Verify for Companies House with no passport or driving licence
You cannot verify with a bank statement, a birth certificate and a P60 alone — every route needs one photographic document. But "photographic document" is a much longer list than passport or driving licence, and one of them is usually obtainable within a week.
What this means
- A photographic identity document is required on every route, including the video call. Non-photographic documents — bank statements, birth or marriage certificates, council tax bills, a P60 — count as the second document, never the first. We would rather tell you that before you pay than after.
- The photographic list is wider than most people think. On a video call a qualified accountant can accept a UK accredited PASS card, a UK or EU driver digital tachograph card, a UK biometric residence permit or card, an HM Forces ID card or Armed Forces Veteran Card, a UK Frontier Worker permit, a UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man firearms licence, or any photographic identity document catalogued on PRADO.
- If you hold none of those, the quickest to obtain is normally a PASS card from the Post Office — a government-backed photo ID card that costs a few pounds and is usually issued within about a week. A provisional driving licence is the other common answer, and it is accepted on the £39 digital check as well.
- Once you have one photographic document, the video call needs one more alongside it. A bank or building society statement is accepted whatever address it shows; a council tax statement, utility bill, mortgage statement or council tenancy agreement is accepted at your current address; a birth, adoption, marriage or civil partnership certificate also counts.
- Every document must be in date. We do not use the grace period Companies House allows on a recently expired passport — if your old passport has expired, it will not help you here.
How to put it right
- 1
Tell us what you hold
List everything in the free checker, photographic or not. It will tell you whether you already have a usable pairing, and if not, which single document would complete it.
- 2
Get the missing document
For most people that is a PASS card from the Post Office or a provisional driving licence from the DVLA. We will tell you which is quicker for your circumstances.
- 3
Verify by video call
A short call with a qualified accountant who examines your documents and confirms your identity to Companies House. Your personal code usually follows within minutes.
Regulated Companies House agent (ACSP AP006589)
We deal with strike-offs, overdue filings and identity verification every day. If we can’t help, we’ll tell you who can.
Check your documents free →Frequently asked questions
I have a bank statement, my birth certificate and a P60. Is that enough?
No. Those are all accepted — but only as the second document. Companies House requires at least one photographic identity document on every route, and nobody can verify you without one. The honest answer is to obtain one first; the practical answer is that a PASS card takes about a week.
What is a PASS card and will Companies House accept it?
A PASS card is a photo identity card issued under the national Proof of Age Standards Scheme, which the Post Office sells as the Post Office PASS Card. It carries a hologram and your photograph, and it is on the Companies House list of accepted photographic documents for the person-checked routes — so it works on our video call alongside one supporting document.
I am a lorry driver with a digital tachograph card. Does that count?
Yes. A UK or EU driver digital tachograph card is a government-issued photographic document and has its own entry on the Companies House list. It is accepted on the video call route alongside a second document such as a bank statement. It is not accepted on the automated digital check, which is limited to passports, driving licences, residence permits and EU identity cards.
Can I use my provisional driving licence?
Yes, and it is one of the best answers to this problem. A UK photocard driving licence, full or provisional, is accepted on the £39 digital check on its own, and on the video call with one supporting document. If you have no photo ID at all, applying for a provisional licence is often the fastest and cheapest fix.
My passport expired years ago. Can you use it anyway?
No. Every document we accept must be in date. Companies House allows a short grace period on a recently expired passport; we have chosen not to use it because our documentary standard is deliberately stricter than the minimum. A passport that expired years ago is well outside any grace period in any case.
What will this cost?
The video call is £49 — that is the route for most people on this page, because the documents involved need a person to examine them. If the document you obtain is a provisional driving licence, the £39 digital check is open to you instead. We add no VAT, so those are the totals.
We’re TaxStats ID, an authorised Companies House agent (ACSP AP006589) from TaxStats Ltd — independent, and not Companies House or GOV.UK. We’ll do what we can and, for anything outside what we handle, we’ll tell you honestly and point you to the right person. Prefer to talk? Call 0161 317 8556.