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, authorised under s.390A) — 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 in ss.72B–72GA.
• Duties after appointment: notice to the company and creditors (s.46) and a statement of affairs (s.47) are separate insolvency-law duties, distinct from the Companies House filing.
• 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 current RM01 form itself confirms that section 859K is the governing provision whichever part of the form is completed. The older equivalent duty — sections 860 to 877 of the Companies Act 2006 as originally enacted — was repealed and replaced by the current Chapter A1 provisions (including s.859K) from 6 April 2013, under the Companies Act 2006 (Amendment of Part 25) Regulations 2013. That is why RM01 still asks which date the underlying charge was created: it drives which part of the form (Part A or Part B) you complete, even though the statutory filing duty is now uniformly under section 859K.

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 (SI 2003/2095) — and does not apply retrospectively to earlier charges.

There is a limited, named set of exceptions to the section 72A restriction, set out in sections 72B to 72GA of the Insolvency Act 1986:

| Section | Exception | |---|---| | s.72B | Capital market arrangements | | s.72C | Public-private partnerships involving 'step-in rights' | | s.72D | Utility companies (water, gas, electricity, sewerage) | | s.72DA | Certain urban regeneration projects | | s.72E | Project finance | | s.72F | Financial market arrangements | | s.72G | Registered social landlords | | s.72GA | Protected railway companies |

Outside those categories, 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 exceptions above. Confirming which situation applies, and when the relevant charge was actually created, is one of the first things to establish.

What happens once a receiver or manager is appointed

Filing RM01 satisfies the Companies House registration duty, but it is only one of several separate legal obligations that arise on appointment. Where the appointee is an administrative receiver, the Insolvency Act 1986 imposes further duties directly on the office-holder, independent of the Companies House filing:

| Duty | Deadline | Legal basis | |---|---|---| | Notice of appointment sent to the company | Immediately ('forthwith') | Insolvency Act 1986, s.46(1)(a) | | Notice of appointment sent to known creditors | Within 28 days of appointment | Insolvency Act 1986, s.46(1)(b) | | Statement of affairs called for and provided by specified persons | Within 21 days of being given notice | Insolvency Act 1986, s.47 | | Notice of appointment given to the registrar (RM01) | Within 7 days of the order or appointment | Companies Act 2006, s.859K(2) |

Failing to comply with the section 46 or section 47 duties, without reasonable excuse, is itself an offence carrying a fine and a daily default fine for continued non-compliance — separate from the s.859K(6)–(7) offence that attaches to a late RM01.

An administrative receiver is also, under section 44 of the Insolvency Act 1986, treated as the company's agent unless and until the company goes into liquidation. That agency status matters practically: the receiver is personally liable on any contract they enter into while carrying out their functions (subject to an indemnity out of the company's assets, and unless the contract itself says otherwise), and — for employment contracts — is not treated as having 'adopted' a contract of employment because of anything done, or not done, in the first 14 days after appointment. After that 14-day window, adopting an employment contract can create personal liability for certain 'qualifying' liabilities such as wages and pension contributions arising after adoption.

Worked example: two charges, two different routes

Company A granted a floating charge to its bank in 2001. The company later defaults, and the bank wants to appoint a receiver over the whole of its assets. Because the charge was created before 15 September 2003, the section 72A restriction does not apply — the bank can still appoint an administrative receiver under the pre-2003 regime, and because the charge itself predates 6 April 2013, Part A of form RM01 is completed.

Company B granted a floating charge to a different lender in 2016, and that charge does not fall within any of the named exceptions in sections 72B–72GA. When Company B defaults, the lender cannot lawfully appoint an administrative receiver over the whole of the business — section 72A blocks it. The lender's practical route is to appoint an administrator instead, a different process governed by Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986, not by form RM01. If the same lender instead appoints a fixed-charge receiver over one specific asset (not the whole or substantially the whole of the company's property), that is not administrative receivership at all, and RM01 would be completed using Part B, since the charge was created on or after 6 April 2013.

The two variables that decide the outcome are: (1) when the charge was created, relative to 15 September 2003, and (2) whether the appointment covers the whole, or substantially the whole, of the company's property. Getting both dates and the scope of the appointment right, before anyone files anything, is essential.

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. Complete the parallel insolvency-law duties, not just the Companies House filing. Where the appointee is an administrative receiver, notice must go to the company immediately and to known creditors within 28 days (Insolvency Act 1986, s.46), and a statement of affairs must be called for under s.47. These deadlines run independently of, and usually alongside, the 7-day RM01 deadline — diarise all of them together.
7. Remember RM02 later. 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: August 2026 by a non-practising solicitor · Next review due: August 2027 or on legislative change.