27 Nov What is the new Companies House VS01 form for PSCs?
From 18 November 2025, all individual PSCs need to verify their identities. In time, the requirements will extend to Relevant Legal Entities (RLEs), but there is currently no timescale for that. Here we look at the requirements for new and existing PSCs as at 18 November 2025, and the role of the new VS01 form as a verification statement in the process.
Identity verification can be undertaken by the individual directly at Companies House or by us at M&N as we are an Authorised Corporate Service Provider. As part of that process, whichever option is chosen, the individual claims a unique Companies House personal code, identifying them as an individual in the eyes of the Registrar.
Then, for each company or LLP on which the individual acts as a PSC, this personal code must then be supplied back to Companies House. This requirement applies from 18 November 2025.
Newly appointed PSCs from 18 November 2025
For newly appointed PSCs from 18 November 2025, the personal code must be supplied at the time the PSC is notified to Companies House. It can be supplied:
- For PSCs notified as part of forming a new company, on the existing incorporation form (IN01 or equivalent)
- For new PSCs added to existing companies, as part of the existing form PSC01 (or, for LLPs, form LLPSC01)
- If not supplied on these forms, on the new standalone VS01 form, which we understand must be submitted within 14 days of the original submission
A personal code must be supplied even when the effective date the person became a PSC is before 18 November 2025. If the notification is delivered on or after 18 November 2025, whatever the date the person became a PSC, identity verification must be undertaken and a personal code confirmed as part of the appointment.
The notification is on a per appointment basis. So even if a personal code has already been submitted for an individual on one company, it will need to be confirmed again as part of the notification of a new PSC on another company or LLP.
This requirement to supply a personal code as part of reporting a new individual PSC will now be a continuing part of company secretarial compliance.
Existing PSCs as at 18 November 2025: use the VS01 form
Existing PSCs on the public register as at 18 November will also need to have their identity verified and obtain a personal code from Companies House. However, there is a (complex) transitional regime determining when in the year from 18 November 2025 they must supply this code to Companies House.
Despite earlier expectations, and unlike company directors, existing PSCs do not supply their personal code to Companies House on the first confirmation statement from 18 November 2025. Instead, they do so on the new VS01 form. (VS stands for ‘verification statement’).
The requirement for existing PSCs to supply form VS01 is on a per appointment basis. So if someone is a PSC of five different companies as at 18 November, they will need to submit five different verification statements, one for each appointment.
✅ Do you have to file a VS01 for every PSC?
Yes — if they were already a PSC before 18 November 2025.
- Every existing PSC must have their identity verified.
- Each PSC must have a VS01 filed for each company they are a PSC of.
❌ When you don’t need a VS01
- New PSCs (added after 18 Nov 2025) do not usually need a VS01.
Their personal code is added directly on the PSC01 form when they are appointed.
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