Statutory registers: what a limited company must keep in 2026

Which statutory registers does a limited company still keep?

A limited company still keeps a register of members, records of shareholder resolutions and general meeting minutes, minutes of directors' meetings, copies of documents that create charges over its assets, and its accounting records. GOV.UK says you must tell Companies House if you keep the company records somewhere other than the registered office address.

GOV.UK lists the records about the company itself that you must keep. They are:

• shareholders and the results of any shareholder votes and resolutions;
• promises for the company to repay loans at a specific date in the future (debentures) and who they must be paid back to;
• promises the company makes for payments if something goes wrong and it is the company's fault (indemnities);
• transactions when someone buys shares in the company;
• loans or mortgages secured against the company's assets.

Source: Running a limited company: company and accounting records

Registers you no longer keep since 18 November 2025

From 18 November 2025, companies no longer have to keep registers of directors, directors' residential addresses, secretaries or people with significant control (PSCs). The sections of the Companies Act 2006 that required them were omitted on that date by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.

The information has not gone away. What this means now:

• Companies must still register the information with Companies House and keep it up to date there.
• A new director, a resignation or a PSC change is filed with Companies House, not written into a local book.
• The option to elect to hold officer and PSC information on the central register instead of a local register also ended on 18 November 2025.
• The equivalent option for members ended on 26 January 2026. A company that used it must now create a full register of members and keep it at its registered office or single alternative inspection location (SAIL).

Source: Changes to UK company law: changes to company registers

What does the register of members show?

The register of members is the company's own list of its shareholders, and it decides who legally holds the shares. It must be kept available for inspection at the registered office or a SAIL. For a company with shares, it records:

• each member;
• the date they were registered as a member;
• the date they stopped being one;
• the number and class of shares each holds;
• the amount paid, or agreed to be treated as paid, on those shares.

Under the model articles, a seller remains the holder until the buyer's name is entered in the register of members. When a transfer is lodged with the company, the law gives it up to two months to register it or give the buyer notice of refusal with its reasons.

A share transfer is usually made on a stock transfer form, and Stamp Duty may be due. Our guide to the stock transfer form (J30) and stamp duty covers that step. The shareholder details also feed into the statement of capital and the confirmation statement, so keep them consistent.

Source: Companies Act 2006, section 113: register of members

Where to keep company records: registered office or SAIL

The register of members must be kept available for inspection at the registered office, or at a single alternative inspection location (SAIL). The company must tell Companies House where it is kept and of any change, unless it has always been at the registered office.

SimpleFilings can help you move company records to a SAIL or move records back to the registered office.

Source: Companies Act 2006, section 114: register to be kept available for inspection

Minutes and resolutions: keep them for at least 10 years

Meeting records must be kept for at least 10 years from the date of the resolution, meeting or decision. For members' records, failing to do so is an offence by every officer in default.

Source: Companies Act 2006, section 355: records of resolutions and meetings

Accounting records: what to keep and for how long

Accounting records must include:

• all money received and spent by the company;
• details of assets it owns;
• debts it owes or is owed;
• stock at the end of the financial year, and the stocktakings used to work it out;
• all goods bought and sold;
• unless you run a retail business, who you bought and sold them to and from.

You must also keep the other records you need to prepare your annual accounts and Company Tax Return, such as receipts, invoices, contracts and bank statements. GOV.UK says how long to keep them:

You can be fined £3,000 by HMRC or disqualified as a company director if you do not keep accounting records. For the wider list of duties, see company director filing responsibilities.

Source: Running a limited company: company and accounting records

Common statutory register mistakes

Most problems come from carrying on with the old system after the rules changed, or from treating the register of members as a formality.

• Writing a new director or PSC into an old local register and not filing at Companies House. Those registers ended on 18 November 2025, and the filing is what counts.
• Assuming shareholder details can still be held only at Companies House. That option ended on 26 January 2026, so the company needs its own full register of members.
• Not entering a share transfer in the register of members. Until the buyer's name is entered, the seller remains the holder under the model articles.
• Keeping the register of members somewhere other than the registered office without telling Companies House about the SAIL.
• Throwing away minutes or written resolutions too early. They must be kept for at least 10 years.
• Not keeping accounting records. GOV.UK says you can be fined £3,000 by HMRC or disqualified as a company director.

Source: Changes to UK company law: changes to company registers

Get help moving company records

SimpleFilings can prepare and submit the Companies House filing to move records to a SAIL or back to the registered office. We check the details with you and submit only after you approve. Our £4.99 service fee applies to each filing and is separate from any government fee. We do not write up registers or minutes for you, and we do not give legal advice.

Source: Companies House forms to file a change of address