What records must a limited company keep?

Good records are a legal requirement, but they also make life easier: your accounts are quicker to prepare, you can answer HMRC questions, and you know how the business is really doing. As a director you are responsible for making sure records are kept, even if an accountant does the work.

Company records

A limited company must keep records of:

• its members (shareholders), in a register of members
• resolutions passed by shareholders and the results of votes
• minutes of general meetings and directors' meetings
• debentures (promises to repay loans on a future date) and who they are payable to
• indemnities – promises to pay if something goes wrong through the company's fault, for example for directors
• share purchase transactions, such as buying back shares
• loans or mortgages secured against company assets

If you keep these records anywhere other than the registered office, you must tell Companies House where they are.

What changed in November 2025

Since 18 November 2025, companies no longer have to hold their own registers of directors, directors' residential addresses, secretaries or people with significant control (PSCs). That information is held at Companies House, and you must keep it up to date there. The register of members is still required.

Accounting records

Your accounting records must show:

• all money received and spent, including grants and support payments
• the company's assets
• debts owed to and by the company
• stock held at the end of the financial year, and the stocktakes used to work it out
• goods bought and sold, and who you bought them from and sold them to (unless you run a retail business)

Keep the supporting documents too: sales and purchase invoices, receipts, bank statements, contracts and relevant correspondence.

Payroll and VAT records

If the company runs a payroll, keep records of pay, deductions and payments to HMRC. If it is VAT-registered, keep VAT records and file returns digitally under Making Tax Digital. Your accountant or payroll software will usually handle the detail.

How long to keep records

Keep accounting records for 6 years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to. Keep them longer if:

• a transaction covers more than one accounting period
• the company bought an asset expected to last more than 6 years, such as equipment
• the Company Tax Return was filed late
• HMRC has started a compliance check

Records of resolutions and meetings must be kept for at least 10 years.

Where and how to keep them

Records can be paper or digital, as long as they are complete, accurate and can be produced when needed. Practical tips:

1. Use accounting software and connect your business bank account.
2. Photograph or scan receipts as you get them.
3. Keep company records together, ideally at the registered office.
4. Back up digital records securely.
5. Keep personal and business spending separate.

Penalties for poor records

HMRC can charge a penalty of up to £3,000 if a company does not keep proper records, and directors can be disqualified. Poor records also make it hard to prove expenses, which can mean paying more tax than necessary.

Records when the company closes

If you close a company, keep its records for the required period after it is dissolved. Agree with the other directors who will keep them and where.

How Form My Company can help

Start with records set up correctly. Every company we form comes with digital registers, share certificates and memorandum and articles. Our Bookkeeping, VAT and Payroll service keeps your accounting records up to date, our Annual Accounts service prepares and files your accounts, and our Registered Office Address gives you an address where statutory records can be kept.

Frequently asked questions