What Personal Information Is Stored at Companies House?

When you become a director, a secretary, or a Person with Significant Control (PSC) of a UK limited company, you enter into a legal contract not just with the business, but with the public. In exchange for the benefits of limited liability—which protects your personal assets from business debts—the law requires a high level of transparency. This transparency is managed by Companies House, the UK’s registrar of companies.

The fundamental purpose of Companies House is to maintain a reliable and public record of who is running and owning UK businesses. This allows creditors, investors, and consumers to know exactly who they are dealing with. However, this transparency means that a significant amount of your personal information is placed on a public register, accessible to anyone with an internet connection.

Understanding exactly what is stored, what is hidden, and how you can protect your privacy is essential for anyone operating in the UK corporate landscape.

1. Information for Company Directors

Directors are the primary officers of a company, and as such, they are subject to the most stringent disclosure requirements. If you are appointed as a director, the following information is collected and, in most cases, made public.

Full Name and Title Your full legal name must be provided. This includes any former names used for business purposes in the last 20 years (such as a maiden name). While you can provide a "preferred" first name, the register generally requires your legal identity to ensure there is no ambiguity about who is legally responsible for the company’s actions.

Service Address Every director must provide a service address. This is the address where official legal correspondence and "service of process" (legal notices) can be sent. The critical thing to understand is that the service address is public record. Many directors choose to use their company’s registered office address or the address of their accountant as their service address to keep their home location private.

Usual Residential Address You are required to provide your home address to Companies House. However, unlike the service address, your residential address is not available to the general public. It is kept on a private register. Only specific "authorized bodies," such as the police, HMRC, and credit reference agencies, can access this information.

Nationality and Occupation Your nationality is listed on the public record, as is your business occupation (e.g., "Consultant," "Engineer," or simply "Director").

Date of Birth While your full date of birth is collected, Companies House only displays the month and year on the public register. The specific day is hidden to help prevent identity theft, though it remains on the private record accessible to law enforcement.

2. People with Significant Control (PSC)

In 2016, the UK introduced the PSC register to increase transparency regarding who truly owns and influences a company. A Person with Significant Control is typically someone who holds more than 25% of the shares or voting rights.

The information stored for a PSC is very similar to that of a director. It includes the name, service address, nationality, and the month/year of birth. Crucially, it also details the nature of control. The register will explicitly state whether the person has high voting rights, significant share ownership, or the right to appoint or remove a majority of the board of directors.

Because PSCs are often the "ultimate beneficial owners," this data is highly scrutinized by financial institutions conducting Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks.

3. Shareholders and Subscribers

When a company is first formed, the "subscribers" (the initial shareholders) must provide their names and addresses. For many small companies, the shareholders and the directors are the same people.

While the requirements for shareholders are slightly less detailed than for directors (for instance, date of birth is not usually required for a shareholder who is not also a PSC),

their names and the number of shares they hold are part of the public filings, specifically within the "Statement of Capital" and the "Confirmation Statement."

4. Historical Data and the "Permanent" Record

One of the most surprising aspects of Companies House for new entrepreneurs is the permanence of the data. Even if you resign as a director or your company is dissolved, your information does not simply disappear.

Companies House maintains a historical record. If you were a director of a company in 2015 and resigned in 2018, a search of your name will still show that appointment and the information associated with it during that period. Even when a company is "dissolved" (closed down), the records generally remain searchable for 20 years before being moved to the National Archives. This ensures that there is a long-term audit trail for legal and financial accountability.

5. Signatures and Documents

In the past, paper filings meant that actual physical signatures were part of the public record. In the digital age, most filings are done electronically using authentication codes. However, if you or your accountant files a paper document—such as a specific type of resolution or older accounts—any signature on that document becomes viewable in the PDF image of that filing. Companies House now advises against including unnecessary personal details (like phone numbers or signatures) in the body of a filing whenever possible.

6. The Risk of Identity Theft and Fraud

Because your name, month/year of birth, and service address are public, directors are often targets for "corporate identity theft." Fraudsters may attempt to use this information to open credit lines in the company’s name or to file fraudulent "Change of Director" forms to gain control of a business.

