Companies House and company law changes

The ECCTA introduces fundamental reforms to the role of the Registrar of Companies and changes to company law designed to promote the integrity of the register and increase the transparency of corporate entities in the UK although many of the reforms are not yet in force. Reforms include:

• introducing identity verification requirements for all directors, persons with significant control, LLP members and anyone delivering documents to Companies House;
• an enhanced, more active role for the Registrar of Companies, with new powers to query and reject filings, require additional information, remove information from the register and proactively share data with regulators and public authorities;
• legislating to restrict the use of corporate directors;
• tighter controls in respect of registered office addresses and company names; and
• a new requirement for a registered email address.

You can read more detail on the changes as they apply to companies and LLPs.

You can also read our detailed summary of the identity verification reforms to help you prepare for the new identity verification requirements.