The company authentication code is a unique 6-digit alphanumeric code that a limited company can use to make online changes and filings with Companies House. Essentially, it’s the online equivalent of a company director or shareholder’s signature.
Having access to your company’s authentication code is important. Without it, a company is restricted to paper filing methods, which take time to prepare (and get accepted) and generally result in more errors. In this article, we look at where you can find your company authentication code.
Are you a Rapid Formations customer?
The process for finding your company authentication code will depend on the method you used to form your company. If you are a Rapid Formations customer and formed your company with us, locating the code is quick and simple. However, if you formed your company directly with Companies House, whilst the process is simple – it isn’t quite as quick.
Finding the company authentication code as a Rapid Formations customer
When your company was registered, we emailed you some key company information. This email included your company authentication code, which is provided in a PDF attachment. You should be able to find the email in your inbox by searching for ‘‘Rapid Formations: Order Ref’.
Don’t worry if you can’t locate the email. You will also find the company authentication code in your Online Client Portal. To access this and locate your code:
- Log in to the Online Client Portal
- Select ‘My Companies’
- Click on your company name
- You will find your company authentication code in the ‘Company Overview’ section next to ‘Auth. code’
Finding the company authentication code if you formed your company with Companies House
Companies House does not automatically send out the company authentication code. Instead, you have to request it. To do this:
- Set up a Companies House WebFiling account (or log in if you already have an account)
- Select ‘WebFiling’
- Enter your company registration number, select the correct jurisdiction for your company (England or Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland), then select ‘Continue’
- Confirm the company information that’s presented to you, by selecting ‘Confirm and continue’
- You will be asked to enter the company authentication code, instead select ‘Help with authentication code’
- Select ‘Request an authentication code’
- Select either ‘Send the authentication code to the registered office address’ or ‘Send the authentication code to my home address’
The code will then be posted to your company’s registered office address or home address, depending on your selection, within 5 days.
If you have followed the steps above before, but have since misplaced the letter from Companies House, simply follow the above steps again. You will then be mailed a new code.
Changing your company authentication code
You can change the company authentication code to something more memorable if you want (rather than continue to use the random selection of numbers and letters assigned by Companies House). To do this:
- Set up a Companies House WebFiling account (or log in if you already have an account)
- Select ‘Your Companies’
- If you haven’t already added a company to your WebFiling account, you will now need to do this (this entails entering the company registration number, selecting the jurisdiction, and entering the current code)
- Once added select ‘File for this company’
- Select ‘Company authentication’
- Enter the current code, enter your new code twice, then select ‘Change code’ – the code will be updated
Please note: Changing the code to something obvious could pose a security threat to your company. If a fraudster were to correctly guess your code, they could resign your directors, appoint their own directors, change the registered office address, add news shares to the company, and make other potentially damaging changes.
We recommend using a random code that you can memorise, and not using a code that consists of important dates, words, or names.
If you suspect that your company authentification code has been correctly guessed or fallen into the wrong hands, contact Companies House immediately.
Don’t forget to update the company authentication code on the Online Client Portal
If you are a Rapid Formations customer and have chosen to change the company authentication code, be sure to update the code on the Online Client Manager too – otherwise you will not be able to use the portal to make online changes and filings. To do this:
- Log in to the Online Client Portal
- Select ‘My Companies’
- Click on your company name
- Select ‘Edit’ next to ‘Auth. code’
- Enter the new code and select ‘Save’ – it will then be updated on the system
This method should only be used to update the code after it has already been changed through Companies House WebFiling.
Thanks for reading
So there you have it, how to find your company authentication code. We hope you have found this article useful. Please leave a comment if you have any questions.