Being an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP)
Source: gov.uk (2025-06-19)

Understanding your role as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), also known as a Companies House authorised agent.

Registering as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) is a new requirement that will help us to know who’s filing information on the public register.

ACSPs are also known as Companies House authorised agents.

An authorised agent can be a business (for example, a limited company or partnership), or a person who files on behalf of others (sole trader).

To register, agents must be supervised by a UK Anti-Money Laundering (AML) supervisory body. For example, this could include:
- company formation agents
- solicitors
- accountants
Who needs to register as an authorised agent

For now, only agents that plan to verify the identity of clients for Companies House need to register.

In the future, all agents that file with Companies House on behalf of clients will need to register.

To apply, you must have a senior role in the business. For example, you must be a director if you’re registering a limited company.

Sole traders can register themselves as an authorised agent.

Once a business is registered, we’ll create an online account for the authorised agent. You’ll be able to add other people who work for the agent to the account.

Read the guidance on applying to register as an authorised agent (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/applying-to-register-as-a-companies-house-authorised-agent) to find out how to apply.

Legal requirements for authorised agents

Companies House authorised agents must comply with the following legal requirements.
- The agent must always be registered with at least one Anti-Money Laundering (AML) supervisory body.
- The agent must tell us if there is a change to any of the information we hold about the agent. They must do this within 14 days.
- about the agent’s filings with Companies House
- about identity checks, if the agent verifies someone’s identity for Companies House
- to prove the agent is complying with their legal responsibilities
- The agent must keep records of any identity checks for 7 years, if they have verified someone’s identity for Companies House.
Who’s responsible for complying with the legal requirements

If you’re a sole trader and have registered yourself as an authorised agent, you are responsible for making sure you comply.

For other businesses, all officers are responsible. This means all directors, or anyone whose roles and responsibilities correspond to that of a company director.

What happens if an agent does not comply with legal requirements

The agent will be committing an offence if they do not comply with legal requirements. This means the sole trader, or all company directors (or equivalent) could receive a fine or face criminal prosecution.

We may also suspend or cease (stop) the authorised agent’s status. This would prevent the agent from being able to file or verify people’s identities for Companies House.

If we need to suspend an authorised agent

We’ll send an email to the agent’s correspondence email address with information about what to do next.

We may need to ask the agent to provide more information or records about their filings. The agent will have 28 days to do this.

Users that have been added to the authorised agent account will not be able to access services for the authorised agent while it is suspended. This means they will not be able to:
- file as an authorised agent
- verify people’s identity for Companies House
People who have had their identity verified by the agent for Companies House may need to verify their identity again. We will contact anyone who needs to do this.

We’ll also publish information to show that the authorised agent has been suspended. We’ll publish the agent’s name, status and the date it was suspended.

If we need to cease an authorised agent’s status

We will send an email to the agent’s correspondence email address to let them know we’ve ceased (stopped) their status. This will mean they are no longer registered as an authorised agent with Companies House.

The agent will not be able to file on behalf of clients, or verify people’s identities for Companies House.

We will:
- close the agent’s online account – any users who have been added will no longer have access
- publish the agent’s name and the date we ceased their status
- contact anyone whose identity the agent has verified, if they need to verify again
How to use your authorised agent account

You’ll be able to access the authorised agent account when you sign in to your Companies House account.

Add and remove users

When you add people who work for the agent to the account, they will not need to verify their identity.

All users you add to the account will be able to:
- file on behalf of clients
- verify people’s identities for Companies House
You can manage what users can do by selecting their role when you add them to the account. There are 3 roles users can have for an authorised agent:
- account owners – can update the authorised agent’s details, and add and remove all users
- administrators – can add and remove administrators and standard users
- standard users – cannot add and remove other users
You can remove users from the account at any time. Once you remove a user, they will no longer be able to access the account or services for the authorised agent.

Update the authorised agent’s details

An account owner must tell us if there are any changes to the information we hold about the authorised agent. This includes if the agent is no longer registered with an AML supervisory body.

This is a legal requirement. They must do this within 14 days or the agent will be committing an offence.

To tell us about changes, an account owner can use the service to ‘View and update the authorised agent’s details’. They can access this from the authorised agent account.

Close the authorised agent

If a business no longer needs to be registered as an authorised agent, an account owner can use the service to ‘Close the authorised agent’. They can access this from the authorised agent account.

Services for authorised agents

All users that have been added to an authorised agent account will be able to access services for authorised agents when they sign in to their Companies House account.

Tell Companies House you’ve verified someone’s identity

You can use this service to tell us when you’ve verified someone’s identity for Companies House.

If you use this service, you must keep records of the identity checks you do for 7 years.

Tell Companies House you’ve verified someone’s identity (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tell-companies-house-you-have-verified-someones-identity).

File as an authorised agent

From spring 2026, you’ll be able to file on behalf of clients as an authorised agent.