In short
Form MR01 is the Companies House form used to register a charge. Such as a mortgage or debenture, created by a UK limited company. Its official title is Particulars of a Charge
, and it must be delivered within 21 days of the charge being created.
When a UK limited company borrows money and uses an asset as security, that security interest does not become legally effective against third parties simply by signing a mortgage deed. It has to be registered at Companies House using the MR01 form within a strict deadline. Miss it, and the charge could become void against a liquidator or other creditors if the company later becomes insolvent. For property investors running buy-to-let portfolios or SPVs through a limited company, understanding how and when to file an MR01 is not just administrative housekeeping: it is a legal requirement that protects both the lender and the company itself.
This article explains mr01 registration of a charge, what does it mean,
when it must be filed, who is responsible for filing it, what information is required, how to submit it, how different charge types are handled, what happens after filing, what mistakes to avoid, and how the MR04 form fits in when a charge is later paid off.
- This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Always seek professional guidance for your specific circumstances.
Key Takeaways
- The MR01 form is used to register a charge (such as a mortgage) at Companies House for UK-registered companies and must be delivered within 21 days of the charge being created
- Failure to register within the 21-day window does not erase the charge but can make it void against a liquidator or other creditors, with only a court order able to allow late registration
- Either the company, the lender, or any person “interested in the charge” can file an form MR01, but in practice it is almost always the lender or their solicitors who handle the submission
- Online filing via Companies House WebFiling costs £14; paper filing costs £24 and takes longer to process
- A certified copy of the charge instrument (such as the mortgage deed) must be submitted alongside the form. The original must not be sent
- Once a charge is repaid, it should be formally satisfied using the MR04 form. Leaving paid-off charges on the public record can cause problems when refinancing, selling a property, or bringing in new investors
What is the MR01 Form?
The MR01 is the official Companies House form for registering the particulars of a mortgage or charge created by a UK limited company. Its full name is “Particulars of a Charge,” and it is governed by Sections 859A and 859J of the Companies Act 2006, as amended by the Companies Act 2006 (Amendment of Part 25) Regulations 2013.
In plain terms, a charge is the security a company gives for a loan. A mortgage over a buy-to-let property held inside an SPV is the most common example. When the lender takes that security, it needs to be recorded on the company’s public record at Companies House so that anyone searching the register, whether a future lender, buyer, or insolvency practitioner, can see that the asset is already encumbered. The MR01 is how that public notice is created.
The MR01 applies to charges created on or after 6 April 2013. For any charge created before that date, the older MG01 form (England, Wales, and Northern Ireland) or MG01s (Scotland) must be used instead; these are available through the National Archives website.
For limited liability partnerships, the equivalent form is the LL MR01, not the standard MR01.
When Do You Need to File an Form MR01?
The 21-day filing window
The filing window is strict. You must deliver the correctly completed documents to Companies House within 21 days beginning the day after the charge was created.
Why the deadline matters
If a charge is not registered within 21 days, it may become void against a liquidator or other creditors if the company becomes insolvent. The charge does not disappear, but the lender loses their priority position against unsecured creditors, which can make recovering a debt very difficult or impossible.
If the deadline is missed, only a court order can allow late registration, and applications to court are costly, uncertain, and not guaranteed to succeed.
What starts the clock
The trigger for the 21-day clock depends on how the charge was created.
- Deed taking immediate effect
- The creation date is the date of delivery.
- Deed held in escrow
- The date of delivery into escrow.
- Instrument that is not a deed
- The date of execution if it takes immediate effect, or the date it takes effect if there is a delay.
- Standard security in Scotland
- The date of recording in the Register of Sasines or registration in the Land Register of Scotland.
Because the creation date is not always the same as the signing date, it is worth confirming the exact trigger with your solicitor before assuming when the clock started.
Who Is Responsible for Filing Form MR01?
Under the Companies Act 2006, any person “interested in the charge” can file the MR01. That includes the company itself, the lender, a solicitor acting for either party, or any other agent with an interest in the proper registration of the charge.
In practice, it is almost always the lender or the lender’s solicitors who handle the registration for a straightforward reason: the lender has the most to lose if the charge is not registered correctly and on time. Most institutional and specialist buy-to-let lenders will insist on handling the filing themselves rather than relying on the borrower.
