A guide to maintaining your limited company registers

Company registers used to be a long list of books every limited company had to keep. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act has simplified this. Some registers have been abolished, but others remain, and the information still has to be accurate at Companies House.

What changed on 18 November 2025

From 18 November 2025 there is no longer a requirement for companies to hold their own:

• register of directors
• register of directors' residential addresses
• register of secretaries
• register of people with significant control (PSCs)

You must still tell Companies House about these people and keep the information up to date. The public register at Companies House is now the official record.

There was also a second change. Private companies used to be able to "elect" to keep some registers at Companies House instead of holding their own. Officer information could no longer be kept that way from 18 November 2025, and member information from 26 January 2026. If your company used that option for its members, it must now create a full register of members and hold it itself.

The register of members

Every company limited by shares must keep a register of members. It should show for each shareholder:

• name and address
• the date they became a member (and the date they stopped, if they have)
• the number and class of shares they hold
• the amount paid, or treated as paid, on those shares

Companies limited by guarantee keep a register of members too, showing each member's details and the dates they joined and left.

The register must be kept at the registered office or at a SAIL, and it must be available for inspection. People can ask to inspect it or request a copy.

Other records you must keep

Registers are only part of the picture. A limited company must also keep records of:

• shareholder resolutions and the results of votes
• minutes of general meetings and directors' meetings
• debentures and who they are payable to
• indemnities given to directors
• share purchase transactions
• loans or mortgages secured against company assets

If you keep these anywhere other than the registered office, you must tell Companies House where they are. Records of resolutions and meetings must be kept for at least 10 years.

How to keep your register of members up to date

1. Update it straight away when shares are issued, transferred or cancelled. Do not wait until year end.
2. Keep supporting paperwork together – stock transfer forms, board minutes approving transfers, and copies of share certificates.
3. Check it against Companies House filings. Your confirmation statement includes shareholder information, so the two should match.
4. File share issues on time. A new allotment needs form SH01 and a statement of capital within one month.
5. Review it once a year, ideally when you prepare your confirmation statement.

A simple spreadsheet or a bound register book is fine for a small company, as long as it is complete and can be produced when asked.

Keeping Companies House up to date

Because the director and PSC registers have moved to Companies House, timely filing matters more than ever. Report changes such as a new director, a resignation, a change of name or address, or a new PSC. New directors and PSCs must also verify their identity with Companies House. Existing directors and PSCs verify when they file their next confirmation statement during the transition period, which runs until around 18 November 2026.

Common mistakes

• Throwing away old registers. Keep historic registers and records even if you no longer need to update them.
• Forgetting to record share transfers between family members or co-founders.
• Keeping the register at a home address without telling Companies House it is the inspection location.
• Assuming your accountant keeps the register. Directors are responsible, even if someone else does the work.

How Form My Company can help

Every company we form comes with digital registers and share certificates set up correctly from day one. Our Registered Office Address service gives you a professional address where records can be kept, and our Share Issue or Transfer service updates the register of members and files the forms for you. As a Companies House ACSP, we can also verify new directors and PSCs remotely. Unsure whether your records are complete? Our Compliance and Due Diligence check reviews them.

Frequently asked questions