TM01 Form UK: How to Terminate a Director's Role

What this document is

Form TM01 is the official notification to Companies House that someone has stopped being a director of a UK company. It removes the director's name from the public record held at Companies House, and it signals that the person no longer holds office or has authority to bind the company.

The form itself is straightforward. It asks for the company number and name, the full name of the departing director, and the date their appointment came to an end. It is signed by a current officer of the company, typically another director or the company secretary, not by the person leaving.

TM01 only covers the Companies House filing. It does not, on its own, terminate any employment contract, service agreement, or shareholding the person may hold. Nor does it resolve questions about directors' loans, guarantees, or ongoing duties that can survive a departure.

It is best thought of as the administrative full stop at the end of a process that usually involves internal paperwork, a board minute, and sometimes a shareholder resolution.

How to use this document

1. Confirm how the director is leaving. Before anything is filed, be clear on the route out. A director may resign by written notice, retire by rotation under the Articles, be removed by ordinary resolution of the shareholders under section 168 of the Companies Act 2006, or cease to hold office automatically on disqualification or death. Each route has its own internal paperwork, and the TM01 comes at the end of that process, not the start.
2. Prepare the internal record. Hold a board meeting, or pass a written resolution of the directors, noting the departure and the effective date. If shareholder approval is required, for example to remove a director against their will, that meeting must happen first and follow the special notice requirements in the Act. Keep the signed minutes and any resolutions in the company's statutory books, as these are what you will fall back on if the filing is ever questioned.
3. Gather the information needed for TM01. You will need the company's registered number, the full name of the departing director exactly as it appears on the register, and the precise date their appointment ended. Mismatches between the name on the TM01 and the name already recorded at Companies House are a common reason for rejection, so check the live register before you file.
4. File the TM01 with Companies House. The quickest route is online through the WebFiling service, which usually processes the change within a day or so. You can also file a paper TM01 by post, though this takes longer and is more prone to rejection for small errors. There is no filing fee for a TM01 at the time of writing, but check gov.uk for the current position before you file.
5. Tidy up afterwards. Once Companies House confirms the change, update the company's own register of directors, notify the bank and any authorities that hold the director out as a signatory, check who has access to HMRC and payroll accounts, and review any contracts that name the departing director personally. The Companies House filing deadline is 14 days from the date of termination, so do not leave the TM01 until the wider tidy-up is finished.