The PSC register at Companies House is the primary public record of beneficial ownership in England and Wales. It names every person — or relevant legal entity — that holds significant control over a registered company. The register is free to search. What it shows, what it omits, and where the chain terminates are fixed by statute.
Control in this jurisdiction is defined by threshold: ownership of more than 25% of shares or voting rights, the right to appoint or remove a majority of directors, or the right to exercise significant influence or control. Each condition is a separate notifiable ground. A single individual may satisfy more than one.
What the register showsName, nationality, country of residence, date of birth (month and year only), nature of control, and the date the entry was notified. Source: Companies House PSC register · verified 2026-09-15 Access conditionNo registration required. The register is publicly searchable at find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk without charge. LicenceData is released under Open Government Licence v3.0, permitting redistribution with attribution. What the register does not showIndirect control exercised through chains of non-UK entities, economic interest below the 25% threshold, and nominee arrangements not separately notified.Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-15
This register is public and free of charge. What the report provides is the removed path: identification of the correct company number, cross-referencing of filing history, language, and structured compilation of the full PSC chain — including the point at which it terminates and why.
The register captures natural persons and relevant legal entities (RLEs). An RLE is a legal entity that would itself be required to keep a PSC register if it were a UK company. Where the immediate parent is an RLE, it appears in place of the natural person behind it.
A company must notify Companies House within 14 days of identifying a new PSC. The entry records the date of notification, not the date control was acquired. These two dates can differ. The gap is itself a fact of record.
Where a company states it has no PSC, or that it has not yet identified one, that statement is also a registrable entry. Its presence on the register is not evidence of absence of control; it is evidence of the company's stated position at the date of filing.
Exemptions apply to companies whose shares are admitted to trading on a regulated market or a market of equivalent transparency. For such companies, the PSC register is replaced by the disclosure regime of the relevant exchange. The register entry will reflect this exemption rather than naming individuals.
Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-15
The confirmation statement (form CS01) filed annually at Companies House records the share capital structure, shareholder classes, and — since 2016 — the full register of members for private companies. This document is publicly available as a filed PDF.
The register of members names registered shareholders, not beneficial owners. These two records are legally distinct. A registered shareholder may hold shares on behalf of a beneficial owner who does not appear on the PSC register if the economic interest falls below the 25% threshold.
The gap between the PSC register and the register of members is a structural feature of the disclosure framework, not a filing deficiency. Identifying that gap — and its width — is part of what the report establishes.
Dormant companies and companies exempt from filing full accounts still file confirmation statements. The shareholder record is therefore available across the full population of registered companies, regardless of trading status or size.
Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-15
The register of directors at Companies House records current and resigned directors, their dates of appointment and resignation, and their service addresses. Date of birth is held but only the month and year are shown publicly.
A director is not necessarily a beneficial owner. Conversely, a beneficial owner may exercise control without holding a directorship. The report maps both registers and identifies where the two overlap and where they diverge.
Corporate directors were subject to a prohibition that came into force in stages. The current position is that a corporate director is permitted only where each of its own directors is a natural person. This rule affects how control chains are traced for companies appointed before and after the relevant commencement date.
Shadow directors — persons in accordance with whose instructions the directors are accustomed to act — are not recorded on the Companies House register. Their existence, where it can be inferred from filed documents, is noted in the report as a limit of the record rather than a finding.
Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-15
The Insolvency Register maintained by the Insolvency Service records individual voluntary arrangements, bankruptcy orders, debt relief orders, and individual insolvency restrictions. It is a separate register from Companies House.
The Companies House register records company-level insolvency proceedings: administration, liquidation, and company voluntary arrangements. A company in administration or liquidation will show the appointed insolvency practitioner as an officer of record.
A director disqualified under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 appears on the Disqualified Directors register. The entry states the period of disqualification and the court that made the order. This register is publicly searchable.
Absence from these registers does not confirm the absence of proceedings. A petition filed but not yet determined will not appear as a concluded entry. The report states the date of search and the scope of each register checked.
Source: Companies House Disqualified Directors register; Insolvency Service register · extracted 2026-09-15
The PSC register records what a company has notified. It does not independently verify the accuracy of those notifications. A person who exercises control through a structure that falls outside the statutory definition — for example, through a contractual arrangement rather than a shareholding — is not required to appear.
