Who can be a director
Almost any adult can. The Companies Act sets a minimum age of 165 and requires every company to have at least one director who is a natural person4. A company can also be a director as long as there is still a person on the board: see a company as director or secretary. Most private companies let the existing directors appoint a new one by board decision. Check your articles: some give the shareholders that power, or cap the number of directors.
Identity verification comes first
The law now says an individual “must not act as a director of a company unless the individual’s identity is verified”, and the company must make sure of it3. For anyone who becomes a director from 18 November 2025, the personal code is given “as part of your appointment filing”2. In practice:
- The new director verifies their own identity, free, through GOV.UK One Login, or through an authorised agent. Read Companies House identity verification for the three routes.
- They give the company their personal code. It is personal to them, not to your company, so a director who has already verified for another company uses the same code.
- The company files the appointment with that code inside the 14 days.
If they haven’t verified yet, start that first. It can take longer than the filing itself, particularly at a Post Office.
Check your company’s dates and set a reminder
Search the Companies House register. Your company page shows its filing dates, what to file next and a reminder you can set.
What Companies House needs, and what it publishes
The appointment filing asks for the director’s name, date of birth, nationality, country of residence, a service address and their home address, plus the date they were appointed and their consent to act. Since 18 November 2025 a business occupation is no longer needed for directors6.
| Detail | On the public register? |
|---|---|
| Full name | Yes |
| Service address | Yes. It can be the registered office. |
| Home address | No, if a separate service address is given |
| Date of birth | Month and year only |
| Nationality and country of residence | Yes |
Companies no longer keep their own register of directors or of directors’ home addresses: since 18 November 2025 that information lives only at Companies House, so the filing is the record6. Keep the board minute that made the appointment, and the director’s signed consent, with the company’s other records.
The 14 days
Count 14 days from the date of appointment1. Filing late doesn’t undo the appointment, but the register is wrong in the meantime, and the director can’t lawfully act until their identity is verified3. If you’re appointing a director to replace one who is leaving, file the new appointment before or with the resignation, so the company is never left without a director who is a person. Read when a director resigns or is removed for the other half.
Filing the appointment
Fileyear’s director appointment asks for the new director’s details and personal code, checks the code’s format before you submit, prepares a board minute for your records, and files form AP01 (or AP02 when a company is being appointed).