Part 1: Companies House Reform Directors Section 43: Prohibition on director acting unless ID verified
This section inserts new section 167M into the Companies Act 2006.
	Subsection (1) sets out that an individual must not act as a director unless they have verified their identity. In practice it means that until they verify their identity, they should not take any actions on behalf of the company in their capacity as a director. If they fail to verify their identity and continue acting as a director, they are committing an offence under subsection (3) for which they would be liable to a fine if found guilty.
	Subsection (2) sets out that a company must ensure that its directors do not act as directors unless they are verified. To avoid liability under this subsection, a company can either appoint a verified individual or remove an unverified director from office. Subsection (4) creates an offence on the company and every officer of the company who is in default (including its shadow directors) if they fail to ensure individuals do not act as directors unless verified. A person found guilty is liable to a fine.
	Under subsection (6) the only result of a director’s breach of section 167M(1) and a company’s breach of section 167M(2) is commission of offences provided respectively in subsection (3) and (4). Despite the commission of these offences, any action taken by the director is valid.