Onboarding a UK business is the reference case for automated KYB. Companies House exposes registered company data — directors, persons with significant control, filings, and charges — through a public API, so the authoritative record is available the moment an applicant enters a company number. The work is less about collecting documents and more about reconciling the live register against what the customer declares.
Business verification (KYB)
First Mile Labs queries Companies House directly. The instant a UK company number is entered, the platform pulls the registered address, SIC codes, incorporation date, active status, full director list, and persons-with-significant-control (PSC) filings — removing any need for the applicant to upload a certificate of incorporation. Where a PSC is itself a legal entity, ownership is followed recursively through the register until natural persons are identified, and every declared director is checked against the live filing.
Identity verification (IDV)
UK Ltd directors and beneficial owners are verified with document authentication plus biometric liveness and face-match. UK passports and photocard driving licences are read and validated, and the portrait is matched to a live selfie. Where the individual is a non-UK national resident in the UK, the platform accepts and authenticates a biometric residence permit.
Sanctions, PEP & adverse media (AML)
Every UK entity and associated individual is screened against the OFSI/HM Treasury consolidated list and 200+ further sanctions and watchlists, including UN, EU, and OFAC. PEP and adverse-media checks run alongside, and screening continues for the life of the relationship rather than stopping at onboarding.
From our compliance team
The UK lulls teams into a false sense of completeness. Companies House data is genuinely excellent, but it is self-reported and only as current as the company's last filing — newly appointed directors and recent PSC changes routinely lag the register. We treat the register as the spine of the case, not the whole of it, and flag every discrepancy between the live filing and the customer's declaration for analyst attention.
United Kingdom onboarding — FAQ
Do applicants still need to upload a certificate of incorporation for a UK company?
No. Because Companies House publishes structured data via API, First Mile Labs retrieves the authoritative incorporation details, registered address, directors, and PSCs the moment a company number is entered. Document upload is reserved for the cases and fields where the registry is silent.
How is UK beneficial ownership resolved?
Through the persons-with-significant-control (PSC) regime. The platform reads PSC filings and, where a PSC is itself a company, follows the ownership chain recursively through Companies House until the natural-person owners are identified.
Which sanctions lists apply to UK customers?
The UK maintains its own OFSI/HM Treasury consolidated list post-Brexit. First Mile Labs screens against it plus UN, EU, OFAC, and 200+ further watchlists, with PEP and adverse-media checks, continuously throughout the relationship.
Coverage in other markets
Onboarding customers in United Kingdom?
Book a demo and we'll walk you through a full United Kingdom case — registry, identity, screening, and decision.
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