A Companies House filing is the finished product, not the underlying evidence. When a UK limited company reports its accounts, changes its shareholders or confirms who controls it, there should be a reliable trail of records supporting those statements. That is the practical starting point for understanding company record keeping requirements in the UK.
A sensible system separates corporate decisions from day-to-day transactions, while making both easy to retrieve. It also recognises that Companies House filings do not replace the company’s own records.
What company records must a UK limited company keep?
The core obligations fall into three groups: company and governance records, accounting records, and documents needed for tax and employment compliance. The exact mix depends on the company’s activities, but even a one-director business needs more than a folder of annual accounts.
Shareholders, resolutions and company decisions
Every company must maintain a register of members, identifying its shareholders and the information required by law. It must be held at the registered office or a notified single alternative inspection location (SAIL) and made available for inspection as required. Keep share allotment and transfer documentation alongside it, so changes can be traced rather than reconstructed later.
Retain the articles of association, incorporation documents, relevant share certificates, written shareholder resolutions and minutes of general meetings. Directors’ meeting minutes also matter, even when the board is small. Records of directors’ meetings and prescribed shareholder decisions generally must be kept for at least ten years.
Where applicable, preserve documents relating to debentures, indemnities and charges over company assets. An asset-backed loan, for instance, should have its agreement, approval and security documents filed together, not scattered between a bank inbox and an accountant’s archive.
What changed under the Companies House reforms?
Since 18 November 2025, companies have no longer been required to keep separate local statutory registers of directors, directors’ residential addresses, secretaries or people with significant control (PSCs). However, they must still supply and update the relevant information at Companies House. A company’s own register of members remains compulsory.
The option to maintain members’ information on the Companies House central register ended on 26 January 2026. Companies that previously relied on that arrangement must now maintain their own register. Internal governance files are still useful for documenting appointments, ownership changes and the evidence behind notifications, even where a particular local register is no longer mandatory.
Which accounting records support annual filings?
Accounting records should show money received and spent, assets, liabilities and, where relevant, stock and stocktaking results. Businesses that buy and sell goods need the necessary purchase, sales and counterparty details, subject to the retail exception. The test is whether the records explain transactions and enable accurate accounts and tax returns.
In practice, keep customer invoices, supplier bills, receipts, bank statements, contracts, payment confirmations, credit notes and supporting calculations. Reconcile company bank transactions against the bookkeeping regularly. A year-end total is much less useful if no one can explain which invoices and payments produced it.
Keep the company’s finances separate from personal spending. If a director pays a business expense personally, record the reimbursement or director’s loan treatment properly, with supporting evidence. The same principle applies to dividends: retain the decision, relevant financial assessment and payment record.
How long should company records be retained?
Different rules apply to different records, so one universal deletion date is risky. GOV.UK guidance says companies should keep records relevant to their Company Tax Return for six years from the end of the last financial year concerned. Longer retention may be necessary for transactions spanning accounting periods, long-lived assets, late returns or an HMRC compliance check.
VAT records normally have a six-year retention requirement, subject to particular schemes or concessions. Ordinary PAYE payroll records must generally be retained for three years after the end of the relevant tax year, although overlapping tax, employment or other obligations may require longer. As noted above, board minutes and specified shareholder meeting or resolution records carry a ten-year minimum.
Set retention rules by document type, not simply by folder age. Personal information should also be handled in line with data-protection principles, including keeping it no longer than justified by the relevant purpose and legal obligations.
A practical filing workflow that survives an audit
Consider a small design agency issuing new shares to an investor. The Companies House submission is only one step. The company should preserve the approval, share documentation, updated register of members, subscription payment evidence and relevant accounting entries. If an accountant later asks why share capital changed, the answer should be available in minutes.
Use separate folders for corporate governance, bookkeeping, tax, payroll and contracts. Within each, organise material by financial year or event. Give files descriptive names, record who approved changes and restrict access to personal or commercially sensitive information. Maintain secure backups and ensure the business, not just an individual adviser, can retrieve its records.
A monthly review can catch missing invoices, unreconciled payments and governance changes that have not yet been reflected in the company’s files. Before annual filings, compare internal records against Companies House information. For connected topics, guidance on UK confirmation statements, directors’ duties and registered office requirements can help establish a wider compliance routine.
Common questions about UK company record keeping
Can a limited company store its records electronically?
Yes, many records can be kept digitally, provided they remain accurate, accessible and capable of being produced when legally required. Certain inspection and availability rules still apply to statutory registers. Secure access and dependable backups are essential.
Does filing accounts at Companies House satisfy record-keeping duties?
No. Filed accounts summarise a company’s position. The company must still retain underlying accounting records and supporting compliance documents, including evidence for figures supplied to HMRC.
Must every company still keep a PSC register?
No. The obligation to keep a separate local PSC register ended on 18 November 2025. Companies must nevertheless report PSC information to Companies House and keep it current.
Who is responsible if an accountant manages the records?
Directors remain responsible for ensuring the company meets its legal obligations. Outsourcing bookkeeping or filing work does not remove that responsibility, so arrangements should include access to records and clear handover procedures.
Make records part of the process, not an annual rescue job
Good company records UK businesses can rely on are created when decisions and transactions happen. Maintain the legally required statutory records, preserve the evidence behind accounting records, and review retention and filing responsibilities routinely. That approach makes compliance easier to demonstrate and reduces the chance of discovering a missing document when it matters most.