Running a limited company

You must report certain changes to Companies House.

Changing your company's registered office address

You must tell Companies House if you want to change your company's registered office address. If the change is approved, they will tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Your company's new registered office address must be in the same part of the United Kingdom that the company was registered (incorporated).

For example, if your company was registered in Northern Ireland and England, the new registered office address must be in Northern Ireland or England.

Your address won't officially change until Companies House has registered it.

Other limited company changes you must report

You must tell HMRC if:

• your business' contact details change - for example, your name, business name or your personal or trading address
• you appoint an accountant or tax adviser

You must tell Companies House within 14 days if you make changes to:

• the address where you keep your records, and which records you keep there
• directors or their personal details, like their address
• company secretaries (appointing a new one or ending an existing one's appointment)

You must tell Companies House within a month if you issue more shares in your company.

How to report changes to Companies House

You can:

• use the Companies House online service
• fill in and send paper forms

Changes that shareholders must approve

You may need to get shareholders to vote on the decision if you want to:

• change the company name
• remove a director
• change the company's articles of association

This is called 'passing a resolution'. Most resolutions will need a majority to agree (called an 'ordinary resolution'). Some might require a 75 per cent majority (called a 'special resolution').

Companies House has more details about the types of changes and resolutions you must report to them.

Your new company name won't take effect until it's registered by Companies House - they'll tell you when this happens.

Shareholder voting

When you're working out whether you have a majority, count the number of shares that give the owner the right to vote, rather than the number of shareholders.

You don't necessarily need to have a meeting of shareholders to pass a resolution. If the right amount of shareholders have told you they agree, you can confirm the resolution in writing. But you must write to all shareholders letting them know about the decision.