Form TM01: How to Resign or Remove a Director at Companies House

You send one email to the board telling them a director has resigned, tick the change off your list, and assume Companies House already knows. Weeks later, a bank, a buyer, or a due diligence check runs a company search, and the same name is still sitting on the public register, looking exactly like a director who never left.

The gap between resigning in practice and resigning on the record is a single Companies House TM01 filing, and the fourteen days you get to submit it. Missing that window does not undo the resignation itself, but it does leave your company's public record wrong, and wrong records cause their own problems at exactly the wrong moment.

In this article, you will learn when to use form TM01, how to file it online or by post, what identity verification changed in 2025, and how to handle a sole director or a director who will not go quietly.

What Is a TM01 Form and When Do You Need to File One?

A TM01 form is the document a UK limited company files with Companies House to record that a director's appointment has ended, whether through resignation, removal, death, or disqualification. You need one any time a person who was legally a director stops being one, and it must be filed within 14 days of that date.

Many people search for a director resignation form when what they actually need is form TM01 itself, since the two terms describe the same filing. The trigger is always the date the role ended, not the date someone writes the letter or holds the meeting. That date comes from a resignation letter, a board minute, a removal resolution, or in rare cases a court order or the director's death. Filing responsibility rests with the company, acting through a current officer, not with the individual leaving.

How Do You File Form TM01 Online?

You file form TM01 online through Companies House's digital filing service, using the company's authentication code, and there is no fee to do so. You select the officer whose appointment is ending, enter the date it ended, confirm the details already held on the register, and submit.

In practice, the process runs in four steps:

1. Sign in to the Companies House online filing service and enter the company number and authentication code
2. Choose the option to end a director's appointment and select the director who is leaving
3. Enter the date the appointment ended, taken from the resignation letter, board minute or removal resolution
4. Check the name against the public register, confirm the authorising officer and submit the filing

Online filings are almost always the fastest route. Most are examined and accepted within a day or two of submission, and any obvious errors, such as a name that does not match the register, are usually flagged before you can submit rather than discovered weeks later. You will need the company's authentication code to hand, which is different from any personal identity verification code a director may hold. If your company already uses an accountant or company secretarial provider for filings, this is typically the quickest way to close out a resignation cleanly.

How Do You File Form TM01 by Post?

You file form TM01 by post by downloading the paper version of the form, completing and signing it, and sending it to Companies House.

Since paper documents for every UK company, regardless of whether it is registered in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, now go to a single address, there is no need to work out a regional office.

Where Do You Send a Paper TM01 Form by Post?

Send it to Companies House, Crown Way, Cardiff, CF14 3UZ, United Kingdom.

The paper form must be printed at full size on white A4 paper and signed by a current officer, either a director or the company secretary. Do not use the paper form if the company is registered under the PROOF scheme, which blocks paper filing as an anti-fraud measure. Postal filing takes noticeably longer than online filing because the form must be received, opened, and manually keyed into the register. This delay matters because the 14-day clock does not pause while your letter is in the post.

Should You File Form TM01 Online or by Post?

Filing online is quicker, cheaper in practical terms, and less likely to be rejected, so it is the better default unless a specific reason points you to paper. The table below sets out where the two methods actually differ.

What Information Must a TM01 Form Include?

A TM01 form requires the company's name and registration number, the outgoing director's full name exactly as it appears on the register, the date their appointment ended, and the signature or authorisation of a current officer. Getting the name field wrong is the single most common reason a filing bounces back.

If the departing director is a corporate director rather than an individual, the form asks for the corporate entity's registered name and number instead of a personal name. The appointment date is pre-populated from the existing register in the online service. However, you still need to confirm the termination date independently, since that is the figure the 14-day deadline runs from. Authorisation online is a printed name tied to the account submitting the filing; on paper, it is a physical signature, which is one reason paper filings take longer to process correctly.

Does Identity Verification Affect a TM01 Filing?

No, a departing director does not need to complete identity verification to resign or be removed, and the TM01 filing itself does not require it. Identity verification is only relevant if someone is being appointed to that director's position.

From 18 November 2025, any new director being appointed, including a replacement for someone who has just resigned, must complete identity verification with Companies House before the appointment can be registered on form AP01. Existing directors who remain on the company's board are on a separate timetable: they need to complete their own identity verification before the company's next confirmation statement is accepted, with a transition period set by Companies House to run through to 18 November 2026. None of this blocks a TM01 on its own, but if a resignation triggers the appointment of someone new, expect that step to add time the resignation itself never used to need.

