When wishing to protect personal information

The scope of circumstances, in which an individual can apply to the registrar at Companies House for information about them to be suppressed, is set to broaden. A company director is an obvious example of an individual making such an application.

A draft of The Protection and Disclosure of Personal Information (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (Amendment Regulations) has been laid before Parliament (14 May 2025), but not yet made as a UK Statutory Instrument (SI).

What does the draft legislation do?

The intention behind this legislative change is described in the draft Explanatory Memorandum, published to accompany the draft SI:

‘This instrument will widen the range of circumstances in which individuals may apply to the registrar at Companies House to protect their personal information where it appears on the public register. Protection means that the registrar cannot make the relevant information publicly available’ (paragraph 4.1).

Territorially, the Amendment Regulations extend across the UK.

Read the draft Amendment Regulations 2025 here.

Read the draft Explanatory Memorandum here.

Part of a wider reform

On the policy context to the Amendment Regulations, it is explained that the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) reforms include measures:

‘…to prevent the abuse of personal information on the companies register’ (paragraph 5.1).

The ECCTA received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. See our previous blogs on the ECCTA Corporate Transparency change coming to the UKand Major Changes To Company Law Imminent.

Read Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act: outline transition plan for Companies House here. (Published 16 October 2024; last updated 12 March 2025.)

For further background in relation to the ECCTA, there is a Government campaign website called ‘Changes to UK company law’. This includes a section called ‘Changes at a glance’.

Access the https://changestoukcompanylaw.campaign.gov.uk website here.

Personal information displayed on a public register

The risk of harm

The balance at the heart of the Amendment Regulations is acknowledged in the Explanatory Memorandum as follows:

‘It has always been a key principle that individuals directing companies and equivalent entities should have their details registered at Companies House so that they can be held to account for the entity’s affairs. However, there are instances in which having this information visible on the public register puts individuals at increased risk of harm such as identity theft or fraud’ (paragraph 5.2).

Circumstances for making an application

The Amendment Regulations introduce the second part of the ECCTA privacy reforms, with further measures to protect personal information on the public register held by Companies House.

• To protect ‘usual residential addresses’ in most cases where they appear on the register. On this see Part 3 of the Amendment Regulations (‘Amendments to the Companies (Disclosure of Address) Regulations 2009’) – this amends and expands the existing address protection regime.
• To introduce a protection regime for an individual’s:

1. signature,
2. business occupation, and
3. day of date of birth.

Further detail on this regime in Part 2 of the Amendment Regulations (‘Application for protection of personal information on the companies register’).

An absolute right

What this means once the draft legislation is in force is also considered in the draft Explanatory Memorandum:

‘Once this instrument is in force, anyone will be able to make an application according to the regulations for protection of their residential address, signature, business occupation, and day of date of birth. Individuals will not need to justify the need for such protection or meet any additional conditions. It is an individual’s absolute right to have their residential address, signature, day of date of birth, and business occupation protected. This is because the law does not require this information to either be provided or made publicly available anymore. Companies House will retain all protected information to share with law enforcement agencies and other public authorities when required to’ (paragraph 5.4).

There are exceptions

Registered office address

An individual cannot apply to protect an address that must be kept on the register, such as the live ‘registered office address’, unless this is also on the register as their own current address (e.g., as a director’s ‘service address’). In that case a replacement service address must be provided in the application.

Otherwise making unavailable for inspection

Also, an individual is not able to apply to protect information contained in certain filings related to charges, or that would require the registrar to make an entity’s name unavailable for inspection by the public (on these points see regulations 2(3) and 5(6)). An example of the latter provided in the Explanatory Memorandum is not being possible to protect an address where it forms part of a company name, ‘…such as in the case of a flat management company whose name contains the address of the building it manages’ (paragraph 5.6).

Keeping in step

LLPs and unregistered companies

The Amendment Regulations make corresponding provisions for Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) and unregistered companies.

People with Significant Control

Additionally, the Amendment Regulations widen the application grounds for People with Significant Control (PSC) to request that the registrar refrains from disclosing their residential address to a credit reference agency.

Date in force

The Amendment Regulations, except for Part 11, come into force:

• on 21 July 2025, if made before 21 July 2025, or
• on the day after the day on which the Amendment Regulations are made, if they are made on or after 21 July 2025.

Part 11 of the Amendment Regulations comes into force when section 167J of the Companies Act 2006 (required information about a director: individuals) comes fully into force[1].

Applicable guidance

Ahead of the Amendment Regulations coming into force, the Explanatory Memorandum notes that the existing Companies House guidance on protecting personal information will be updated.

Key takeaways

The draft Amendment Regulations introduce the second part of the ECCTA privacy reforms, bringing in further measures to protect certain personal information on the public register held by Companies House. Specifically, the draft SI relates to the suppression of usual residential address, signature, business occupation, and / or day of date of birth. This is through application to the UK’s registrar of Companies.

In this blog, we have put the draft SI in the setting of the wider reform of the ECCTA, referring to the ECCTA outline transition plan for Companies House. So, to conclude, it is interesting to note the historical perspective stated within that policy paper:

‘The Act introduces the biggest changes to Companies House since corporate registrations were established in 1844 and will enable us to play a much stronger role in making the UK a great place to do business’.

Our experienced team of commercial lawyers can support you if you would like to learn more about these proposed changes to the UK’s Companies House.

[1] Section 167J was inserted by section 51 of, and Schedule 2 to, the ECCTA.