Company Books


	Company registration
	Directors responsibilites
	Annual returns
	Filing your accounts
	Limited Liability Partnerships
	Auditors
	Late filing penalty FAQ
	Late filing penalty appeals
	Company charges and mortgages
	Winding up a company
	Removal / restoration of a company
	Principle business activites
	E-Filing

What you have to send to Companies House

Company directors and secretaries are responsible for delivering information to the Registrar. There are over 200 forms that companies could file. The following information deals only with the most common forms and documents that companies will use.

1. Accounts

All limited companies, whether trading or not, must keep accounting records and file accounts for each accounting period with the Registrar.

Unless a company is claiming exemption as a medium-sized, small, audit-exempt or dormant company, the accounts will include:

directors' report signed by a director or the company secretary;
a balance sheet signed by a director;
a profit and loss account (or income and expenditure account if the company is not trading for profit);
an auditors' report signed by the auditor;
notes to the accounts; and
group accounts (if appropriate).

the booklet, 'Accounts and Accounting Reference Dates', provides more information on preparing and filing accounts and about exemptions from filing.

Accounts must be produced to a standard that Companies House can scan to reproduce electronically - see chapter 5.

Directors are personally responsible for ensuring that accounts are prepared and delivered to Companies House. Failure to do so may result in a criminal conviction and record for the director(s) and will result in financial penalties for the company.

2. Annual returns (Form 363)

An annual return is a snapshot of general information about a company giving details of its directors and secretary, registered office address, shareholders and share capital.

Companies House will send a pre-printed 'shuttle' annual return form to the company's registered office each year. It details the information already held on the database.

The details should be:

checked closely (and amended if necessary);
signed and dated; and
returned to Companies House within 28 days of the date shown on the form, with the filing fee.

If you file the annual return late or not at all, the company and its director(s) and secretary can be prosecuted.

Please note that annual returns are quite separate from annual accounts. For more information about how to complete an annual return, refer to the 'Annual Return' booklet.

3. Change of accounting reference date - Form 225

Every company has an accounting reference date, which is the date to which the company's accounts are prepared each year. This date can be changed using Form 225. For more information, see the 'Accounts and Accounting Reference Dates' booklet.

4. Change of registered office - Form 287

It is vital that you keep Companies House informed of the location of your registered office. All formal communications are sent there.

Every company must have a registered office: it is the 'home' of the company to which all official documents, notices and court papers have to be sent by law. The address must be a physical location, not just a post office box. This is because people have the right to visit your office to inspect certain registers and documents, and to deliver documents by hand.

You can change your registered office address by sending a completed Form 287 to the Registrar. The change becomes legally effective only when Companies House have registered the form.

5. Change of directors and secretary and their details - Forms 288

There are three types of Form 288.

Form 288(a) is used for the appointment of an officer.
Form 288(b) is used for an officer ceasing to act (resignation, removal, death etc).
Form 288(c) is used for a change in details of an officer, for example, a change of name or new residential address.

All changes to directors' and secretary's details must be sent to the Registrar within 14 days of the change.

Electronic delivery of directors details and registered office address:
The Registrar’s PROOF (PROtected On-line Filing) Scheme

Company directors hold an important position in a company: they have power to make purchases and enter into credit arrangements on behalf of the company. Similarly, the registered office address is important because it is the address to which all official communications will be sent.

Records held at Companies House are sometimes used to check the legitimacy of a company and its directors before credit or loans are made therefore it is important that the records are correct. Companies are vulnerable to fraud if the wrong people get themselves on record as company directors or a bogus registered office address is filed.

In order to combat fraudsters posing as legitimate directors, Companies House offers companies a fully electronic and secure system for notifying changes of directors and changes to the registered office address. If you opt to only notify these electronically, they will be protected by electronic codes and Companies House will not accept notices from your company delivered in any other format.

In order to take advantage of this service you will first need to register through the WebFiling service for a security code and an authentication code to enable your company to file electronically. To find out more about this please visit the web site at www.companieshouse.gov.uk.

You will then need to complete an ‘Opt-in’ form (PR1) and agree to the terms and conditions so that any change of directors or change of registered office address are only accepted by Companies House it they are delivered by the secure electronic method and never on a paper form. The ‘Opt-in’ form and terms and conditions are available from the web site or by calling 0870 33 33 636. The completed form must be posted back to Companies House.

This service is voluntary; you may opt-out at any time and Companies House will revert to accepting notices from your company delivered electronically or on paper forms.

6. Allotments of shares - Form 88(2)

This form should be sent to Companies House within one month of the shares being allotted.

the booklet, 'Share Capital and Prospectuses' gives more information about this.

7. Resolutions

Copies of any special or extraordinary resolutions and certain types of ordinary resolutions, need to be sent to Companies House within 15 days of them being passed by the company - the booklet, 'Resolutions', gives more information about this.

There is no special form to complete but the document must be produced to a standard that Companies House can scan and reproduce electronically - see Chapter 5.

8. Mortgages and charges

Details of any mortgage or charge created by the company must be sent to Companies House within 21 days. See the booklet, 'Company Charges and Mortgages' or 'Company Charges (Scotland)'.


The information on this website is Crown Copyright and has been faithfully reproduced in accordance with current guidelines The text is hereby attributed to Companies House. Please click here to read our full terms and conditions.