By
August 30, 2026
What Records Must a UK Company Keep at Its Registered Office?
A UK company must normally keep certain statutory records available for inspection at its registered office. Alternatively, eligible records can be kept at a single alternative inspection location, commonly called a SAIL address.
The most important record is the company’s register of members, which provides the legal record of its shareholders. Depending on the company’s activities, it may also need to make resolutions, meeting minutes, directors’ service contracts and other documents available for inspection.
Accounting records do not necessarily have to remain at the registered office. They can be stored at another suitable location, provided the company’s officers can access them when required.
A registered office is the company’s official legal address.
It is used for:
The address appears on the public Companies House register.
It must be a physical, appropriate address in the same UK jurisdiction in which the company is registered. For example, a company registered in Scotland must maintain its registered office in Scotland.
The records required will depend on the company’s structure and activities. A private company limited by shares will commonly need to keep or make available:
These records can usually be kept at the registered office or moved to a properly registered SAIL address.
The register of members is the company’s legal record of its shareholders.
It should normally include:
For a company limited by guarantee, the register records its members rather than share ownership.
The register of members is particularly important because it is generally the entry in the register—not merely a share certificate or Companies House filing—that provides formal evidence of legal membership.
Yes.
Following changes to UK company law, companies can no longer choose to keep their register of members solely on the central Companies House register.
Every company must now create and maintain its own complete register of members and keep it at either:
It must also make the register available for lawful inspection. Companies House confirms this requirement in its current guidance on changes to company registers.
The rules changed on 18 November 2025.
Companies are no longer required to maintain their own separate registers of:
However, the company must still provide this information to Companies House and keep the central register updated.
For example, the company must continue reporting:
Removal of the local registers did not remove the underlying disclosure obligations.
A company should retain records of decisions made by its members, including:
These documents provide evidence that important company decisions were properly authorised.
They may cover matters such as:
Companies are generally required to retain records of shareholder resolutions and meetings for at least ten years from the date of the decision or meeting.
Yes. A company should keep minutes of meetings of its directors.
Board minutes commonly record:
Records should also be kept when directors make decisions through a written procedure rather than at a physical meeting.
Board minutes are internal company records and are not normally available for public inspection in the same way as the register of members. They should nevertheless be retained securely as evidence that the directors fulfilled their duties and properly authorised company decisions.
A copy of every director’s service contract, or a written memorandum of its terms, must generally be kept available for inspection.
This can include contracts between a director and:
Where the arrangement is not in writing, the company should retain a written memorandum setting out its terms.
These documents must normally remain available for at least one year after the contract ends or expires.
Members of the company have statutory inspection rights, subject to the applicable rules.
A director’s indemnity is an arrangement under which the company agrees to cover certain liabilities or costs incurred by a director.
When a company provides a qualifying indemnity, it must generally keep a copy available for inspection. If the indemnity is not written, the company should retain a memorandum of its terms.
The record should normally be available while the indemnity is in force and for the required period after it ends.
Depending on the company’s activities, records available for inspection may include:
An ordinary small company that has never purchased or redeemed its own shares may not have these documents.
A company is not always required to create a register of debenture holders. However, if it maintains one, inspection rights may apply.
A debenture is a document acknowledging or creating company debt, potentially secured against company assets.
Related records might include:
Companies with loans secured against their assets should ensure that applicable charges are also registered with Companies House within the relevant deadline.
A single alternative inspection location allows the company to keep eligible statutory records somewhere other than its registered office.
A SAIL address:
A company registered in England and Wales can have a SAIL address in England or Wales, but not in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
The company may keep some records at its registered office and others at its SAIL address. However, an individual record should not be divided between the two locations.
Yes.
The company must notify Companies House when it:
Companies House must normally be notified within the applicable statutory period. The company’s confirmation statement should also accurately show where its records are kept.
If no SAIL address is registered, it will generally be assumed that inspection records are held at the registered office.
Yes, provided the service permits it and the legal requirements are met.
Using a registered office provider does not automatically mean that the provider maintains the company’s statutory records. Some services only receive and forward post.
Before using an address, the directors should confirm whether the provider will:
The directors remain responsible even when a company formation agent, accountant or address provider holds the records.
Company records can generally be maintained electronically, provided they:
Electronic storage does not remove the need to nominate a physical inspection location.
The company should maintain backups and control who can edit important records such as the register of members.
Inspection rights depend on the type of record.
The register of members can generally be inspected by:
A request to inspect the register of members must normally include:
The company may apply to a court if it believes the request is not being made for a proper purpose. It should not simply ignore or reject a valid request without following the correct procedure.
Other records, such as directors’ service contracts, may be available only to members or other specified persons.
No. Directors’ residential addresses are protected information and are not generally open to public inspection.
A director’s service address appears on the public Companies House register. The residential address is provided separately to Companies House and is normally accessible only to specified public authorities and certain authorised organisations.
The company should not accidentally include a protected residential address in publicly inspectable records unless disclosure is legally required.
Not necessarily.
Accounting records may be kept at:
The location must be suitable, and the company’s officers must be able to inspect the records at all times.
If accounting records are kept outside the UK, sufficient accounts and returns must generally be sent to and retained in the UK at least every six months. These records must allow the directors to understand the company’s financial position and prepare compliant annual accounts.
Companies House explains these requirements in its guidance on preparing and filing company accounts.
A company’s accounting records should normally include:
For Corporation Tax purposes, company records generally need to be retained for six years from the end of the financial year to which they relate. Some records may need to be kept longer.
No. The registered email address and registered office are separate company details.
The registered email address:
The registered office remains the company’s physical legal address.
A company must generally display its registered name at its registered office and other business locations.
The sign should be easy to read and visible when required. A company operating from a director’s home may qualify for an exception to the sign requirement at that address.
The company name and specified corporate information must also appear on relevant business documents, correspondence and websites.
The company must notify Companies House when it changes its registered office.
The change does not take legal effect until Companies House registers it.
Directors should also:
Historical registered office addresses normally remain visible on the Companies House record.
Failure to keep required company records can lead to:
An incomplete register of members can be particularly serious because it may create uncertainty over who legally owns the company.
A private limited company should regularly confirm that it has:
It should also ensure that director, secretary and PSC information is accurately reported to Companies House, even though separate internal registers for these details are no longer required.
No. Statutory inspection records are normally kept at the registered office or a registered SAIL address. Accounting and operational records can be stored elsewhere if they remain accessible.
For a company limited by shares, the register of members is particularly important because it is the legal record of its shareholders.
Yes. A dormant company must still maintain the records relevant to its structure and comply with Companies House filing and inspection requirements.
Yes, but the directors remain responsible for ensuring the records are complete, accessible and held at an appropriate notified location where required.
No. It is optional. If the company does not use one, its statutory inspection records should normally be kept at the registered office.
Shareholder information appears on the public register, but a company must still maintain its own complete register of members.
No. Inspection rights vary. Some records are public, some are available only to members and others—such as board minutes—are generally private.
A UK company must keep its statutory inspection records at its registered office unless they have been moved to a registered SAIL address.
For most private companies, the key record is the register of members, together with relevant shareholder resolutions, general meeting minutes, directors’ service contracts, indemnities and certain share transaction documents.
Since 18 November 2025, companies no longer need to maintain separate internal registers of directors, secretaries, directors’ residential addresses or PSCs. They must still report this information to Companies House and keep it current.
Accounting records may be stored elsewhere, provided they remain secure, complete and accessible to the company’s officers.
