By
August 11, 2026
How Do I Change My Company Details at Companies House?
If you run a UK limited company, you must keep certain information held by Companies House accurate and up to date.
During the life of your company, you may need to change details such as:
Some changes can be made quickly online, while others require specific forms, resolutions or supporting documents.
Importantly, you should not simply wait until your next confirmation statement to report every type of change. Many changes must be reported to Companies House within specific time limits.
This guide explains how to update your UK company's details and which changes need separate notification.
A UK company can change many of the details recorded on the Companies House register.
Common changes include:
Registered office address
Registered email address
Director details
Appointment or resignation of directors
Company secretary
People with Significant Control
Company name
SIC code
Accounting reference date
Shareholders
Share structure
Articles of association
Company charges
The procedure depends on what you are changing.
For many common changes, the simplest method is to use the Companies House online filing services.
The basic process is:
Identify the information that has changed
↓
Check whether company approval is required
↓
Use the appropriate Companies House service or form
↓
Submit the change
↓
Wait for Companies House to register it where applicable
↓
Check the public register
↓
Update HMRC, banks and other organisations where necessary
Some changes take effect only after Companies House has registered them.
For many online company filings, you will need access to the appropriate Companies House account and your company's authentication code.
The authentication code acts somewhat like an electronic signature for company filings.
It should therefore be kept secure.
Do not publish or routinely share your authentication code.
You can change your company's registered office address through Companies House.
The new address must satisfy the Companies House registered-office requirements.
Importantly, the new registered office must remain in the same UK jurisdiction in which the company was incorporated.
For example:
Company incorporated in England and Wales
↓
New registered office must remain in England and Wales
You cannot simply move the registered office of that company to Scotland.
Similarly, a Scottish company must maintain its registered office in Scotland.
The registered office does not officially change simply because your company starts using the new address.
The change becomes official once it has been registered by Companies House.
After filing the change, check your company's public record to confirm that the new address appears correctly.
Companies House states that it will tell HMRC when your registered office address changes.
However, your business may hold other contact, trading or tax information with HMRC that may need to be updated separately.
You should therefore review your HMRC records rather than assuming every address held by HMRC has automatically changed.
Potentially, provided it meets the legal requirements for an appropriate registered office address.
However, remember that your registered office address appears on the public Companies House register.
For privacy reasons, many company owners prefer to use:
Make sure you have permission to use the address and that company correspondence will reliably reach someone acting for the company.
Companies House must be told when certain director details change.
For an individual director, this can include changes to information such as their:
Director changes can generally be submitted online.
There are also Companies House forms for particular changes where required.
If a director changes their residential address, the relevant company records and Companies House information should be updated as required.
Do not confuse:
Director's service address
with
Director's residential address
They serve different purposes.
A director's residential address is generally protected from routine public disclosure, while the service address appears on the public register.
If your company appoints a new director, Companies House must be notified.
Before making the appointment, ensure the individual is legally eligible to act as a director and that the company's internal procedures have been followed.
Current Companies House identity-verification requirements should also be considered.
The company should:
Approve appointment
↓
Record the decision
↓
Update company records
↓
Notify Companies House
The company's public register should then reflect the new appointment once processed.
There are several ways a director may cease to hold office.
For example:
A resignation is generally straightforward to report.
Removing a director against their wishes can involve specific statutory procedures and shareholder approval.
Do not simply remove a director from Companies House without ensuring the underlying legal removal has been completed correctly.
Companies House generally requires changes involving directors and company secretaries to be reported within 14 days.
This includes relevant changes to their details.
Do not wait until the annual confirmation statement to report these changes.
Companies House has introduced mandatory identity-verification requirements as part of reforms to the UK company-register system.
Directors are now required to verify their identity.
Companies House uses a personal code to connect a verified identity with company roles.
Identity verification can therefore be relevant when:
Companies should check the latest Companies House identity-verification guidance because the implementation of these requirements has changed company filing procedures.
After successfully verifying your identity, Companies House provides a unique personal code.
This code is personal to the individual rather than to a particular company.
For example, someone who is a director of several companies does not normally obtain a completely different identity for every company.
Keep your personal code secure.
Companies are required to maintain a registered email address with Companies House.
This email address is used by Companies House to communicate with the company.
Unlike your registered office:
Registered office address → public
Registered email address → not published on the public register
There is a separate Companies House process for changing the company's registered email address.
