The 7 Companies House changes in 2024 you need to know

As of 4 March 2024, some of the biggest changes to company law in UK legislative history were introduced. These changes fall under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCT) bill¹ which became law in October 2023.

From now on, Companies House will both keep records and enforce rules, giving them stronger tools to combat economic crime and enhance company house data accuracy.

Not since 1844 have such a sweeping set of measures been introduced under company law, therefore it’s imperative that company owners and directors are fully aware of the changes. 

Under the ECCT bill, there are new responsibilities for:

• All new and existing company directors
• People with significant control of a company (PSCs)
• Anyone who files documents at Companies House on behalf of a company

The legislation applies to companies and other entities registered in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland registered with Companies House, including:

• private limited companies
• public limited companies (PLCs)
• limited liability partnerships (LLPs)
• limited partnerships (LPs)
• community interest companies (CICs)
• overseas companies

The legislation will also apply to anyone who files on behalf of clients, such as accountants and company formation agents. You’ll need to register as an authorised agent with Companies House. Authorised agents are also known as Authorised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs).

Companies House have greater powers to query information and request supporting evidence, compared to beforehand when they were accepting documents in good faith and with little scrutiny.

This means companies must always have an appropriate address. A document addressed to the company would be expected to come to the person acting on its behalf, with a document being capable of being recorded by obtaining an acknowledgement of delivery.  If they are not satisfied, Companies House may change this to a default address and could strike the company off if no appropriate address is given in 28 days.

Furthermore, on incorporation the subscribers must confirm they are forming the company for lawful purposes. Existing companies must confirm this on every confirmation statement. This is known as a statement of lawful purpose.

Registrars will also have greater powers to challenge information and may remove information they feel may be inaccurate, incomplete, false or fraudulent. There will be stricter company name approvals to ensure the public aren’t misled.

Failure to respond to Companies House for more information may lead to financial penalty, annotation on the company record and even prosecution.

Confirmation statement (Form CS01) changes

Companies house filing accounts will soon be transitioned towards digital only. All companies will need to find suitable software before web-based and paper filing options are no longer available. This will be phased over the next 2/3 years.

Additionally, the option to file abridged accounts will be removed. Small and micro-entity companies will need to file their profit and loss (P&L) accounts and small companies that do not qualify as micro-entities will need to file a directors’ report.

In terms of audit exemptions, any company wanting to claim will need to give an additional statement from their directors on the balance sheet. Directors will need to specify which exemption is being claimed and confirm that the company qualifies for exemption.

Protecting your information

Individuals will be able to suppress the following information from historical documents:

• residential addresses in most instances when shown elsewhere on the register (for example, when used as a registered office address)
• day of birth for documents registered before 10 October 2015 (only the month and year of birth have been publicly displayed since 10 October 2015)
• signatures
• business occupation

Furthermore, individuals at personal risk of physical harm or violence as a result of their personal information being on a Companies House public register (for example, domestic abuse survivors) will be able to apply to have their information protected from public view. 

• The information that can be protected from public view includes:
• name (or previous names)
• sensitive addresses where public disclosure puts its residents at risk (for example, a women’s domestic abuse refuge)
• in the most serious cases, all other details, for example, service address and partial date of birth

Improving transparency of company ownership

Companies are obliged to: 

• record the full names of shareholders who are individuals – or the full names of corporate members and firms
• provide a one-off full shareholder list so Companies House can display shareholder information in a more user-friendly way 
• Companies House will: 
• collect and display more information from companies claiming an exemption from providing person with significant control (PSC) details, including the reason for the exemption
• collect and display the conditions which allow a relevant legal entity (RLE) to be recorded as a PSC

There will also be restrictions on the use of corporate directors. Only UK corporate entities with ‘legal personality’ can be appointed as corporate directors. The directors of these corporate directors must be natural persons and must verify their identity

Identity verification

Directors, Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP) members and People with Significant Control (PSCs) of a company will need to verify their identity.  There will be a transition period for existing directors, LLP members and PSCs.

Anyone acting on behalf of the company will also need to verify their identity before filing on behalf of other companies. Companies House will put in place a service to verify ID documents such as passports. Authorised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs) can be accountants, formation agents or solicitors.

Limited partnership reporting

Information for LP’s will be more transparent. The main change is that LPs will need to file their information through an authorised agent to ensure the data is trustworthy and fit for purpose.

Our dedicated Company Secretarial division has extensive experience in commercial and corporate matters and can provide you with a professional and streamlined service to prepare you for these changes to Companies House. We work with you to increase transparency and keep our finger on the pulse of evolving company reporting requirements so you’re always ahead of the curve.

For more information contact us to discuss your company secretarial service needs and discover how Evelyn Partners can help.

[1] - Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament