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Companies House: guidance for limited companies, partnerships and other company types
A collection of guides about registering, filing and disclosing information with Companies House.
Webinars
Our live webinars are designed to provide you with quick and useful guidance on a range of topics, at a time and place of your choosing.
During the webinar, you can ask us questions using the on-screen text box. Our online team of experts will do their best to answer all your queries, or direct you to helpful guidance.
Company incorporation, names and officers
This guide includes information and advice about:
- how to incorporate a limited company
- the type of company you wish to incorporate
- the company’s officers
- choosing a company name including controls and restrictions
- disclosure of company name and other information
Confirmation statement
The guide covers:
- the confirmation statement (form CS01)
- share capital
- company registers
Submitting your confirmation statement online
You can watch our Confirmation Statement demo video with captions on YouTube (4m 23s).
Accounts
Guidance for rules governing the filing of accounts of UK registered companies, including:
- accounting reference dates
- accounting records
- micro-entity accounts
- small company accounts
- medium company accounts
- dormant company accounts
You can watch our annual accounts video with captions on YouTube (1m 45s).
Changes to the company
Information about changes that UK companies need to file and the rules and requirements on submitting them.
Includes changes to:
- directors and secretaries
- PSC(people with significant control)
- company records
- resolutions
- change of constitution
- share capital
- re-registration
- charges
People with significant control (PSC)
Mortgage charges
How to:
- register a new charge at Companies House
- tell us about any you’ve paid off
- register as a lender to file charges online
- make an application to rectify a charge
The public record
Guidance about the public company register, including:
- what the public record is
- what information we make public
- how the public can access information
- how long your information remains available
- how to protect your home address and other personal information
Company registers
This guide includes information and advice about:
- register of members
- register of people with significant control
- information on the central public register
- register of directors
- register of directors’ usual residential addresses
- register of secretaries
Company strike off, dissolution and restoration
Information for directors, secretaries or company advisers about how to dissolve a company or restore a company to the register.
Includes information on:
- why a company may apply to be struck off
- when a company cannot apply to be struck off
- how to apply and who to tell
- how strike off and restoration notices are published in the Gazette
- withdrawing a strike off application
- objecting to a company’s dissolution
- offences and penalties
- what happens to companies no longer in operation
- how to restore a company to the register by a court order or administrative restoration
Late filing penalties (LFP)
How an LFP will be imposed if your company accounts are not filed on time and how to appeal against an LFP.
The guidance explains:
- LFPs
- how to avoid an LFP
- what to do when an LFP has been imposed
- how to appeal an LFP
Registrar’s rules and powers
This guide outlines the powers of the registrar of companies as per Part 35 of the Companies Act 2006, which also applies to limited liability partnerships.
The guidance explains:
- the registrar’s powers which relate to the delivery of information
- the registrar’s powers to amend the register
- other registrar powers
Restricting the disclosure of your information
How to restrict access to your information on the public register.
This guide will be relevant to you if:
- you’re a director or LLP member that wants to restrict disclosure of your residential address
- you’re a person with significant control (PSC) that wants to restrict disclosure of your residential address
- you’re a PSC that wants to restrict disclosure of all your PSC information on the public register
- you act as an adviser to a company, LLP, unlimited company or SE
- you’re seeking to suppress specified addresses from continuing to be published on the public register
- Restricting the disclosure of your information
- Restricting the disclosure of your information: Limited Liability Partnerships
- Restricting the disclosure of your information: (Scottish Limited Partnerships and Scottish Qualifying Partnerships)
- Overseas companies: restricting disclosure of your address
Liquidation and insolvency
This guidance provides a basic overview of insolvency and liquidation proceedings and summarises some of the rules that apply to:
- company voluntary arrangements
- moratoria
- administrations
- receivers
- voluntary liquidations
- compulsory liquidations
- EC regulations
Limited liability partnerships (LLPs)
- Confirmation statement guidance for LLPs
- Limited liability partnership incorporation and names
- Limited liability partnership accounts guidance
- Limited liability partnership registers
- Life of a limited liability partnership
- Limited liability partnership strike off, dissolution and restoration
- Late filing penalties: limited liability partnerships
- Liquidation and insolvency: limited liability partnerships
- Liquidation and insolvency: limited liability partnerships (Northern Ireland)
- Liquidation and insolvency: limited liability partnerships (Scotland)
Overseas companies
European economic interest groupings (EEIGs)
European public companies Societas Europaea (SEs)
Limited partnerships (LPs)
This guide explains what you need to do if you’re:
- intending to register a limited partnership
- intending to be designated as a private fund limited partnership
- a limited or general partner of a limited partnership
- acting as an adviser to a limited partnership
It also contains guidance on People with Significant Control (PSC) for Scottish limited partnerships.
Cross border mergers
Inconsistencies
Paper filing requirements
Guide to our official statistics
This guidance provides definitions for the main terms used in Companies House official statistics publications.
Published 13 November 2014
Last updated 7 June 2018 + show all updates
Last updated 7 June 2018 + show all updates
- Collection of webinars added.
- Latest confirmation statement guidance added to collection.
- LLP accounts guidance added to collection.
- Collection title has changed.
- Nationalities added to guidance collection.
- Reference to PSC guidance for Scottish LPs added.
- Scottish partnerships PSC guidance and restricting disclosure of information added to the guidance collection.
- New confirmation statement video added.
- Link to confirmation statement video added to the page.
- Definitions to accompany our statistical releases guidance added to the guidance collection.
- Reordered titles and names following the implementation of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act
- Limited liability partnership registers added to LLP guidance collection
- Company registers guidance added to the company guidance collection
- LLP guidance for the confirmation statement added to the page
- Confirmation statement guidance added to the collection of guidance
- Rectification of charges added to the guidance
- Draft PSC guidance added to the collection
- New guidance added to collection: Company details on paper documents.
- Inconsistencies guidance added to collection
- First published.