Concise Accountancy

Accountants and Registered Auditors

Companies house administrationOverseas company in the UK

Appoint corporate secretary for an overseas company

Complete the Companies House form OS AP04 to appoint a corporate secretary for an overseas company in the UK. This form is different from the form of AP04. The AP04 is for the appointment of a corporate secretary for a limited company.

If you would like to appoint an individual secretary for your overseas company, please complete the form OS AP03.

Information required to complete the form OS AP04

You must complete the following sections of the form OS AP04 to appoint a corporate secretary for an overseas company.

Section 1: Overseas company details

Provide your overseas company number. your overseas company number shall start with a prefix “FC” or “SF” or NF” followed by six digits.

Write your overseas company full name or alternative name currently registered with Companies House.

Section 2: Date of appointment of your corporate secretary

You must specify the date of appointment of your new overseas company’s corporate secretary.

Section 3: New corporate secretary information

You must provide your new corporate secretary’s details such as the full company’s or firm’s name.

Additionally, you must also specify the registered or principal address of your corporate director. This address must not be a P O Box address. It must be a physical location.

Section 4: If your corporate secretary is an EEA company

If your corporate secretary is a firm or company registered in the EEA, please provide the company name and number.

Section 5: If your corporate secretary is a non-EEA company

Provide the following details if your corporate secretary is a non-EEA company.

  • legal form of your corporate director or firm
  • Governing law
  • Where it was registered
  • Its registration number if applicable.

Section 6: Your secretary’s authority

You must disclose whether your new corporate secretary has limited or unlimited authority. If you have indicated your corporate secretary’s authority is limited, you must provide a brief description in the box provided in the form.

Concurrently, you must also disclose if your corporate secretary can act alone or must act jointly. If your corporate secretary is not authorised to act alone then you must provide names of the persons who are authorised to act jointly.

Section 6: Overseas company’s branch in the UK

You provide your UK establishment name and registration number. Your branch number shall start with a prefix “BR” followed by six digits.

Section 7: Signature

You must sign the form. You must hold the position of either as the overseas company director, secretary or a permanent representative in order to sign the form OS AP04.

Where to send your OS AP04 form

You may send your completed OS AP04 form to one of the following Companies House offices.

England and Wales:

The Registrar of Companies, Companies House,
Crown Way, Cardiff, Wales, CF14 3UZ.
DX 33050 Cardiff.

Scotland:

The Registrar of Companies, Companies House,
Fourth floor, Edinburgh Quay 2,
139 Fountainbridge, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH3 9FF.
DX ED235 Edinburgh 1
or LP – 4 Edinburgh 2 (Legal Post).

Northern Ireland:

The Registrar of Companies, Companies House,
Second Floor, The Linenhall, 32-38 Linenhall Street,
Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT2 8BG.
DX 481 N.R. Belfast 1.

Companies House filings during COVID-19 pandemic

Companies House created an interim paperless filing service to accept documents which would normally require a live signature. You can easily upload your documents to Companies House online platform.

You are also encouraged to use the WebFiling service to submit the following documents to Companies House.

For this purpose, you would require your company’s authentication code to file online. The authentication code is the electronic equivalent of your company’s director(s) signatures. Hence, you must keep it safe.

If you require help with your company’s filings, contact Our accountants. They will be more than happy to assist you.

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