Make sure the email account is actively monitored.
Changing a company's legal name involves more than editing a field on the Companies House register.
A company can generally change its name through:
Special resolution
or
A method permitted by its articles of association
The proposed new company name must comply with Companies House naming rules.
Where a special resolution is used, the appropriate resolution and change-of-name filing need to be submitted.
The company name does not officially change until Companies House registers the new name.
Usually, a company name change by special resolution requires the required shareholder approval.
A special resolution generally requires at least 75% of the eligible votes cast to approve the proposal.
The company's articles should also be checked.
Once approved, the appropriate documents must be filed with Companies House.
Changing the name at Companies House is only the beginning.
You may also need to update:
Your company registration number generally remains the same even though the company name changes.
A Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code describes the nature of your company's business activities.
For example, if the company changes its principal activity, its existing SIC code may no longer accurately describe what it does.
SIC codes can be updated through the company's confirmation statement.
A company can have more than one SIC code where appropriate.
Use the current Companies House SIC-code list and select the code or codes that most accurately describe the company's activities.
SIC-code changes are among the types of information that can be updated through the confirmation statement.
This differs from information such as directors, PSCs and registered-office details, which should be updated separately within the applicable reporting deadlines.
Understanding this distinction can prevent incorrect confirmation-statement filings.
Your accounting reference date determines the end of your company's financial year for Companies House purposes.
A company can potentially:
Shorten its accounting period
or
Extend its accounting period
subject to the applicable Companies House rules and restrictions.
Changing the accounting reference date can also affect when the company's accounts become due.
Check the updated filing deadline after making the change.
There are restrictions on extending accounting periods.
You cannot simply keep extending your company's financial year indefinitely to avoid filing accounts.
There are rules governing:
If your accounts are approaching their deadline, check the rules before making changes.
Shareholder information can be updated through the confirmation-statement process where applicable.
However, you should distinguish between:
Changing shareholder information
and
Changing the company's share structure
These are not necessarily the same thing.
If shares are transferred, issued, cancelled or reorganised, additional company records, filings and potentially tax considerations may arise.
If your company issues additional shares, Companies House must be notified.
Companies House currently states that newly issued shares must generally be reported within one month.
The company will need to provide information about the new shares and its updated statement of capital.
The company's own statutory records should also be updated.
Yes, but some changes require shareholder approval and specific Companies House filings.
Examples can include:
Share-structure changes can have significant legal, ownership and tax consequences.
Professional advice may be appropriate for anything beyond a straightforward share issue.
Companies must maintain accurate information about their People with Significant Control (PSCs).
A PSC can include someone who meets relevant conditions relating to ownership, voting rights or control over the company.
If PSC information changes, Companies House generally needs to be notified within the applicable statutory timeframe.
This can include changes to:
PSC identity-verification requirements should also be considered under the current Companies House regime.
The company should update its internal records and notify Companies House as required.
Do not simply remove a PSC because the company believes the person's involvement has reduced.
Determine whether the individual actually no longer satisfies the statutory PSC conditions.
Ownership and control structures can become complicated where companies, trusts or multiple shareholders are involved.
Yes.
The articles of association contain important rules governing how the company operates.
Changing them generally requires shareholder approval through the appropriate resolution.
Companies House states that relevant changes to the company's constitution and articles generally need to be filed within 15 days.
You may need to provide:
Resolution
Updated articles
Relevant Companies House documentation
depending on the change.
Some significant company decisions require formal approval.
Examples can include:
Depending on the decision, this could require an:
Ordinary resolution
or
Special resolution
Check the Companies Act requirements and the company's articles before proceeding.
A special resolution generally requires at least 75% of eligible votes cast to approve the proposal.
Special resolutions are commonly used for important company decisions such as:
Relevant special resolutions generally need to be filed with Companies House within the required period.
Some details can be changed when filing the confirmation statement.
These currently include certain changes to:
However, other changes must be made before submitting the confirmation statement.
These include changes to:
Do not use the confirmation statement as a once-a-year opportunity to correct everything.
Every company must periodically confirm that the information Companies House holds about it is accurate.
This is done through the confirmation statement.
Even if nothing has changed, the company still needs to file the required confirmation statement.