That said, the ultimate obligation to ensure registration happens falls on the company. If a lender fails to register and the deadline passes, the SPV directors may need to seek a court order to rectify the situation. Company directors cannot simply assume the lender has taken care of it and leave it unchecked. Monitoring the company’s register of charges, accessible on Companies House, is good governance practice, even when a professional handles the filing.
If you are filing as the company rather than as a lender, you use your company authentication code to access the WebFiling service. If you are a lender or agent filing on behalf of another company, you need to register with Companies House as a lender beforehand. That registration is done via a separate application form and gives you the credentials needed to file charge documents for companies other than your own.
What Information Is Required?
The form MR01 has nine sections, each pulling specific information from the charge instrument itself. Getting every section right matters because Companies House will reject the form if it is incomplete, and will not hold an incomplete application while waiting for missing documents.
1 Company details
The full company name and company number of the charging company must be entered exactly as they appear on Companies House records.
2 Charge creation date
This is the date the charge was legally created, in accordance with the rules set out above, depending on whether it is a deed, a non-deed instrument, or a standard security in Scotland.
This date is important because it sets the 21-day clock and establishes priority between competing charges.
3 Names of persons entitled to the charge
The names of the lender or lenders, security agents, or trustees entitled to the charge must be entered exactly as they appear in the written instrument.
If there are more than four names, any four can be entered, with a tick confirming the presence of additional names.
4 Description of assets charged
A short description of any specified land (including buildings), ship, aircraft, or intellectual property covered by the charge. For a property SPV, this will typically be the address or title number of the mortgaged property.
If multiple properties are charged, at least one must be described in full, with a note referring to the instrument for the full list. If no specific assets are charged in this way, the section is left blank or marked
none
.5 Fixed charge or security
A tick box confirming whether the instrument contains any fixed charge over assets other than those described in Section 4.
6 Floating charge
If the instrument includes a floating charge (a charge over a class of assets rather than a specific asset, such as all present and future book debts), this box is ticked.
If the floating charge covers all the company's property and undertaking, a further box must be ticked to confirm this.
7 Negative pledge
If the instrument contains terms preventing the company from creating any further security that would rank equally with or ahead of this charge, the negative pledge box is ticked.
This is commercially important information for anyone searching the register, as it indicates that the charged assets are restricted.
8 Trustee statement
An optional box that can be ticked if the charging company is acting as a trustee. This can also be noted later using form MR06.
9 Authentication
Someone with an interest in the charge must print their name on the form. This can be the company, the lender, or a representative, including a solicitor or accountant.
A physical signature is not required for authentication purposes.
How to file: two routes
There are two routes: online via Companies House WebFiling, or by post using the paper form.
Online filing recommended
£14 per charge
Online filing includes built-in checks to help catch errors before submission, and is processed more quickly than a paper form. You will need a WebFiling account and either a company authentication code (if filing as the company) or lender registration credentials (if filing as a lender or agent).
Once submitted, the MR01 is considered received when its status shows as processing
in My Recent Filings. A certificate of registration is returned by email and is also available to download from the My Recent Filings screen for ten days after the submission is accepted.
Paper filing
£24 per charge
Paper filing takes longer to process. The form must be printed at full size on white A4 paper. All documents must be delivered together: the form, the certified copy of the instrument, and the fee.
Companies House will reject the application if anything is missing and will not contact the filer to request outstanding items. Do not submit the original charge instrument by post.
LLPs: for an LLP filing on paper, use form LL MR01 rather than the standard MR01.
Form MR01 for Different Charge Types
While many people associate the MR01 form with a straightforward buy-to-let mortgage, the same form covers several types of security arrangements.
Fixed charge over land
The most common scenario for property investors. A mortgage deed gives the lender a fixed charge over a specific property held by the company. The property address or title number goes in Section 4.
Floating charge
Used in debentures where the lender takes security over a class of assets, such as the company’s rental income, bank balances, or the entirety of its assets and undertakings. Floating charges rank below fixed charges in an insolvency, but are commonly taken alongside a fixed charge in a debenture that covers everything the company owns. The floating charge box in Section 6 must be ticked, and if it covers all the company’s property and undertakings, the additional box must also be ticked.
