The government’s third progress report on the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 presents Companies House reform as moving from statute into routine administration. Covering the period from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, the update focuses on Parts 1 to 3 of the Act and describes the package as one of the biggest changes to UK company law in nearly 200 years. For policy professionals, the significance is not simply legislative. The Companies House report indicates that the new powers are now being used in day-to-day registry management, with a stronger emphasis on data quality, verification and enforcement support.
The report makes clear why the register matters beyond corporate filing. Companies House data is used every day in lending, procurement, due diligence and wider commercial decision-making, so errors or misuse do not remain confined to the register itself. A more reliable register should improve confidence in ownership records, director information and corporate history. In policy terms, the government is presenting this as both an economic crime measure and a business environment measure, on the basis that better data supports cleaner markets and better-informed decisions.
One of the clearest implementation measures is identity verification. According to Companies House, nearly 4 million individuals have verified their identities and linked their appointments since the system was introduced in November 2025. That matters because verification changes the register from a largely declaratory system into one with a stronger evidential base. Where appointments are linked to verified identities, it becomes harder to use false details, obscure responsibility or create misleading corporate records that can be used to deceive creditors, customers or public authorities.
The register clean-up is also visible in address data. The report says 151,000 company addresses have been removed since March 2024, a step the government says is helping to protect innocent people from identity hijacking and related misuse. This is an important administrative change. Inaccurate or abusive address filings can expose members of the public to risk, complicate service of documents and weaken trust in the register. Removal at this scale suggests Companies House is using its powers more actively to correct misleading information rather than simply holding it on file.
The enforcement picture is broader than Companies House alone. The report points to deeper collaboration with HMRC, the Insolvency Service and other law enforcement partners, with ministers stating that joint working has already contributed to the seizure of millions of pounds in suspected criminal proceeds. That cross-agency element is a key test of the reforms. Registry data has limited value if it cannot be matched with tax intelligence, insolvency investigations and criminal enquiries. Duncan Beach, chief executive of the Insolvency Service, said the Act has given enforcement bodies access to more than 100 offences, widening the legal basis for action where the corporate system is abused.
Andy King, chief executive of Companies House, has framed the results as evidence that the registrar is moving away from a passive filing model and towards a more active public authority role. That is one of the most important institutional changes within the Act: the registrar is expected to question information, remove misleading entries and work more closely with enforcement partners. For compliant businesses, the intended outcome is a register with greater practical value. For those seeking to misuse limited liability or submit false information, the direction of travel is towards more scrutiny, earlier intervention and more meaningful consequences.
The next phase is already under way. Companies House says further identity verification rollout, stronger transparency within the Register of Overseas Entities and a more systematic intelligence-led approach to enforcement are all in progress, with the stated aim of keeping action targeted, proportionate and effective. The wider policy test will be delivery over time. This report was presented to Parliament under section 213(1) of the 2023 Act, and further annual updates will continue until 2030. That gives Parliament, enforcement bodies and the business community a continuing measure of whether the reforms are producing a register that is not only cleaner, but more useful for growth, accountability and the proper operation of limited liability.