RM01 Form UK: Appoint an Administrative Receiver or Manager

At a glance

• What RM01 does: notifies Companies House of the appointment of an administrative receiver, receiver or manager, under section 859K of the Companies Act 2006.
• Statutory deadline: notice must be given to the registrar within 7 days of the order or of the appointment taking effect (Companies Act 2006, s.859K(2)).
• Who can appoint: usually the holder of a debenture, fixed charge or floating charge, exercising a contractual right after default, or a court by order.
• Who can be appointed as an administrative receiver: must be a qualified insolvency practitioner (Insolvency Act 1986, s.230) — not any individual, and not a corporate body.
• Enterprise Act 2002 restriction: the holder of a qualifying floating charge created on or after 15 September 2003 generally cannot appoint an administrative receiver at all (Insolvency Act 1986, s.72A) — administration is the modern route outside the exceptions.
• Missing the deadline: filing late is a criminal offence under s.859K(6), with a fine plus a daily default fine for continued default (s.859K(7)).
• Companion form: when the appointment ends, cessation must also be notified, using form RM02, under s.859K(3).

What this document is

Form RM01 is the Companies House filing used to place on the public register the fact that an administrative receiver, receiver or manager has been appointed over a company's property. The legal basis for the filing is section 859K of the Companies Act 2006, which sits within Part 25 of the Act — the part dealing with registration of company charges.

The appointment itself is not made by filing RM01. It is made either by a court order, or by a secured creditor exercising a power contained in an instrument such as a debenture or charge. RM01 is filed afterwards, to record that fact on the register so third parties dealing with the company can see that enforcement action has begun.

Once appointed, the receiver or manager typically takes possession of the charged assets, may carry on the business where that helps recovery, and works towards satisfying what the secured creditor is owed. Where the appointment is of an administrative receiver specifically — a receiver or manager of the whole, or substantially the whole, of the company's property under a floating charge, as defined in section 29(2) of the Insolvency Act 1986 — the appointee effectively takes over the conduct of the business, not just specific assets.

Filing RM01 is separate from, and later than, registering the original charge (which uses form MR01 under sections 859A–859Q of the Companies Act 2006). One filing records the security; the other records that the security has been enforced.

The Enterprise Act 2002 restriction

Since the Enterprise Act 2002, administrative receivership has become the exception rather than the default route for enforcing a floating charge. Section 250 of the Enterprise Act 2002 inserted section 72A into the Insolvency Act 1986, which provides that the holder of a qualifying floating charge may not appoint an administrative receiver of the company. This restriction bites on qualifying floating charges created on or after 15 September 2003 — the date appointed by the Insolvency Act 1986, Section 72A (Appointed Date) Order 2003 — and does not apply retrospectively to earlier charges.

There is a limited set of exceptions to the section 72A restriction, set out in sections 72B to 72GA of the Insolvency Act 1986, broadly covering capital markets transactions, project finance, public–private partnerships, utility and railway companies, and certain financial market arrangements. Outside those exceptions, a lender enforcing a post-2003 floating charge will typically appoint an administrator instead — a different regime with different duties, covered separately in our Companies House forms guides.

This means RM01 today is most commonly encountered in one of two situations: enforcement of a charge created before 15 September 2003, or enforcement falling within one of the narrow statutory exceptions. Confirming which situation applies, and when the relevant charge was actually created, is one of the first things to establish.

How to use this document

1. Confirm the underlying security actually permits the appointment. Before anyone files anything, the secured creditor needs to check that the debenture or charge genuinely gives a power to appoint a receiver or manager, and that the default or other trigger event relied on has actually occurred. The exact wording of the security document governs what can and cannot be done.
2. Check whether the Enterprise Act 2002 restriction applies. If the proposed appointment would be an administrative receiver appointed under a qualifying floating charge created on or after 15 September 2003, and none of the statutory exceptions in sections 72B–72GA of the Insolvency Act 1986 apply, the appointment cannot lawfully be made — administration is the relevant route instead. Get the date the charge was created right; it drives everything that follows.
3. Make the appointment correctly, and confirm the appointee is qualified. The appointment is typically made in writing under the terms of the security, with the appointee formally accepting the role. Under section 230 of the Insolvency Act 1986, anyone appointed as an administrative receiver must be a qualified insolvency practitioner authorised under section 390A — a defective appointment, including appointing someone unqualified, can be challenged later.
4. Complete Form RM01 and identify which part applies. The current version of the form is published by Companies House and asks for the company name and number, the date the order was obtained or the appointment took effect, details of the person appointed, and information about the charge. Whether you complete Part A or Part B of the form depends on whether the relevant charge was created before or on/after 6 April 2013 — check the current version of the form on GOV.UK for the exact fields required.
5. File within the 7-day statutory window. Section 859K(2) of the Companies Act 2006 requires notice to the registrar within 7 days of the order or of the appointment taking effect. Check GOV.UK for the current filing method and whether any fee applies, and diarise the deadline the moment the appointment takes effect — late filing is a criminal offence under s.859K(6)–(7).
6. Notify the company and its creditors, and remember RM02 later. Beyond the Companies House filing, the company and its creditors will generally need to be told about the appointment under the applicable insolvency legislation and rules. When the receiver or manager eventually stops acting, section 859K(3) requires a further notice to the registrar — filed using form RM02 — so keep a note that this second filing will be needed in due course.

This page provides general information about Companies House form RM01, section 859K of the Companies Act 2006, and the related Insolvency Act 1986 and Enterprise Act 2002 provisions. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor–client relationship. Whether a particular appointment is valid, whether the Enterprise Act 2002 restriction applies to a specific charge, and what a company or director should do next all depend on the wording of the actual security document and the surrounding facts — always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the current position, and take specialist insolvency advice for your own circumstances.

Last reviewed: July 2026 by a non-practising solicitor · Next review due: July 2027 or on legislative change.