Registers of Directors UK: Legal Requirements Guide

Overview

A Register of Directors is a formal internal record listing every person or corporate body currently serving as a director of the company. It sits alongside other statutory books such as the register of members and the register of people with significant control.

The Companies Act 2006 sets out what must be recorded for each director, including full name, any former names used in business within the past twenty years, a service address, country of usual residence, nationality, business occupation, and date of birth. For corporate directors, the recorded information is different and covers the registered or principal office and relevant registration details.

Separately, a company must maintain a Register of Directors' Residential Addresses. This one is not available for public inspection. It holds the actual home address of each individual director, which Companies Act reforms removed from the public record to reduce the risk of harassment and identity misuse.

Companies can either keep these registers at their registered office or elect to hold the information on the central register at Companies House instead.

Key steps

1. Set up both registers when the company is formed. When you incorporate, the information you supply on form IN01 becomes the starting point for your registers. Create the Register of Directors and the Register of Directors' Residential Addresses straight away, using the details submitted at incorporation as your baseline entries, and store them somewhere safe and accessible.
2. Record the correct statutory particulars for each director. For individuals, capture name, service address, country of residence, nationality, occupation, and date of birth. For corporate directors, record the corporate name, registered office, and relevant register details. Keep a separate entry for the residential address of each individual director in the private register.
3. Update the registers whenever something changes. Any appointment, resignation, change of name, change of service address, or change of residential address must be recorded in the relevant register promptly. You also need to notify Companies House within the statutory deadline using the appropriate form, such as AP01, AP02, TM01, or CH01.
4. Decide where the registers will be kept. Registers can be held at the registered office, at a single alternative inspection location notified to Companies House, or you can elect to keep the information on the central register at Companies House. Each option has different practical implications for access, privacy, and administration.
5. Manage inspection rights correctly. The Register of Directors must be open to inspection by members free of charge, and by any other person on payment of a prescribed fee. The register of residential addresses is never open to public inspection. Respond to valid inspection requests within the statutory timeframe and refuse improper requests through the proper route.

Common questions