To combat this, Companies House offers a "PROtected Online Filing" (PROOF) service. This prevents anyone from filing paper forms to change company details, ensuring that changes can only be made through a secure online account.

7. Protecting Your Privacy: The Use of Virtual Addresses

The most effective way to limit the amount of personal information on the public record is the use of a virtual office or a registered office service.

By using a professional service address, your home address never appears on the public-facing side of the registry. If you are already a director and your home address is currently listed as your service address, you can file a form (CH01) to change it. While the old address will remain in the "filing history" of the document you originally submitted, the "current" details will show the new professional address.

8. Suppression and Redaction of Information

In very specific circumstances, you can apply to have your information "suppressed" or "protected" from the public record. This is not a common occurrence and is usually reserved for individuals who are at risk of serious harm or intimidation due to the nature of their work (for example, directors of companies involved in animal testing or sensitive defense sectors).

There are two levels of protection:

Section 243 Protection: This prevents your residential address from being shared with credit reference agencies.

Section 790X Protection: This is more extreme and can result in your information being entirely omitted from the public PSC register.

To grant these protections, Companies House requires evidence from a police force or other authority demonstrating a "serious risk of violence or intimidation."

9. Recent Changes: The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act

The landscape of personal information at Companies House is currently undergoing its most significant change in decades.

Following the passing of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, Companies House is transitioning from a "passive" registrar to an "active" gatekeeper.

The most notable change is Mandatory Identity Verification. Soon, all new and existing directors and PSCs will have to verify their identity with Companies House using biometric data or through an authorized professional. While this verification data itself won't be public, it ensures that the "Personal Information" stored is accurate and linked to a real, verified human being, making it much harder for criminals to set up "shell" companies using fake names.

10. Summary of Public vs. Private Information

To clarify the distinction, here is the breakdown of how your data is handled:

Publicly Accessible Information:

Full Name.

Month and Year of Birth.

Service Address (often a business or virtual address).

Nationality.

Business Occupation.

Resignation dates and historical appointments.

Nature of control over the company.

Private Information (Stored but not Publicly Searchable):

Full Date of Birth (the specific day).

Usual Residential Address.

Identity verification metadata (under the new laws).

Full signatures on modern electronic filings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I remove my name from Companies House if I close the business? No. The record is a historical archive. Even after a company is dissolved, the information remains searchable for 20 years to allow for legal and financial investigations if necessary.

How do I hide my home address from the public? You must provide a "Service Address" that is not your home. You can use your company’s office, your accountant's office, or a virtual office service.

Why is my date of birth on Companies House? It is used to distinguish between people with the same name. However, for privacy reasons, only the month and year are shown to the public.

Can anyone see my home address? Only if you have used your home address as your "Service Address" or your "Registered Office Address." If you provided it only as your "Usual Residential Address," it is hidden from the public but visible to the police and credit agencies.

Is my phone number or email address on the public record? Generally, no. Companies House does not require these for the public register. However, if you write them on a paper document that you file, they may appear in the public scan of that document.

How do I change my details if I move house? You must update Companies House within 14 days of the change by filing the appropriate form (CH01 for directors or PSC04 for PSCs).

Does Companies House sell my data? Companies House provides data for free via their search service and API. Many third-party websites "scrape" this data to create their own directories, which is why your information may appear on other sites like Endole or 192.com.

What happens if I provide false information? Providing false information to Companies House is a criminal offense. Under the new 2024 regulations, Companies House has greater powers to investigate and prosecute those who provide misleading data.

Can I use a P.O. Box as my address? You can use a P.O. Box as a service address, but it must be a physical location and you must provide the full postcode.

It must be an address where someone can physically receive and sign for a legal document.

Will my information show up on Google? Yes. Because Companies House is an open platform, search engines often index the pages. This means searching your name could lead directly to your list of current and former directorships.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational and research purposes only. Company details, features, services, and market positions may change over time. Readers are advised to visit official company websites and conduct independent research before making any business decisions or purchasing services.