Every UK company must identify the people who ultimately own or control it, known as people with significant control (PSCs), and keep this information up to date at Companies House for as long as the company exists.
On 18 November 2025, the rules changed about where this information is kept. Companies no longer keep their own PSC register. Now, there is just one register, managed by Companies House, and you have 14 days to tell them when something changes. Much of the guidance still online was written for the old two-register system and is now out of date.
This guide explains what the PSC register is, who qualifies as a PSC, how corporate owners are treated as relevant legal entities, and the steps to add, change, or remove a PSC. It also covers how identity verification now works. Since most of our clients hold property through SPVs, we also look at ownership structures like holding companies, family trusts, alphabet shares, and overseas investors, where PSC identification often causes problems.
Key Takeaways
- A PSC is an individual who owns or controls a UK company. A company cannot be a PSC. Instead, it may be classed as a relevant legal entity, or RLE.
- The PSC test is met by holding more than 25% of the shares, holding more than 25% of the voting rights, having the right to appoint or remove a majority of the directors, otherwise exercising significant influence or control, or exercising significant influence or control over a trust or firm that meets one of those conditions.
- Companies no longer keep their own PSC register. From 18 November 2025, the rule to keep a local register was removed, and the option to keep PSC information on the central register was also withdrawn. Now, all information is registered and updated at Companies House.
- Any change must be filed with Companies House within 14 days after the company confirms it. This replaced the previous two-stage process, which allowed 14 days for confirmation and another 14 days for filing.
- A PSC has one month from the date of a change to inform the company, even if the company does not request it.
- Individual PSCs must complete identity verification. Each person needs a Companies House personal code and must give it separately for every company where they are a PSC. At the moment, there are no verification requirements for corporate PSCs or RLEs.
- Getting PSC registration right from the outset avoids retrospective filings and reduces the risk of a restrictions notice later.
- Adding a PSC, changing their details and recording that someone has ceased to be a PSC are three different filings: PSC01, PSC04 and PSC07 respectively.
- The confirmation statement does not replace the 14-day filing duty. It is used once a year to confirm that the information already filed is correct.
- If PSC information is inaccurate, it can delay property transactions, make lender and conveyancer checks more difficult, and may even be an offence.
What is a PSC?
A person with significant control, or PSC, is an individual who owns or controls a company. A PSC is usually anyone who meets one or more of the following conditions:
- Holds more than 25% of the company’s shares or holds more than 25% of its voting rights.
- Has the right to appoint or remove most of the board of directors. Otherwise has the right to exercise, or exercises, significant influence or control over the company. Exercises significant influence or control over a trust or firm that itself meets any of the above conditions, in which case the trustees or partners are recorded as PSCs.
What is the PSC register?
The PSC register is the record of the individuals and legal entities that own or control a UK company. It is held by Companies House, forms part of the public register, and shows each PSC’s name, month and year of birth, nationality, country of residence, service address, the date they became a PSC and which conditions of control they meet.
Who is a person with significant control? The five PSC conditions
A person with significant control is someone who meets at least one of five conditions listed in Schedule 1A of the Companies Act 2006:
Shares
They directly or indirectly hold more than 25% of the company’s shares.
Voting rights
They directly or indirectly hold more than 25% of the company’s voting rights.
Directors
They have the right, directly or indirectly, to appoint or remove most of the board of directors.
Significant influence or control
They have the right to, or actually do, exercise significant influence or control over the company.
Trusts and firms
They have significant influence or control over a trust or firm that is not a legal person, and that trust or firm meets any of conditions 1 to 4. In this case, the trustees or partners are listed as PSCs themselves.
You only need to meet one of these conditions to be a PSC. A company might have one, several, or no PSCs at all.
When a PSC qualifies through shares or voting rights, their level of control is grouped into one of three bands instead of showing the exact percentage:
- Over 25% up to and including 50%
- More than 50% and less than 75%
- 75% or more
This is important for filing. If a shareholding changes from 30% to 45%, it stays in the same band and does not need a new PSC filing. If it moves from 45% to 55%, it enters a new band and does require filing.
