Accessibility Barriers in GOV.UK One Login: What Has Your Experience Been?
From 18 November 2025, all company directors and People with Significant Control must verify their identity with Companies House using GOV.UK One Login.
In a recent statement, Natalie Jones OBE, Director of Digital Identity at Government Digital Service, highlighted the importance of this change, describing GOV.UK One Login as being “at the heart of… making government services simpler, safer and more accessible.”
Over 1 million people have already verified their identity this way, which is no small milestone.
But our experience supporting directors who are blind or those with a visual loss has shown that, for many disabled people, the system is far from accessible.
⚠️ What we found
While assisting directors with significant sight loss or learning disabilities, we encountered multiple barriers:
- The GOV.UK One Login process is not consistently accessible for blind users or people with substantial visual loss.
- Customer Support advised us to “use GOV.UK One Login” – the same system we reported as inaccessible.
- The alternative route, via an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, is listed only as a spreadsheet of 1,274 entries with just a business name, town/city, and postcode. No accessibility or service details.
- Verification can be done in person at the Post Office – but only after navigating the digital journey first. If you can’t access the site, you’re never told this option exists.
- The One Login app:
- Could not be found on Google Play (Android) during our attempts.
- On iPhone, blind users are expected to align their face inside a visual box they cannot see – making verification impossible without assistance.
We want to hear from you
Digital identity is becoming mandatory for more and more public services. But if the system excludes disabled people at the very first step, we risk creating barriers rather than reducing them.
Have you or someone you support tried using GOV.UK One Login?
- Did you find it accessible?
- What worked – or didn’t work?
- What would make the process genuinely inclusive?
Your experiences matter and sharing them helps highlight where improvements are urgently needed.
We want to start a constructive conversation about accessibility, inclusion, and what “digital transformation” should look like for everyone. If you have had similar experiences please email us at info@susescotland.scot.
