Glossary

Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA)

Krishna Prasad Dahal, Chartered Accountant

Reviewed by Krishna Prasad Dahal FCCA, ACA (ICAEW), FCA (ICAI India)ICAEW Council Member · Last reviewed

Definition

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) is the UK law reforming Companies House and the information companies must file. It received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023 and is being brought in stages. For small company directors, the visible changes are identity verification, stricter registered office and email rules, stronger Companies House powers and software-only accounts filing from April 2028.

Key dates

Date Change
4 March 2024 Appropriate registered office (no PO boxes), registered email address, lawful purpose statement on the confirmation statement, powers to query and remove information
18 November 2025 Identity verification for directors and PSCs becomes a legal requirement
No earlier than November 2027 People filing must be verified; agents filing for clients must be ACSPs
April 2028 Accounts filed only through software; micro and small companies deliver a profit and loss account; abridged accounts end

What it means in practice

Most changes fold into filings you already make. Existing directors verify by the company’s next confirmation statement, and that statement also confirms the company’s future activities are lawful. The change most directors meet first is ID verification under the new rules. Filleted accounts, which leave out the profit and loss account, effectively end in 2028.

Related questions

Browse all FAQs

Related terms