Local registers of PSCs and directors to be abolished

Companies House has announced that the current requirement for companies to maintain their own local registers of people with significant control (PSCs), directors, and secretaries will be abolished on 18 November 2025. Instead information will need to be provided direct to Companies House.

What is changing?

At present, every company must hold and maintain statutory registers of its PSCs, directors, directors’ residential addresses, and secretaries. Private companies may alternatively elect to use the central register to hold information about the company’s officers. 

The duty to keep these local registers (and the private company central register option for officers) will be removed on 18 November 2025. Instead, companies will be required to file specified information at Companies House. This will broadly correspond to the information currently required to be entered in the local registers, although with some minor changes (e.g. details about a director’s business occupation will no longer be requested). 

In relation to PSCs, the draft regulations suggest that companies will be required to update Companies House within 14 days of having confirmation of any changes to PSC information. As noted in the Explanatory Memorandum, the new regime aims to reduce the time-lag that exists in the current system between companies updating their local PSC register and informing Companies House. 

What about the register of members?

The option for companies to elect to keep information about its members on a central register, rather than on a local register, will also be removed. This means that all companies will be required to maintain their own register of members, which must be held at its registered office address or single alternative inspection location. 

Next steps

Companies will need to adapt their processes and ensure they comply with the new Companies House notification requirements in relation to any changes to PSC, director or secretary information from 18 November. Further information is expected to be provided by Companies House nearer that date.