Fixed and floating charge combined
Many buy-to-let lenders and bridging lenders take a debenture containing both a fixed charge over the specific property and a floating charge over everything else the company owns. Both Sections 5 and 6 are completed in that case.
Charge over property acquired (MR02)
Where a company acquires property that is already subject to an existing charge and takes on that charge as part of the acquisition, the MR02 form is used rather than the MR01 form. This is a separate form handled through the same WebFiling service.
What happens after registration
Once Companies House processes the Form MR01, several things follow.
The charge enters the public register
The charge is entered on the company's register of charges, which forms part of the public record accessible to anyone searching Companies House. From this point, the existence of the charge and the details filed (including the certified copy of the instrument, with any permitted redactions) are publicly visible.
A certificate of registration is issued
The certificate confirms the charge has been registered and the date of registration. This date matters for priority: between two competing charges over the same asset, the one registered first generally takes priority (subject to any actual notice of a prior interest and certain other rules). Lenders rely on this certificate as confirmation that their security position is protected.
A separate entry is made at HM Land Registry
An entry is usually also made on the property's title to note the mortgage. The two registrations serve different purposes: Companies House provides public notice that the company, as an entity, has an encumbrance; the Land Registry entry protects the lender's interest in the specific property title. Both are usually required, and solicitors acting on a mortgage transaction will typically handle both.
The company updates its own register
After registration, the company's directors should update the company's own register of charges (a statutory register that must be kept at the registered office or SAIL address). In practice, however, many smaller SPVs rely on the Companies House public record as the primary reference.
Common errors that cause rejection
Several errors consistently cause form MR01 applications to be rejected or to create downstream problems.
Missing the 21-day deadline most serious
There is no grace period and no administrative extension available. If the deadline is missed, a court application is the only remedy, and there is no guarantee the court will grant one. Building in sufficient time for solicitors to prepare the certified copy and complete the form before the deadline is essential.
Submitting incomplete documents
Companies House will not process a partial application or chase for missing items. The form, certified copy of the instrument, and fee must all be delivered together. If anything is missing, the entire application is rejected, and the clock continues to run.
Sending the original charge instrument
The original mortgage deed must never be sent to Companies House. Only a certified copy should be submitted. The certified copy becomes a public document.
Company name or number mismatch
The company name and number in Section 1 must exactly match the Companies House record. Even a minor discrepancy in punctuation or spacing can result in rejection.
Incorrect charge creation date
Using the signing date when the charge is actually a deed held in escrow, or using the wrong date for a Scottish standard security, can undermine the charge's priority. Confirming the correct creation date with a solicitor before filing avoids this.
Failing to tick the floating charge box
Where a debenture includes a floating charge, not ticking Section 6 means the register is inaccurate and could mislead a future creditor or searcher into thinking the lender's security is narrower than it is.
Not redacting personal information before submission
Once submitted, the certified copy of the instrument is publicly visible. Any personal addresses, bank account numbers, or signatures that have not been redacted will appear on the public register and cannot be easily removed afterward.
Assuming the lender has handled it
Even where a lender takes responsibility for filing, the company's directors carry a separate duty to ensure the company's charges register is accurate. Checking that a charge has actually appeared on the Companies House record after the filing window closes is straightforward and takes a few minutes.
MR04: Satisfying a Charge When the Loan Is Repaid
When a charge has been fully or partly repaid, it should be formally removed from the public register using form MR04, “Statement of satisfaction in full or in part of a charge.” This is filed under section 859L of the Companies Act 2006.
Filing an MR04 is not legally required. Companies do not have to notify Companies House when a charge is satisfied. However, any satisfied charges left outstanding on the public record can cause practical problems: future lenders may be put off or require additional confirmation that the charge is no longer live, buyers and their solicitors will flag the outstanding charge as a concern during due diligence, and bringing in new investors becomes more complicated if the register suggests assets are still encumbered when they are not.
The MR04 can be filed online through Companies House WebFiling at no fee. It can also be submitted using a paper form or via third-party software. As with the MR01, all documents must be submitted together.
For a property SPV that regularly refinances or sells properties from the portfolio, keeping the charges register clean by promptly filing MR04s when loans are repaid is straightforward housekeeping that avoids complications further down the line.