Before submitting it:
Review company record
↓
Identify incorrect information
↓
Update details requiring separate notification
↓
Check shareholder/SIC/capital information
↓
Complete confirmation statement
↓
Confirm company information is correct
A company must file a confirmation statement at least once during each required review period.
You can file earlier if appropriate.
Filing early can start a new review period.
Check your company's actual confirmation-statement deadline on the Companies House register rather than relying solely on a calendar estimate.
Dormant companies still have Companies House obligations.
Being dormant does not mean the company can ignore:
If the details of a dormant company change, the relevant updates should still be reported.
Yes.
A director living outside the UK still has responsibilities in relation to a UK limited company.
For example:
UK company
Director living overseas
does not remove the company's Companies House reporting obligations.
International company owners should therefore ensure that they have reliable access to Companies House communications and filing systems.
No.
This is an important point.
Updating Companies House does not necessarily update:
Bank
Payment provider
Insurer
Suppliers
Customers
Website
Contracts
or every part of:
HMRC
Depending on the change, you may need to notify other organisations separately.
Potentially, yes.
Companies House and HMRC are separate government bodies with different responsibilities.
Some information may be passed between them, but you should not assume that every Companies House update automatically changes all HMRC records.
For example, you may need to review information relating to:
Different changes have different deadlines.
Examples under current Companies House guidance include:
Director/secretary changes → generally within 14 days
Changes to where company records are kept → generally within 14 days
Articles/constitution changes → generally within 15 days
New shares issued → generally within one month
Other statutory deadlines can apply depending on the change.
Do not assume that every change can wait until the next confirmation statement.
Failure to keep company information accurate can lead to compliance problems.
Depending on the information and circumstances, consequences can include:
Directors are responsible for ensuring the company meets its statutory obligations.
After submitting the change:
Wait for processing
↓
Search the company
↓
Open Companies House record
↓
Check updated information
↓
Review filing history
Do not assume that a filing has been accepted simply because it was submitted.
If Companies House rejects a filing, the company may need to correct and resubmit it.
Unexpected changes to your Companies House record should be taken seriously.
Regularly review:
If you discover an unauthorised filing, contact Companies House and follow the appropriate process for challenging or correcting information.
Protect your authentication credentials and Companies House account access.
Regularly check your Companies House record for:
Company name
Registered office
Registered email
Directors
Company secretary
PSCs
SIC codes
Shareholders
Share capital
Accounting reference date
Confirmation statement
Annual accounts
Filing history
If something has changed, determine whether it needs to be reported immediately or through the confirmation statement.
Company owners should avoid:
Most routine changes can be made through the Companies House online services. The exact process depends on whether you are changing the registered office, directors, PSCs, company name, SIC code, shares or another company detail.
Yes. Companies House provides an online service for changing a company's registered office address.
Yes. SIC codes can be updated through the confirmation-statement process.
Yes. A company can change its legal name using the appropriate procedure, commonly involving a special resolution and Companies House filing.
Yes. Relevant changes to a director's details should be reported to Companies House.
Companies House generally requires relevant director and secretary changes to be reported within 14 days.
Yes, although the correct procedure depends on whether you are simply updating shareholder information or making an actual change to share ownership or share capital.
No. Certain information can be updated through the confirmation statement, but changes such as directors, PSCs and registered-office details generally need to be reported separately.
Not in every respect. Some information is shared, but businesses may still need to update relevant HMRC records separately.
Under the current Companies House regime, identity verification requirements apply to company directors, and personal codes are being used to connect verified identities to company roles.
So, how do you change your company details at Companies House?
Start by identifying exactly what has changed:
Address?
Director?
PSC?
Company name?
SIC code?
Shareholder?
Shares?
Accounting year-end?
Then determine the correct filing route:
Immediate/separate Companies House update
or
Confirmation statement update
or
Resolution + Companies House filing
The key principle is:
Do not wait for the annual confirmation statement unless the particular information is permitted to be updated through it.
Changes involving directors, PSCs and registered-office details can have specific reporting deadlines.
After making any change:
Submit → Confirm acceptance → Check public register → Update other organisations
And remember that Companies House is only one part of your company's records. Depending on the change, you may also need to update HMRC, your bank, payment providers, insurers, suppliers, customers and contracts.
This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal, accounting, tax or financial advice. Companies House procedures, fees, identity-verification requirements and filing rules can change. Check current Companies House guidance before making a company change.
