Cleaning Up the Corporate Register: Companies House Steps Up Enforcement

An in-depth look at the latest implementation report under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, revealing sweeping reforms, identity verifications, and multi-million pound penalties.

In one of the most significant overhauls of corporate transparency in UK history, Companies House has released its latest progress update on the implementation of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCT Act). The message is clear: the era of passive record-keeping is officially over. Armed with new statutory powers, the regulator is aggressively "cleaning up" the UK corporate register to protect citizens from identity hijacking and combat sophisticated financial crime.

The Great Clean-Up: Purging Fraudulent Records

Since the first wave of powers came into force in March 2024, Companies House has systematically targeted inaccurate and fraudulent data. The scale of the purge is unprecedented:

• 151,000 corporate addresses have been completely removed from the register after being identified as fraudulent, misleading, or hijacked.
• 920 compromised companies have been placed onto an expedited pathway to statutory strike-off, cutting through traditional red tape to neutralize corporate vehicles being used for illicit activities.

Identity Verification: The Next Frontier

A central pillar of the ECCT Act is mandatory identity verification for company directors and People with Significant Control (PSCs). Companies House has successfully begun rolling out its new personal identifier infrastructure, reporting high adoption and satisfaction rates:

• 3.81 million personal codes have been issued as of March 31, 2026, which have already been successfully linked to 3.74 million corporate appointments.
• 6 to 7 million individuals are projected to complete identity verification by the critical November 2026 deadline.
• Positive User Reception: Despite fears of bureaucratic friction, 94% of users reported that the instructions for the first identity check were perfectly clear, and 90% described the digital verification process as easy.

A "Nudge" Toward Compliance and Behavioral Spikes

Companies House has adopted a compliance framework described as "reasonable, proportionate, and evidence-based." Instead of immediately issuing penalties, the strategy prioritizes educating and guiding businesses.

As part of this initiative, the regulator deployed over 2 million "email nudges" to businesses to prompt action ahead of mandatory deadlines. This proactive outreach triggered massive behavioral shifts across the corporate landscape as the compliance window began to close:

 

Cracking Down on Overseas Entities (ROE)

The report also provided vital updates on the Register of Overseas Entities (ROE), which went live in August 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Designed to prevent foreign criminals from laundering illicit wealth through the UK property market, the ROE requires overseas entities owning UK land to declare their true beneficial owners.

As of March 31, 2026, the ROE dataset stands as follows:

• 33,100 overseas entities are actively registered on the system, tracking a total of 33,140 cumulative historical registrations against 2,885 formal removals.
• High Transparency: The public nature of the register has proven highly useful, with the ROE database being searched online more than 4 million times.

Enforcement Against Non-Compliance

For those failing to comply with transparency mandates, financial penalties have been heavy:

• Failure to Register: Companies House issued 5,290 penalty warning notices. This resulted in 445 statutory penalty notices being served, totaling an astounding £23 million in fines.
• Failure to Maintain/Update: For entities that registered but failed to fulfill their annual update obligations, 3,670 warning notices and 111 formal penalty notices were issued, valued at £555,000.

What Lies Ahead: The Next Phase of Reform

While the results achieved so far represent a monumental leap forward, Companies House stressed that "there is more to do" and confirms it remains firmly on track to deliver the next phases of the ECCT Act. Moving forward, businesses should prepare for:

• Expanded Identity Verification: Broader rollouts catching remaining corporate structures and transitioning to full compliance.Enhanced ROE Transparency: Closing remaining disclosure loopholes to provide even deeper insights into foreign property ownership.Intelligence-Led Enforcement: Shifting from manual audits to a data-driven, systematic, and intelligence-led enforcement apparatus.

Conclusion

The transition of Companies House from a passive filing house to an active corporate gatekeeper is well underway. As regulatory actions become more targeted, legitimate businesses will benefit from an ecosystem of increased trust, while those attempting to abuse the system face escalating financial and legal consequences.