Company registered in the United Kingdom must keep and maintain company registers for public inspection. Usually, the inspection would take place at your registered office unless you keep your company registers somewhere else.
Registered office address
Your registered office address must valid at all times. You must be able to receive your notices and reminders from Companies House about your inspection request.
If you are no longer able to access your mails sent to your registered office then you must change the address. In this situation, you use the form AD01 to notify Companies House. Specifically, your new address must not a PO Box address. This would lead to Companies House to reject your form.
Another option is to use a service provider’s address if you do not have a suitable address to use as your registered office in the UK. Basically, you pay a service provider a fee to use their address. They would then forward your mails to you anywhere in the world. However, you must comply with their due diligence check under money laundering law. For this purpose, you must provide proof of identity and proof of address documents to prove you are who you are.
Generally, Companies House would propose to strike off your company in the event that letters were returned to them. Plus, your company’s legal documents are overdue for a long time. For this reason, it is vital that you notify Companies House if you have moved to a new address so that you are able to respond to Companies House reminders promptly.
Single Alternative Inspection Location (SAIL) address
In that case, you must notify Companies House of that address using the form AD02. That address is known as your Single Alternative Inspection Location (SAIL) address. Subsequently, if you move your company registers to another address, then you the form AD03 to notify Companies House. Later, if you would like to move your company registers back to your registered office then submit the form AD04. Companies House will update your records accordingly.
List of company register to keep
The list of company registers a company must maintain and made available for inspection.
- Register of members.
- Register of directors.
- Directors’ service contracts.
- Directors’ indemnities.
- Register of secretaries. Take note that a private limited company is not compulsory to have a company secretary. Therefore, you do not need to maintain secretary register if you do not have one. Unless you are a public limited company.
- Records of resolutions and minutes of general meetings.
- Contracts relating to purchase of own assets.
- Documents relating to redemption or purchase of own share out of the capital by the private limited company.
- Registers of debenture holders.
- Report to members of the outcome of the investigation by public limited company into interests in its shares.
- Register of interests in shares disclosed to a public limited company.
- Instruments creating charges and register of charges for England and Wales or Northern Ireland.
- Instruments creating charges and register of charges for Scotland.
- Register of people with significant control (PSC).
- Copies of confirmation statements and annual return with Companies House.
Company registers inspection location
Legally, you must let the public inspect your company registers when a request is made to inspect them. Consequently, you are required to disclose which registers are kept at your SAIL address. Concurrently, if there are any registers not kept at your SAIL address you must make it available at your registered office address.
Company registers booklet
In any case, you can buy a standard company register booklet to help you to maintain your company registers. The company registers booklet is organised into sections for easy navigation. Furthermore, it also comes with useful templates to fill your company information.
Many people also use the registers booklet as a reminder as to what information to keep for compliance with the law.
