--- title: "KYC Checks UK: Corporate Client Onboarding Checklist" description: "A 10-step KYC checklist for UK law and accountancy firms onboarding corporate clients: ownership, PSCs, ID verification, risk and monitoring." --- [Skip to content](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog/kyc-checks-uk-corporate-client-onboarding-checklist#main-content) [![ProbeDigital Logo](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/hubfs/ProbeDigital%20Logo-1.png)](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/) - Who We help Show submenu for Who We help - [Sales Focused Teams](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/lead-generation) - [Business & Professionals](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/business-professionals) - [Advisors to Business](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/advisors-to-business) - [Investors](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/investors) - Products Show submenu for Products - [Corporate Profile](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/corporate-profile) - [Corporate Links](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/corporate-link) - [Corporate Search](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/company-search-and-lead-generation) - [ECCTA Compliance](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/en/eccta-company-director-compliance-verification) - [Uk & Foreign Ownership](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/uk-companies-owned-by-uk-and-foreign-entities) - [Judgement Check](https://app.probedigital.co.uk/ccj-dashboard/judgement-checker) - [Blog](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog) - [About Us](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/about-us) - [Pricing](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/subscription-pricing-0) - [Contact Us](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/contact-us-page) - [Log In](https://app.probedigital.co.uk/login) - Who We help Show submenu for Who We help - [Sales Focused Teams](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/lead-generation) - [Business & Professionals](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/business-professionals) - [Advisors to Business](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/advisors-to-business) - [Investors](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/investors) - Products Show submenu for Products - [Corporate Profile](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/corporate-profile) - [Corporate Links](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/corporate-link) - [Corporate Search](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/company-search-and-lead-generation) - [ECCTA Compliance](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/en/eccta-company-director-compliance-verification) - [Uk & Foreign Ownership](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/uk-companies-owned-by-uk-and-foreign-entities) - [Judgement Check](https://app.probedigital.co.uk/ccj-dashboard/judgement-checker) - [Blog](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog) - [About Us](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/about-us) - [Pricing](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/subscription-pricing-0) - [Contact Us](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/contact-us-page) - [Log In](https://app.probedigital.co.uk/login) ![menu-toggle](https://21645388.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/21645388/menu-toggle.svg) ![menu-close](https://21645388.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/21645388/menu-close.svg) [Start Search](https://app.probedigital.co.uk) [#BusinessRisk](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog/tag/businessrisk), [#companies\_house](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog/tag/companies_house), [#KYC](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog/tag/kyc), [#RegTech](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog/tag/regtech), [#FinancialCrime](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog/tag/financialcrime), [#DueDiligence](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog/tag/duediligence), [#ComplianceRisk](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog/tag/compliancerisk), [#CorporateCompliance](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog/tag/corporatecompliance), [#FraudPrevention](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog/tag/fraudprevention) # KYC Checks UK: Corporate Client Onboarding Checklist [By \- James Sharpe,](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog/author/james-sharpe) Oct 06, 2026 ***A practical, 10-step KYC checklist for UK law and accountancy firms onboarding corporate clients, from confirming the entity to tracing beneficial owners, checking Companies House identity verification and keeping the file current.***   Onboarding a corporate client is not the same as onboarding an individual. You are not just checking that a person is who they say they are. You need to know what the company is, who runs it, who ultimately owns and controls it, and whether anything about the client or the matter changes the level of risk. Under regulation 28 of the [Money Laundering Regulations 2017](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/692/regulation/28), that means obtaining and verifying the company's name, number and registered office, recording its directors and senior persons, identifying the beneficial owner and taking reasonable measures to verify their identity. The checklist below turns those obligations into ten steps your onboarding team can run on every corporate instruction, and evidence afterwards.   ## Why corporate KYC is under more scrutiny in 2026 Four developments make this a good moment to review how your firm checks corporate clients. - **Supervisors are looking at the quality of risk assessments, not just whether they exist.** The SRA's AML annual report for the year to 5 April 2025, published in January 2026, found that 16% of the client and matter risk assessment files it reviewed were missing or incomplete, and that 39% did not effectively evaluate the money laundering risk ([Legal Futures](https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/blog/the-sras-2025-aml-report-what-law-firms-need-to-know)). - **Companies House identity verification is now law.** Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA), identity verification became mandatory on 18 November 2025, starting a 12-month transition for existing directors and people with significant control (PSCs). Existing directors verify with the company's next confirmation statement; existing PSCs who are not directors verify within the first 14 days of their birth month ([GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/when-you-need-to-verify-your-identity-for-companies-house), updated 30 July 2026). - **The register is getting harder to abuse.** In September 2026 Companies House joined Cifas's National Fraud Database, giving it cross-sector fraud intelligence to spot suspicious activity earlier ([Cifas](https://www.cifas.org.uk/newsroom/companies-house-joins-cifas-nfd)). - **Supervision is changing.** The FCA is due to become the single AML supervisor for around 60,000 professional services businesses, including law firms and accountancy practices. TLT expects phased FCA supervision to begin in late 2028, and advises firms to test whether their controls work in practice, not just on paper ([TLT](https://www.tlt.com/insights-and-events/insight/fca-aml-supervision-reform-what-law-firms-accountants-and-tcsps-need-to-do-now), 30 September 2026).   ## The 10-step corporate client KYC checklist The steps fall into four stages. Run them in order, and record what you found and why it matters at each one. ### Stage 1: Confirm the entity 1. **Check the company exists and is what it says it is.** Confirm the exact registered name, company number, registered office, incorporation date and status. A company that is in liquidation, dissolved or subject to a strike-off notice is a different conversation from an active one. 2. **Record the directors and senior persons.** Capture the full names of the board and the people responsible for running the business. Look at each director's other appointments too. A director with a long trail of dissolved or insolvent companies is worth a question before you take the instruction. 3. **Read the filing history, not just the summary.** Overdue accounts or confirmation statements, frequent changes of registered office, a burst of officer appointments and resignations, or a recent change of name can all signal a business under strain or a structure being rearranged. ### Stage 2: Ownership and control 1. **Trace beneficial ownership through to individuals.** The PSC register is the starting point, not the answer. Where a PSC is another company, follow the chain up through each corporate layer until you reach the people who own or control it, including through overseas entities. Our article on [why beneficial ownership checks miss the true UBO](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog/why-beneficial-ownership-checks-miss-the-true-ubo) covers the common blind spots. If you genuinely cannot identify a beneficial owner after exhausting reasonable steps, regulation 28 allows you to treat the senior managing official as the beneficial owner, but you must record what you tried. 2. **Compare the register with what the client tells you.** If your client's account of who owns it differs from the PSC register, find out why. Since 1 April 2023, firms covered by the Money Laundering Regulations must report material discrepancies to Companies House, and the duty applies during ongoing monitoring as well as at onboarding ([HSF Kramer](https://www.hsfkramer.com/notes/corporate/2023-04/changes-to-discrepancy-reporting-requirements)). 3. **Check ECCTA identity verification status.** Ask whether every director and PSC has verified their identity with Companies House, and when each is due if not. Companies House says that failing to comply on time is an offence that can lead to a financial penalty, and that people who have not verified will not be able to make filings for the company ([GOV.UK](https://changestoukcompanylaw.campaign.gov.uk/identity-verification/)). An unverified director can delay a transaction, so raise it early. ### Stage 3: Assess the risk 1. **Write a client and matter risk assessment that shows your reasoning.** A score on its own is not enough. Explain what you considered (sector, jurisdictions, structure, source of funds, the nature of the matter) and how it led to the level of due diligence you chose. A long-standing, low-risk client can still bring a high-risk matter: an acquisition involving an opaque overseas holding company is not the same as routine company secretarial work. 2. **Screen the company, its officers and its owners.** Run sanctions, politically exposed persons and adverse media checks on the company, its directors and its beneficial owners. Add financial signals: county court judgments (CCJs), registered charges, insolvency history and late filings. These do not automatically rule a client out, but they shape the questions you ask and whether enhanced due diligence is needed. ### Stage 4: Keep it current 1. **Monitor for change, not just on a calendar.** Set triggers to re-check when the company files a new PSC or officer change, registers a new charge, changes its name or registered office, or instructs you on a new matter. Ownership that was clear at onboarding may not be clear a year later. 2. **Keep an evidence trail you could hand to a supervisor.** Record what you checked, when, the source, what you found and what you decided. As the SRA put it in one enforcement decision, "it is not sufficient to say that assessments were being carried out but not documented" ([Legal Futures](https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/risk-assessment-failures-land-more-firms-with-aml-fines)). A consistent file makes reviews faster, whether the reviewer is your MLRO, your current supervisor or, in future, the FCA.   ## Common gaps that slow corporate onboarding Most delays come from a handful of recurring problems: - **Stopping at the first corporate PSC.** A UK holding company listed as the PSC tells you nothing about the people behind it until you follow the chain. - **Treating the client as static.** Teams often reuse a file from two years ago for a new matter without checking whether ownership or officers have changed. - **Generic templates.** Tick-box forms with no space for written reasoning make it hard to show that unusual features were noticed and weighed. - **Checks spread across too many tools.** When the register, group structure, charges, CCJs and property sit in different places, connections between them are easy to miss.   ## How ProbeDigital supports corporate KYC ProbeDigital brings UK company data together in one view: directors and PSCs, [group structures and connected companies](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/corporate-link), charges, CCJs and court judgments, property ownership, credit scores and financials. A [Corporate Profile report](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/corporate-profile) gives your onboarding team a consistent starting point for each new corporate client, and bulk CSV audits let you re-check an existing client book when the rules or your risk appetite change. It supports your judgement and your firm's own procedures; it does not replace them.   ## FAQ ### What KYC checks are required for a UK corporate client? Under regulation 28 of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, you must identify and verify the company (name, company number, registered office), record its directors and senior persons, identify its beneficial owners and take reasonable measures to verify their identity, and understand its ownership and control. Your risk assessment then decides whether simplified, standard or enhanced due diligence applies. ### Is the PSC register enough to identify the beneficial owner? No. It is a useful starting point, but you should not rely on it alone. Corporate PSCs need tracing to individuals, and if what the client tells you differs materially from the register, you may need to report the discrepancy to Companies House. ### Do we need to check Companies House identity verification for clients? It is good practice. Identity verification has been a legal requirement since 18 November 2025, and directors or PSCs who have not verified on time may be committing an offence. Checking status at onboarding helps you avoid delays on transactions and filings. ### How often should we refresh KYC on corporate clients? On a risk-based schedule, and whenever something changes: a new matter, a change in ownership or officers, a new charge, or adverse information. Event-driven re-checks catch changes that a fixed annual review can miss.   *Want to see how ProbeDigital speeds up corporate client onboarding? 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