Direct and indirect holdings
A holding is indirect if it is owned through a chain of entities, each with a majority stake in the next. For example, if someone owns 60% of a holding company that owns 100% of an SPV, they have an indirect majority interest in the SPV, even if they do not own shares in it directly.
Significant influence or control
“Significant influence or control” is meant to be broad. The first three conditions are straightforward. Condition 4 covers people who run a company without owning shares. For example, it could include someone whose approval is needed for all major decisions, or a founder who no longer owns shares but whose instructions the board still follows. In property structures, it might apply to a family member who funds every purchase and sets the strategy without holding shares. Statutory PSC guidance gives both indicators and safe harbours. If you think condition 4 might apply, get advice instead of assuming it does not.
Does the PSC register still exist? What changed on 18 November 2025
Yes, but only at Companies House. The rule that required companies to maintain their own register of persons with significant control ended on 18 November 2025, following changes introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.
Before that date, companies kept two registers at the same time: their own official PSC register at their registered office and the public record at Companies House. This always caused a delay between the two. The reforms removed the local register, so now there is just one central record.
| Before 18 November 2025 | From 18 November 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Company's own PSC register | Required, kept at the registered office or an alternative inspection location | No longer required |
| Public inspection of the local register | Free inspection; copies at a capped fee; five working days to respond | No longer applicable |
| Election to keep PSC information on the central register | Available | Withdrawn |
| Deadline to update | 14 days to enter in the local register, then a further 14 days to notify Companies House | A single 14 days to update Companies House from confirming the change |
| Identity verification of PSCs | Not required | Mandatory for individual PSCs |
There are two key points to remember. First, when you update the PSC register, it now only means filing at Companies House. Second, if you see any advice telling you to update your own register first or mentioning a 28-day window, that information is from before November 2025 and should not be used.
Some things have not changed. You are still responsible for registering information with Companies House and keeping it up to date, just as the official guidance says. Getting rid of the local register only made the process simpler, but your duty remains the same.
What is a relevant legal entity (RLE)? PSC vs RLE
Where a company is owned or controlled by another company rather than a person, that corporate owner may instead be recorded as a Relevant Legal Entity, or RLE.
A legal entity is relevant if it meets one or more of the five conditions above and either:
- it is itself required to report PSC information to Companies House, or
- it has voting shares admitted to trading on a regulated market in the UK or the EEA, or on specified markets in Switzerland, the USA, Japan or Israel.
It is registrable, meaning it should appear on your company’s PSC information, if it is the first relevant legal entity encountered when tracing ownership upward from your company.
| Area | PSC | RLE |
|---|---|---|
| Who | An individual | A body corporate |
| Test | Meets one of the five conditions | Meets one of the five conditions and is subject to an equivalent disclosure regime |
| Which one is recorded | The individual themselves | Only the first RLE tracing upward |
| Identity verification | Required | Not currently required |
| Form to add | PSC01 | PSC02 |
This matters most for SPVs held beneath a holding company, or for overseas structures. As a general rule, a UK holding company that is itself required to report PSC information will be the registrable RLE of its subsidiary, so the subsidiary does not usually need to look further up the chain or name the individuals who ultimately own the holding company. More complex chains, however, can create exceptions to this general position, for example where an individual also holds a separate direct interest in the subsidiary alongside their indirect interest through the holding company, so the position should always be checked against the specific ownership structure rather than assumed.
An overseas holding company that is not subject to an equivalent disclosure regime is not an RLE, and the analysis must look through it to find either a qualifying RLE further up the chain or the individuals who control the structure directly. Getting this wrong is one of the more common PSC errors in multi-entity property structures, since it either wrongly omits an individual who should be named or wrongly names an overseas entity that does not qualify as an RLE at all.
