The staggered implementation of the measures under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) to promote accuracy and improve the quality of company information held at Companies House continues, since the first measures came into force on Monday 4 March 2024.
To achieve this, Companies House has gradually been given increased powers to scrutinise, and reject information that appears inconsistent with information already on the register and even remove inaccurate information already on the register.
Changes rolled out include:
- greater powers to query information and request supporting evidence
- stronger checks on company names;
- new rules for registered office addresses;
- a requirement for all companies to supply a registered email address;
- a requirement for subscribers to confirm they are forming a company for a lawful purpose when they incorporate a new company, and for an existing company to confirm its intended future activities will be lawful on its confirmation statement;
- greater powers to tackle and remove factually inaccurate information;
- the ability to share data with other government departments and law enforcement agencies.
New criminal offences and civil penalties that will complement the measures have also been introduced.
Registered office address
From 4 March 2024 UK companies must have an ‘appropriate address’ as their registered office at all times. An appropriate address is one where:
- any documents sent to the registered office can be expected to come to the attention of a person acting on behalf of the company
- any documents sent to that address can be recorded by an acknowledgement of delivery
These changes mean you will not be able to use a PO Box as your registered office address from 4 March 2024. You can still use a third-party agent’s address if they meet the conditions for an appropriate address.
Verification of ID
All Directors, PSCs and officers filing documents must be ID verified. This can be done with a passport and photo. This can be done by an authorisec local agent on behalf of it’s clients.
Registered email address
From 4th March 2024 all limited Companies must have a statutory email address (not a personal email address) registered with Companies House for all communications going forward. Again, an authorised local agent can undertake this task on behalf of it’s clients.
Statement of lawful purpose
All new companies will have to sign a ‘lawful purpose statement’ upon setting up. For all existing companies this will take place on the next confirmation statement.
Filing of accounts:
There is a focus on transitioning all companies towards filing accounts by software only, and changes to small company accounts filing options.
Companies House has confirmed that paper filing will be phased out entirely during 2026.
A ‘small’ company or ‘micro-entity’ will no longer be able to file abridged/filleted accounts. The current rules allows micro-entities and small companies (as defined in the rules) to file just a balance sheet and related notes with Companies House.
Going forward a micro-entity is required to file its balance sheet with notes together with its profit and loss account with Companies House. A small company is further required to deliver its directors’ report, hence ‘full’ accounts, to Companies House.
No foreign corporate directors
Government has also confirmed that all corporate directors must be UK registered entities – no foreign corporate directors will be allowed.
Further measures
The phased roll out is designed to minimise hassle for legitimate businesses. Many of the changes will be integrated into existing reporting cycles, such as the requirement to update a company’s confirmation statement. Some of the reforms still in progress includes:
- Full integration of identity‑verification checks into incorporation and filing workflows.
- Expanded data‑matching and anomaly‑detection systems.
- New civil‑penalty regimes and increased fees to support enforcement.
- Continued rollout of digital‑first services and retirement of legacy systems.
We shall continue to monitor the developments, as further measures are introduced with the objective of Companies House becoming the ‘gatekeeper’ of accurate and complete company information.
If you have any queries about this topic, please contact a member of our corporate team.
The material contained in this article is provided for general purposes only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice. Appropriate legal advice should be sought for specific circumstances and before action is taken.
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