification Statement.

The remainder of this guide explains the PSC‑specific VS01 process.

Authorised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs)

Authorised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs) – sometimes referred to as Companies House authorised agents – include regulated professionals such as company formation agents, accountants, and solicitors. ACSPs are approved by Companies House to carry out identity verification checks and can submit verification-related forms, including the VS01, on behalf of their clients. Using an ACSP often simplifies the process for PSCs and companies, particularly where multiple PSC appointments are involved.

Before a VS01 can be filed, every individual PSC must complete identity verification. This can be done:

• Directly through GOV.UK One Login (UK‑based applicants only), or
• Through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), such as Smart Formations.

Once verified, the individual receives a Personal Verification Code (PVC) — the official Companies House term for the unique code issued after identity verification. Some early industry discussions referred to a “Digital Verification Code (DVC)”, but this is not the correct terminology. Companies House uses PVC exclusively, and this guide follows that terminology.

PSCs in Companies Limited by Guarantee (LBGs)

Companies limited by guarantee (LBGs) typically operate on a one‑member‑one‑vote basis under the Model Articles for Companies Limited by Guarantee (the formal title for the standard guarantee company articles issued under the Companies Act 2006). In small LBGs with only a few members (for example, four or five), and where each member has identical voting rights and participates in major decisions, each member will usually meet PSC Condition 4 — “significant influence or control.” This is because each individual has a meaningful ability to influence how the company is run, even though no member exceeds the 25% voting threshold.

However, PSC status must always be assessed against all five statutory PSC conditions and the company’s actual constitution. Larger membership LBGs, or LBGs with delegated governance (for example, board‑controlled decision‑making or committee structures), may have fewer PSCs or none at all.

Further guidance on PSC requirements for LBGs will be provided within our own resources.

Newly appointed PSCs (from 18 November 2025)

Anyone who becomes a PSC on or after 18 November 2025 must provide their PVC at the same time they are notified to Companies House.

The PVC can be submitted on:

• IN01 – if the PSC is being notified during the formation of a new company;
• PSC01 / LLPSC01 – if the PSC is being added to an existing company or LLP; or
• VS01 – if the PSC has been appointed but did not yet have their PVC when the initial notification was filed (must be filed within 14 days).

Important:

If the notification (PSC01) is filed on or after 18 November, the PSC must be verified, even if they became a PSC earlier.

How this works in our system (important explanation for clients)

Clients using our platform will not see references to IN01, PSC01, LLPSC01 or VS01. Instead, they simply enter the required details into our website’s data‑capture screens.

Our system automatically prepares and submits the correct Companies House filings — including those requiring a Personal Verification Code (PVC). All statutory forms are handled in the background, making the process clear and compliant without the client needing to understand Companies House form codes.

Existing PSCs as at 18 November 2025

Important limitation: PSCs cannot submit a PVC for a company appointment early

Companies House will only accept a VS01 during the specific 14‑day filing window allocated for each PSC appointment. Even if the PSC has already completed identity verification and obtained their Personal Verification Code (PVC), the VS01 cannot be filed early. The VS01 must be filed strictly in accordance with each company’s given window.

When must an existing PSC submit their VS01?

Companies House allocates a 14‑day filing window for every PSC appointment. The rules are:

A) PSC is also a director of the same company

Their 14‑day window begins:

• The day after the company’s next confirmation statement made‑up date, and
• Remains open for 14 days.

This applies per company. If the person is PSC+director in three companies with different confirmation statement dates, they will have three different VS01 windows.

Note: Filing the confirmation statement early does not bring the VS01 window forward.

B) PSC is not a director of the company

The PSC must file VS01 based on their birth month:

• Filing window = 1st to 14th of their birth month
• Companies House works through birth months in sequence, starting with PSCs born in December.

A PSC with multiple PSC‑only roles will have to file a separate VS01 for each company during the same birth‑month window.

Matching issues (PSC vs director records)

If Companies House cannot match the PSC’s record with their director record (e.g., name differences), the system defaults to the birth‑month rule, even if the person is actually a director.

Overdue confirmation statements on 18 November 2025

If a company’s next confirmation statement made‑up date is already in the past when the new regime begins, Companies House uses the first confirmation statement made‑up date after 18 November 2025 to set the VS01 window for PSCs who are also directors.

What information is required on VS01?

The VS01 form is short. It requires:

• PSC’s full name
• Partial date of birth (month and year)
• The PSC’s Personal Verification Code (PVC)
• An explanation if the verified name differs from the name on the public register

How is VS01 filed?

This guide also explains how users of our company management portal can provide PSC information electronically without completing or handling Companies House forms directly.

As a formation agent with an integrated company administration portal, we do not require clients to deal directly with Companies House forms or filing routes for VS01.

Clients simply enter the required PSC details and Personal Verification Codes (PVCs) into our online data‑capture screens. Our system automatically prepares and submits the correct electronic filing to Companies House on the client’s instruction. All statutory formatting and form‑selection (including VS01) is handled electronically.

For clients managing incorporated companies, our free PSC verification statement allows you to submit PVCs promptly and at no cost, without interacting with Companies House forms.

Key points to remember

• Every individual PSC must verify and provide a PVC.
• Newly appointed PSCs provide their PVC immediately via IN01/PSC01.
• Existing PSCs provide their PVC on VS01, during a 14‑day window set by Companies House.
• One VS01 is required per company.
• Companies House may impose penalties if the VS01 is not filed on time.