What information goes on the PSC register?
The register of persons with significant control captures different details depending on whether the registrable party is an individual or a legal entity.
For an individual PSC:
- full name
- date of birth (only the month and year are shown publicly)
- nationality
- country or state of usual residence
- a service address for correspondence
- usual residential address (held by Companies House, not disclosed publicly)
- the date they became a PSC
- which of the five conditions they meet, including the relevant band where they qualify through shares or voting rights
For a registrable RLE:
- name
- registered or principal office address
- legal form and governing law
- register of companies in which it is entered, and its registration number
- the date it became a registrable RLE
- which conditions it meets, including the band
PSC identity verification (2026 requirement)
Identity verification is now a mandatory part of the PSC regime. Once an individual has verified their identity, whether through an online identity check or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, they receive a personal code from the registrar. This code, together with a verification statement, generally has to be provided within a 14-day window.
The start of that window depends on the individual’s circumstances. A PSC who is also a director of the same company must provide their code as a PSC separately from providing it as a director, within 14 days starting the day after the company’s confirmation statement date. A PSC who is not a director of the same company must provide their code within the first 14 days of their birth month.
A PSC who was added after 18 November 2025 can provide their code when first added, or within 14 days of being added. In practice, identity verification should be completed promptly, since a personal code is required as part of this framework and most PSC filings will need it. This framework is still relatively new and continues to be refined operationally, so readers should check the latest official guidance for the current position before relying on the timings above for a specific filing.
For property investors with several SPVs, it is worth verifying identity once and keeping the personal code on file, since the same individual will often need to quote it across multiple companies. Overseas PSCs should allow extra time for identity verification, particularly where documents need to be reviewed through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider rather than completed directly online.
This framework is still relatively new and continues to be refined operationally, so readers should check the latest official PSC guidance before relying on the timings above for a specific filing.
How to update the PSC register: step by step
PSC registration and ongoing maintenance follow the same seven-step process, whether you are filing for the first time or updating an existing entry.
Identify the trigger and fix the date.
Establish what changed and the date the company confirmed it. The 14-day clock runs from confirmation of the change, so record that date.Establish what changed and the date the company confirmed it. The 14-day clock runs from confirmation of the change, so record that date.
Take reasonable steps to confirm the position.
Where the change involves a new or altered interest, the company has a duty to investigate and obtain the information it needs. If a shareholder has not told you what you need, ask them formally.
Gather the required particulars, including the personal code.
Use the checklist in step 7. and at the same time confirm the individual has completed identity verification and has a valid Companies House personal code. The code is part of the filing, not a separate exercise.Missing information is the usual reason a filing slips past 14 days.
Authorise the change.
A director or company secretary authorises the filing. Where the change follows a share transfer, an allotment or a restructuring, support it with a board minute and make sure the register of members, share certificates and stock transfer forms are consistent with what you are about to file.
Select the right form.
| Form | Use it to |
|---|---|
| PSC01 | Give notice of an individual person with significant control |
| PSC02 | Give notice of a relevant legal entity with significant control |
| PSC03 | Give notice of another registrable person with significant control |
| PSC04 | Give notice of a change of details for a person with significant control |
| PSC05 | Give notice of a change of details for a relevant legal entity |
| PSC06 | Give notice of a change of details of another registrable person |
| PSC07 | Give notice of ceasing to be a person with significant control |
| PSC08 | Give notice of PSC statements |
| PSC09 | Give notice of an update to PSC statements |
File within 14 days.
Submit online through the Companies House filing service or approved third-party software. Online submission is processed faster than paper.
Verify it landed.
Check the public record and confirm the change appears as intended. The obligation is not discharged until it does. Keep the filing receipt with the board minute.
The trigger events
- A new PSC. An individual crosses one of the thresholds, usually when a share transfer takes someone above 25%. Use Form PSC01.