The register shows month and year of birth, not the full date. Where two individuals share a name and approximate age, the register alone cannot distinguish between them. Additional documents from the filing history are required.
Indirect chains that pass through non-UK entities are recorded only to the level of the first RLE. Beyond that point, the chain is not visible in the Companies House record. The report identifies the jurisdiction of the RLE and the public records available in that jurisdiction, but does not extend the search unless instructed.
Economic interest and voting control can be separated by instrument. Preference shares, convertible instruments, and shareholder agreements can allocate economic return and voting power differently from the headline shareholding. These instruments are not filed at Companies House unless they form part of a charge or a court order.
The confirmation statement records the position at the date of filing. Changes between annual filings are not captured unless a separate notification is made. The report states the date of the most recent confirmation statement and notes any gap between that date and the date of the search.
The PSC register and the register of members can show different persons as the relevant interest-holder. This is not an error in either register. It reflects the difference between the beneficial ownership threshold (more than 25%) and the registered shareholding.
A company's own articles of association may define control differently from the statutory threshold. Where the articles are filed at Companies House, the report extracts the relevant provisions. Where they are not filed — as is permitted for companies incorporated before certain dates — the report notes the absence.
The filing history may contain multiple versions of the same document. An amended confirmation statement supersedes the original, but both remain on the public record. The report identifies the operative version and notes any amendments.
Where the insolvency register and the Companies House record give different dates for the commencement of proceedings, the discrepancy is recorded. The operative date for legal purposes depends on the type of proceeding and is a matter for legal advice, not for this report.
| Tier | Price | What is included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €1,350 | PSC register entries (current and historical); director register (current and resigned); company status and filing history summary; insolvency and disqualification search; identification of the point at which the PSC chain terminates | Shareholder register extraction; analysis of filed accounts; cross-border chain tracing; shareholder agreement review |
| Standard | €2,850 | All Signal content; full extraction of confirmation statements and shareholder register; filed accounts summary (last three years); identification of RLE entries and their jurisdictions; gap analysis between PSC register and shareholder record | Cross-border entity tracing beyond the first RLE; review of articles of association; enforcement history outside England and Wales |
| Extended | €6,300 | All Standard content; tracing of the control chain through non-UK RLEs (up to two additional jurisdictions); review of filed articles of association and any filed shareholder agreements; director appointment history cross-referenced against PSC notifications; consolidated control map with identified limits | Legal qualification of findings; advice on transaction structure; representation |
What is a PSC and who is required to register? A PSC — person with significant control — is any individual who meets one or more of the five conditions set out in Schedule 1A to the Companies Act 2006. The conditions cover shareholding above 25%, voting rights above 25%, the right to appoint or remove a majority of directors, and the right to exercise significant influence or control. Every UK private company and LLP is required to maintain a PSC register and file it at Companies House.
Does the PSC register show the full ownership chain? No. The register shows the first qualifying person or entity in the chain. Where that entity is a non-UK company — recorded as a relevant legal entity — the chain does not extend further in the Companies House record. The report identifies the jurisdiction of the RLE and the availability of equivalent records in that jurisdiction.
Can a beneficial owner be absent from the PSC register? Yes. A person whose economic interest or voting rights fall below the 25% threshold is not required to appear. A person who exercises control through a contractual arrangement rather than a shareholding may also fall outside the statutory definition. The report identifies the gap between the registered position and the structural indicators visible in filed documents.
How current is the register? Companies are required to notify changes within 14 days. The register reflects the position as notified, not necessarily the current position. The report states the date of each entry and the date of the search, and notes any gap between the most recent confirmation statement and the search date.
What does the report not establish? The report does not establish the accuracy of notifications made to Companies House. It does not extend the chain beyond the first non-UK RLE unless the Extended tier is instructed. It does not provide legal advice, legal qualification of findings, or recommendations on transaction structure.
Sources:
Companies House — find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk — extracted 2026-09-15
Insolvency Service Individual Insolvency Register — insolvency.service.gov.uk — extracted 2026-09-15
Companies House Disqualified Directors register — find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/search-for-disqualified-director — extracted 2026-09-15
Disclaimer: This report is a factual compilation from official registers and public sources. It is provided for informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and contains no legal qualification of the facts established. VLO Law Firm assumes no liability for actions taken or not taken based on this material. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@vlolawfirm.com.
Author: James Whitfield — Partner, UK & Common Law, VLO Law Firm