What the company still keeps
The biggest change of recent years is what companies don’t keep. Since 18 November 2025, the registers of directors, directors’ home addresses, secretaries and PSCs are no longer required; the information is filed with and held by Companies House instead1. The register of members remains, and if it was previously held centrally at Companies House, the company must create a full register and make it available to the public1.
The records that can be kept at the SAIL instead of the registered office are4:
| Record | Section of the Companies Act |
|---|---|
| Register of members | 114 |
| Directors’ service contracts | 228 |
| Directors’ indemnities | 237 |
| Records of resolutions and meetings | 358 |
| Records of buying back or redeeming its own shares | 702, 720 |
| Register of debenture holders | 743 |
| Copies of documents creating charges | 859Q |
Telling Companies House about a move
For the register of members, the law says the company must give Companies House notice of where it is kept and of any change3. Two practical rules follow:
- If a record has always been at the registered office, no notice is needed3.
- Records can only move to a SAIL that is already on the register, and all records kept away from the registered office must be at that same place5. Set the SAIL up first: see an inspection address for your company records.
Report the move within 14 days2. Being 14 days late with the notice for the register of members is an offence for the company and every officer in default3.
Check your company’s dates and set a reminder
Search the Companies House register. Your company page shows its filing dates, what to file next and a reminder you can set.
Moving records back
When the SAIL closes or you want everything back at the registered office, tell Companies House which records have moved back. Moving every record back means the SAIL is no longer used.
Keeping the register of members right
Moving the register doesn’t change what goes in it. Update it whenever shares are issued or transferred: an issue of new shares is entered in the register as well as reported to Companies House.
Filing the move
Fileyear’s company records move asks which records moved and in which direction, checks that your SAIL is on the register, and files form AD03 for records moving to the SAIL or AD04 for records moving back to the registered office.