Companies House Persons with Significant Control: a 2026 guide

Persons with Significant Control (PSC) is the UK regime for showing who owns and controls a company. Companies have had to keep and file their PSCs since 2016; since 18 November 2025 PSCs who are individuals must also verify their identity with Companies House.

Someone is a PSC if they:

• hold more than 25% of the company's shares;
• hold more than 25% of the voting rights;
• have the right to appoint or remove a majority of the directors;
• have significant influence or control over the company; or
• meet one of these through a trust or firm.

The register is public and free. Each entry shows the name, month and year of birth (the full date isn't public), nationality, country of residence, the nature of control, and the dates the person became and stopped being a PSC.

Identity verification: new directors and PSCs verify as they are appointed; existing ones have a 12-month transition and verify by their company's next confirmation statement, so most will have done so by November 2026. Companies House shows whether each has verified.

For regulated firms:

1. Walk the PSC tree to find the beneficial owners (more than 25%, MLR 2017 regulation 5).
2. Treat an unverified director or PSC, once their deadline has passed, as a reason to ask questions.
3. Watch for loops and for owners registered outside the UK, which the UK register can't take you through.

Stratum's company and owners check reads the PSCs, the officers and their identity verification for you, and the directors' ID check tool shows a company's verification at a glance.