A Duty to Notify Companies House of changes
Implementing regulations are expected for companies to provide updates to Companies House within 14 days of a relevant change for individuals or entities contained on its company register. Failure to comply within the 14-day notification period will be a criminal offence, punishable by a fine, with the amount to be determined.
| Position | Information to update |
| Individual Director | Name, date of birth and nationality Service address Residential address Former names; and, The part of the UK in which the person is usually resident |
| Corporate Company Secretary | Corporate or firm name Principal office Service address (which may be stated as the company’s registered office) In the case of a limited company that is UK registered, the company registration number In any other case, particulars of: The legal form of the company or firm and the law by which it is governed If applicable, the register in which it is entered (including details of the state) and its registration number in that register |
| Company Secretary | Names/Former Names Service Address |
New information for members to provide to Companies House
Members will need to provide new information to Companies House. For individuals, a first name and last name will be required, as well as a service address for the person. Corporate members will need to provide the name of the company and provide a service address. These requirements mirror the information that other stakeholders in a company need to provide to Companies House. Failure to comply with these requirements can result in up to 12 months in prison and/or a £1,000 fine with more serious consequences when false information is provided.
Where there are changes in the information, a member has two months to notify the company. It is important to comply with this requirement to avoid criminal sanctions.
Changes to offences
Alongside these changes to what companies need to report to Companies House, there has also been a change to the way offences are dealt with. Failure to notify Companies House in most instances will result in a fine.
Offences to be aware of under the Companies Act 2006 are:
- The general false statement offence under s1112
- Basic false statement offence under s113 G-113H
- Aggravated offence under s1112A
- Aggravated false statement offence under s113I
The offence under (1) above, will be amended to include “without a reasonable excuse” where a filing includes a statement that is false, deceptive or misleading. This has been added to protect individuals, such as advisers, from committing an offence involving false information that is later submitted to Companies House.
(3) is an existing offence. (2) and (4) were created to deal with the information reporting requirements coming into force for Members and PSCs.
How we can help
The incoming company law changes mean that there will be a greater burden on companies and their members and directors to report information to Companies House in a timely and accurate fashion.
Companies House has been given sufficient sanctioning powers to bring to account any non-compliance in this area.
We will be registering as an ACSP to assist our clients to meet the new identity verification and filing obligations.
Please contact us to discuss how we can help you comply with the new rules.
