# The ECCTA Compliance Wall: Why Identity Verification Is Just the Beginning **Category:** COMPANY-SECRETARIAL **Author:** John Hotham **Published:** 2026-05-18 **Read Time:** 8 min read ## Summary ECCTA identity verification is now live. But ID checks are just the first brick. Here is what the full ECCTA Compliance Wall looks like and what your company secretarial function must do next. ## Full Content You have verified your directors' identities. Congratulations. You have laid the first brick. The **Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA)** is not an identity verification exercise. It is a structural overhaul of UK corporate governance. Identity verification - which became mandatory for new directors and PSCs from November 2025 - is the visible tip of a compliance iceberg that most company secretarial functions are not prepared for. Welcome to the ECCTA Compliance Wall. It is bigger than you think. ## What Is the ECCTA? The **Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA)** is UK legislation designed to strengthen corporate transparency, reduce economic crime, and give Companies House enhanced powers of investigation and enforcement. It is the most significant reform to UK company law since the Companies Act 2006. Key provisions include: - **Mandatory identity verification** for directors, PSCs, and persons filing with Companies House. - **Enhanced Companies House powers** - including the ability to query, reject, and remove information from the register. - **The "failure to prevent fraud" offence** - applicable to large organisations from September 2025. - **Stricter filing requirements** - with new validation checks and potential penalties for inaccurate submissions. - **Registered email address requirements** for companies. ![The ECCTA Compliance Wall - Identity Verification, AML, Fraud Prevention, PSC Register, Filing Accuracy](https://static.prod-images.emergentagent.com/jobs/26992fe9-5faf-46a6-964a-18031c56d2c1/images/4ec1e763f936f9e845add1b0dd6c3615ee293fdaf2cd8c980ecf2887779c57d0.png) The ECCTA Compliance Wall: five courses of compliance, each building on the last. Identity verification is only the first. ## Why Is Identity Verification Just the Beginning? Because identity verification only answers one question: *"Is this person who they say they are?"* It does not answer: - *"Are our PSC records accurate and up to date?"* - *"Are our statutory filings being submitted correctly and on time?"* - *"Do we have reasonable fraud prevention procedures in place?"* - *"Can Companies House query our filings - and would they survive scrutiny?"* - *"Are our AML obligations being met across all entities?"* Identity verification is the **authentication layer**. The Compliance Wall is the **governance layer**. You need both. ## What Does the Full ECCTA Compliance Wall Look Like? Think of it as five courses of bricks, each building on the last: 1. **Identity Verification (Course 1)** - All directors, PSCs, and filing persons verified via Companies House or an ACSP. This is now live. 2. **PSC Accuracy (Course 2)** - Your register of People with Significant Control must be accurate, complete, and current. Not "last updated when we incorporated." 3. **Filing Integrity (Course 3)** - Every submission to Companies House must pass enhanced validation. Inaccurate filings can be queried, rejected, or corrected by Companies House itself. 4. **Fraud Prevention (Course 4)** - Large organisations must demonstrate "reasonable procedures" to prevent fraud. This is not a box-tick. It requires documented, evidenced, and auditable fraud prevention frameworks. 5. **Ongoing Governance (Course 5)** - ECCTA is not a one-off project. It is a permanent change to the governance landscape. Your company secretarial function must continuously maintain compliance, not just achieve it once. ## What Are the Key ECCTA Deadlines? - **March 2025:** ACSP registration requirements began. - **September 2025:** "Failure to prevent fraud" offence in force for large organisations. - **November 2025:** Mandatory identity verification for new directors and PSCs. - **2025-2026:** Transition period for existing directors and PSCs. - **Spring/November 2026:** Further filing and presenter verification requirements expected. ## How Should Your Company Secretarial Function Respond? 1. **Audit your current state.** Which directors and PSCs have been verified? Which have not? Where are the gaps? 2. **Review PSC accuracy.** When was the last time your PSC register was genuinely reviewed - not just rubber-stamped? 3. **Stress-test your filings.** If Companies House queried your last three submissions, would they hold up? 4. **Document fraud prevention.** For large organisations, "we have a policy" is not enough. You need procedures, evidence, training records, and audit trails. 5. **Connect CoSec to GRC.** Your company secretarial data should feed into your risk register. A lapsed filing is a governance risk. A PSC inaccuracy is a compliance exposure. These must be visible to the board. ## The Bottom Line ECCTA is not a project with an end date. It is a permanent elevation of the governance baseline for every UK company. If your company secretarial function is still running on spreadsheets and calendar reminders, you are building the Compliance Wall with wet sand. It will not hold. **Simplif-i's** Company Secretarial module connects your statutory obligations to your GRC framework. Filings, verifications, PSC records, and board reporting - in one platform. Connected. Evidenced. Auditable. Founding Member pricing: **£149/month**. Considerably less than a Companies House penalty - and infinitely less than the reputational damage of a fraud failure. [Start your free trial at Simplif-i.com](https://simplif-i.com/signup) --- Source: https://simplif-i.com/api/blog/readable/company-secretarial/eccta-compliance-wall-identity-verification-beginning-v2 Web Version: https://simplif-i.com/blog/company-secretarial/eccta-compliance-wall-identity-verification-beginning-v2 © Simplif-i - Unified Business Management Platform