Documents You Need to Open a Business Account in the UK in 2026
You probably already own every document you’ll need to open a business account.
Every application ends up asking for some version of the same five things, whether you're opening a limited company business account or one for an LLP or LP.
- Proof the company exists. Your Companies House registration number and the company's registered name, as they appear on the public register.
- ID for every director and anyone with significant control. A passport, national ID card, or UK driving licence, valid for at least three months from the date you apply and signed, same for anyone with 25%+ ownership (a PSC).
- Proof of address, personal and business. A utility bill or bank statement dated within the last three months. For the company's trading address providers usually want something different: a commercial utility bill or a commercial rental agreement.
- Details about what the business does. Nature of the business, how it makes money, roughly how much it expects to turn over, and who its customers are.
- Full personal details for everyone connected to the company. Full name, date of birth, home address, and contact details for every director and PSC.
One more thing that’s more recent
Since 18 November 2025, UK company directors and PSCs also have to verify their identity directly with Companies House, separately from any business account application. The same applies to LLP members.
LP general partners are covered by a separate set of reforms that hasn't fully come into force yet, so this section doesn't apply in the same way, at least not until that lands.
This is the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 taking effect, not something the account provider itself asks for, but the two processes are now running on similar tracks.
If your Companies House verification is already done, the personal details on your account application are more likely to match the public register cleanly.
The quickest applications are usually the ones where every director and PSC's documents are ready from the start, rather than the primary applicant submitting first and the rest following once the provider asks for them. Providers generally can't finish verification until everyone connected to the company is accounted for.
The most common reasons business accounts get rejected:
- a high-risk industry classification
- incomplete or inconsistent information
- an unclear ownership structure or a thin credit history
Sorted paperwork doesn't guarantee approval by itself, but it does make everything else easier to get through cleanly.
Ampere's own requirements match the document list at the top: proof of the UK-registered company, valid ID and proof of address for the authorised representative, and the same personal details for everyone else connected to the business. Open a business account and the application itself takes a few minutes to fill in.
Most of this paperwork already exists somewhere in your drawer.