What Mistakes Cause a TM01 Form to Be Rejected or Delayed?

The most common mistake in a Companies House TM01 filing is entering the director's name differently from how it is recorded on the register, for example, using a shortened first name when the full legal name is on file. Companies House checks this closely, and a mismatch means resubmission.

Other frequent errors include:

• Using the date the form is signed instead of the actual date the appointment ended
• Leaving the signature or authorisation field blank on a paper form
• Filing after the 14-day window has already closed without any explanation on file
• Assuming the TM01 also updates the director's status as a person with significant control or as company secretary

Removing someone as a director does not automatically update their status as a person with significant control or as company secretary; those need separate filings if they apply. Treating the TM01 as the only form needed in a wider reshuffle, rather than one piece of it, is where most of the avoidable delay comes from.

What Does Form TM01 Not Do?

A TM01 form only changes who is legally recorded as a director. It does not remove someone as a shareholder, end their employment or consultancy agreement, or release them from responsibility for decisions taken while they held office.

It also does not update the register if the departing director was also the company secretary, which requires a separate filing. It has no bearing on personal guarantees a former director gave to a bank or landlord, which stay in force under their own terms until formally released. It does not pause or resolve an ongoing director disqualification matter, and it plays no part in identity verification, either for the person leaving or for anyone else already on the board. Treating the TM01 as a clean, complete exit from every role someone held is one of the more expensive assumptions a company can make.

What Is the Difference Between TM01 and AP01?

Form TM01 and form AP01 perform opposite functions: TM01 closes an appointment, recording that someone has stopped being a director, while AP01 opens one, recording that someone new has started. The two forms often need to work together rather than on their own.

This matters most when a company needs to appoint a replacement director, such as when a sole director steps back or a board reshuffle follows a resignation. In cases like these, the AP01 for the new director should be prepared alongside the TM01 for the outgoing one, since a new appointee's identity verification generally needs to clear before Companies House will accept the AP01, and that in turn can determine when it is safe to submit the TM01 for the departing director. Filing them in the wrong order, or filing only one when the situation needs both, is a common reason director changes stall midway through.

Can a Sole Director Resign Using Form TM01?

Not on its own. A sole director cannot resign using form TM01 without a successor already appointed, because every UK private limited company must have at least one director who is a natural person under sections 154 and 155 of the Companies Act 2006, and Companies House will reject a filing that would leave the register empty.

The fix is straightforward once you know it: appoint a replacement director first, then file the resignation.

How Do You Remove a Director Who Refuses to Resign?

You remove a director who will not resign by having the shareholders pass an ordinary resolution under section 168 of the Companies Act 2006, then filing form TM01 within 14 days of the removal taking effect. Resignation is voluntary; removal against someone's will follows a different, more formal route.

1. Give special notice of the intended resolution to the company at least 28 days before the meeting, as section 312 requires
2. Hold a general meeting: a section 168 removal cannot be passed as a written resolution
3. Allow the director to circulate written representations and to speak at the meeting under section 169
4. Pass the resolution by a simple majority of votes cast
5. File form TM01 within 14 days of the date the removal takes effect

Provided the resolution passes, the removal is effective from that point, and the 14-day filing clock for the TM01 starts running from the same date. It is worth checking the company's articles of association and any shareholders' agreement before starting this process, since some companies build in additional steps, such as a right of first refusal over shares, that run alongside the Companies Act procedure rather than instead of it.

How Do You Count the 14-Day TM01 Filing Deadline?

The 14-day countdown starts on the date the appointment ended, not the day the meeting was minuted or the day the form is signed, and weekends count.

Frequently Asked Questions About Form TM01

How Do You Make Sure Your TM01 Filing Goes Through Cleanly?

Resigning or removing a director always comes down to two steps: ensure the underlying decision is made in accordance with the company's articles of association, and then file form TM01 within 14 days so the public record reflects the reality.

• Check the departing director's name against the register before you submit anything
• Confirm whether a replacement director needs to be appointed first
• File online wherever possible to avoid postal delays eating into the deadline
• If identity verification applies to a new appointment, start that process early rather than at the last minute

Getting these steps in the right order the first time means one filing, not two.