Change a PSC's details at Companies House (PSC04)

PSC04, "Change of details of individual person with significant control", is the Companies House form for updating the record of an individual who is already registered as a PSC. It covers their name, service address, usual residential address, nationality, country of residence and nature of control.

You can file PSC04 online. Companies House also accepts the paper form by post, but says paper forms take longer to process.

Companies House says you must confirm certain details with the PSC before sending them, and must tell it about the change within 14 days of confirming it. In practice, check the new details and the date they changed with the person first. The form itself records the date the change actually happened, such as the day the person moved house.

• The company authentication code, so the filing can be made for the company.
• Which PSC the change is for, as they currently appear on the register. Confirm their current exact full forenames and surname; title and birth month/year are optional on the current paper form.
• The date the change took place. It cannot be in the future.
• Only the details that changed: new full forenames and surname (including unchanged parts of a changed name), new service address, new home address, new nationality, new country of residence, or new nature of control.
• Nationality and country names from Companies House's standard list. Other entries are not accepted.
• If control changed, every condition that now applies: share band, voting band, the right to appoint or remove most directors, and any control through a trust or firm.
• The date the company confirmed the changes with the person.
• Whether any individual PSC of the company has public-register protection or is applying for it. Also tell us separately about CRA-only residential protection before entering details; it has different handling.

Shares and voting rights are reported in bands, not exact percentages: more than 25% but not more than 50%, more than 50% but less than 75%, and 75% or more. A change only needs reporting when it moves the person into a different band or changes which conditions apply. Going from 30% to 45% stays in the same band. Going from 45% to 60% does not.

On PSC04 you tick every condition that applies after the change, not just the new one. If someone gains the right to appoint most directors and keeps their 75% shareholding, both are ticked. The direct-company 'significant influence or control' option is only ticked if none of the direct share, voting or director appointment conditions apply. Separately include every applicable new and continuing firm and trust condition; both branches may apply.

If the person's shares or votes drop to 25% or below and no other condition applies, they are no longer a PSC. That is not a PSC04 change. It is reported on PSC07 as the end of their significant control.

See also: who is a person with significant control

A PSC has two addresses on the record. The service address is the public correspondence address and appears on the public register. It does not have to be where they live, and can be the company's registered office.

The usual residential address is where the person actually lives. It is not shown on the public register. It cannot be a PO Box, DX or LP number. You can say it is the same as the service address, unless the service address is the company's registered office.

If the person moves house and uses their home as the service address, both addresses have changed. Report both, or the old home address stays on the register as the service address.

PSC04 has a single date of change. Give every change that happened on that date in the same filing. If changes happened on different dates, such as a name change in March and a move in June, each date needs its own filing.

• Adding a new PSC. That is PSC01.
• Recording that someone has stopped being a PSC. That is PSC07.
• Changing the details of a company or other legal entity owner. That is PSC05 or PSC06.
• Changing a director's details. That is CH01, even if the person is also a PSC. Each role is updated separately.
• A PSC who has applied, or is applying, for protection from the public register. Companies House says not to use PSC04 and to contact its secure forms team for the correct form. Protection applications cost £100 and are made on paper.
• Giving Companies House the PSC's identity verification personal code. That is a separate filing.

For the ordinary online route we verify company authority, the authentication code and authorised filer before payment. Paper filings need an actual printed authenticator name and permitted capacity, without a handwritten signature, and require separate review. Find your company, choose the PSC and fill in only what changed, with the date of change and the date it was confirmed. We check the bands, dates and addresses and ask about anything missing or unclear. You approve the filing before it is submitted.

The PSC's entry on the public register is only updated once Companies House accepts the PSC04. A receipt or payment confirmation is not the same as acceptance. If the person is also a director, check whether their director record needs a matching CH01.

• Leaving a PSC change to be picked up at the confirmation statement. PSC04 has its own 14 day window that starts when the change is confirmed.
• Ticking only the new condition when the nature of control changes, and leaving off conditions that still apply.
• Reporting a share movement that stays within the same band, or missing one that crosses a band.
• Using PSC04 when the person has stopped being a PSC altogether.
• Updating the director record with CH01 but forgetting the PSC record, or the other way round.
• Putting several changes from different dates on one filing.
• Putting a home address in the service address box when the person wants it kept private.