By
August 30, 2026
What Company Records Must a UK Limited Company Keep?
A UK limited company must keep sufficient records to explain its ownership, management, financial transactions and tax position.
These generally include:
Different records have different retention periods. As a practical rule, most company and tax records should be kept for at least six years, although some documents must be retained for longer or permanently.
Company records allow directors, shareholders, Companies House and HM Revenue and Customs to understand:
The directors remain legally responsible for recordkeeping even when an accountant, bookkeeper or company formation agent manages the documents.
A company should keep its core formation and constitutional documents for its entire existence.
These include:
These documents establish the company’s identity, legal structure and internal rules.
The Companies House authentication code should be stored securely because it can be used to submit filings on behalf of the company.
Yes. Every UK limited company must maintain its own register of members.
For a company limited by shares, this is also known as the register of shareholders. It should normally record:
The register of members is generally the primary legal evidence of who owns the company. A share certificate or Companies House filing does not replace it.
Since 18 November 2025, companies are no longer required to maintain separate internal registers of:
However, the company must still report this information to Companies House and keep it current.
The company should retain relevant supporting documents, including:
Historical registers created under the previous rules should not be destroyed without checking the applicable retention requirements.
A company limited by shares should maintain a complete record of its share capital and ownership history.
Relevant records include:
These records should agree with the company’s articles, statutory accounts and Companies House filings.
Incomplete share records can cause serious problems when the company seeks investment, opens an account, pays dividends or is sold.
A company should keep minutes of directors’ meetings and records of directors’ written decisions.
Board records should normally show:
Examples of decisions that should be documented include:
Minutes of directors’ meetings should generally be retained for at least ten years.
The company must keep records of decisions made by its members, including:
These records may relate to:
Records of shareholder resolutions and meetings should generally be retained for at least ten years.
Some resolutions must also be filed with Companies House.
Every company must keep adequate accounting records.
The records should be sufficient to:
The required records generally include:
HMRC provides further details in its guidance on company and accounting records.
Yes. Bank and payment account statements are essential accounting evidence.
The company should retain statements for:
Transactions should be reconciled regularly against invoices, receipts and the accounting system.
A download from a banking dashboard may only be available for a limited period. Companies should save copies rather than assuming the provider will retain indefinite access.
A company should retain evidence showing:
Suitable evidence may include:
A card or bank statement alone may show that payment occurred but not necessarily establish the business purpose or VAT treatment.
Money moving between a director and the company should be recorded through a director’s loan account.
Records should distinguish between:
Poor records can cause personal withdrawals to be treated incorrectly for tax purposes. The company should retain board approvals, loan agreements and interest calculations where relevant.
The company should retain the records used to prepare its Company Tax Return and calculate its Corporation Tax liability.
These can include:
Company Tax records normally need to be kept for six years from the end of the relevant financial year.
Records may need to be retained longer if:
A VAT-registered company must generally retain:
VAT records must generally be retained for at least six years.
Valid purchase invoices are particularly important because they provide the main evidence supporting input VAT claims.
A company that employs staff or pays directors through PAYE should retain:
PAYE records normally need to be kept for at least three years after the end of the tax year to which they relate. Other employment, pension or legal records may require a longer period.
In addition to payroll records, an employer should maintain relevant personnel records, including:
Personal employee information must be stored securely and retained only for as long as there is a lawful and necessary reason.
Tax, employment, immigration and health and safety rules can impose different retention periods.
The company should retain all significant contracts and related correspondence, including:
The retention period should account for the length of the contract and the period during which a legal claim could arise.
Documents relating to property, long-term assets, intellectual property or continuing obligations may need to be kept permanently.
A company should maintain records of assets it owns or uses, including:
Stock records may need to show:
These records help support the balance sheet, taxable profit and insurance claims.
Yes. A dormant company still needs records relevant to its legal existence and ownership.
These may include:
A dormant company should also retain evidence of any permitted transactions, such as payments for shares on incorporation or Companies House filing fees.
Records can generally be stored:
Statutory inspection records, particularly the register of members, must be held at the registered office or registered SAIL address.
Accounting records can be kept elsewhere if the directors can access them when required and the location is suitable.
Yes. Most company records can be stored electronically if they are:
A company should not rely on a single device, email account or cloud provider without backups.
File names and folders should make records easy to locate by financial year, transaction and document type.
The retention period depends on the record.
Common minimum periods include:
Because tax requirements commonly extend beyond the minimum company-law period, retaining accounting records for at least six years is usually the safer practical policy.
The company should take immediate steps to reconstruct missing records using:
If records cannot be fully replaced, the company should tell HMRC where required and explain whether figures in a return are estimated or provisional.
Records should never be deliberately altered or recreated in a misleading way.
Failure to maintain records can result in:
Directors may also find it difficult to demonstrate that they acted properly if important decisions were not documented.
A UK company should maintain:
An accountant can maintain many records, but the directors remain responsible. Certain statutory records must be available at the registered office or SAIL address.
Yes. A bank statement usually does not show enough information to establish the nature, business purpose or VAT treatment of the expense.
Not usually. Electronic records are generally acceptable if they are complete, readable, secure and accessible.
Yes. Recordkeeping obligations apply regardless of whether the company makes a profit or loss.
Not automatically. Some documents must be retained for longer, including meeting minutes, long-term contracts, asset records and constitutional documents.
The directors remain legally responsible for ensuring that adequate records are maintained.
A UK limited company must keep complete records of its ownership, decisions, income, expenses, assets, liabilities and tax affairs.
The essential records include the register of members, share documents, meeting minutes, invoices, receipts, bank statements, annual accounts, tax returns and supporting calculations.
Most accounting and tax records should be kept for at least six years, while meeting records, constitutional documents and certain contracts may need to be retained for longer. Directors should maintain secure backups and regularly check that the records are accurate, accessible and consistent with Companies House and HMRC filings.