- A band change. An existing PSC’s shareholding or voting rights move from one band to another. For example, this could be from the over-25%-to-50% band into the 50%-to-75% band. Use Form PSC04.
- A change of personal details. This includes name, nationality, country of residence, service address, or residential address. Use Form PSC04.
- A change of RLE. This happens when a holding company is added to or removed from an existing structure. Use Forms PSC02 and PSC05, and PSC07 if an entity ceases.
- A change to the PSC statements. This applies when the company previously filed a statement and the situation has changed. Use Form PSC09.
- A cessation. Someone no longer meets any of the conditions. Use Form PSC07.
The PSC's own duty
The company is not the only one with responsibilities. A PSC has one month from the change to inform the company, even if the company does not ask. This is a separate duty, and not doing it is an offence.
In practice, you should explain this duty to your PSCs. Most individual shareholders in a family SPV are not aware of it.
If you have transferred shares recently
If you have transferred shares between spouses, set up a holding company above your SPVs, brought in a joint venture partner, changed shares to an alphabet structure, or moved property assets into a new SPV, you need to review and file your PSC or RLE position within 14 days. It is best to check the PSC position when you design a structure, not after. A structure that works well for tax or succession can still create PSC obligations that are easy to miss if company secretarial service and tax advice are handled separately.
How to remove a PSC
Removing a PSC is a distinct filing from updating their details, and it applies whenever someone who was previously recorded as a PSC no longer meets any of the conditions of control. This typically follows a sale or dilution of shares, a change in voting rights, or the removal of a right to appoint directors.
- Confirm the date the person ceased to be a PSC.
- File form PSC07 within 14 days of confirming it.
- If they were the company's only PSC, the company must also confirm its PSC position now, whether that is a new PSC, a registrable RLE, or a statement that the company has no PSC, since PSC information cannot be left blank once the previous entry is removed.
A cessation should be filed as soon as it is confirmed rather than left until the next confirmation statement, since the public register will otherwise continue to show someone as a PSC after they have, in fact, ceased to have any control over the company.
The exception: death.
Where a PSC has died, do not remove them. They remain on the register until a grant of probate or letters of administration has been received. Whoever the interest then passes to must be assessed for PSC status in their own right.
What if you cannot identify or confirm your PSC?
The register cannot be left blank, and “we asked, and they ignored us” is not an answer in itself. There is a defined route.
You must take reasonable steps. The company has a clear duty to investigate and identify its PSCs and RLEs. Start by reviewing the register of members, the articles of association, shareholders’ agreements, and any trust deeds.
Request the information. Ask the person you think is a PSC to confirm their status and details. You can also ask someone else who is likely to know, such as the person’s accountant, solicitor, or a family member.
If they do not respond, there is a step-by-step process: first a request, then a warning notice, and finally a restrictions notice. A restrictions notice has serious effects: the relevant shares are frozen. They cannot be transferred, rights attached to them cannot be used, no agreement to transfer them is valid, and no payment, including dividends, can be made for them. The enforcement rules are set out in Schedule 1B to the Companies Act 2006.
A restrictions notice can be removed if the person complies, if it unfairly affects a third party’s rights, or by court order.
While you are still investigating, file the correct PSC statement using form PSC08 so the record shows the current situation. Once the issue is resolved, update it with form PSC09.
For a property SPV, this is rarely needed because ownership is usually clear. It matters more in inherited structures, joint ventures where a partner cannot be reached, or companies bought as a going concern with missing records.
Can a PSC keep their details private?
Partly. Some information is never made public: Companies House keeps a PSC’s usual residential address private, and only the month and year of their birth are shown on the public register. Everything else, such as name, nationality, country of residence, service address, and nature of control, is public on purpose.
In addition, there is a protection system that lets someone apply to keep their information private. This is not allowed just for general privacy or commercial reasons; it only applies if there is a serious risk of violence or intimidation. Applications go to the registrar.
If privacy is a real concern for a PSC in your structure, which can happen for landlords after disputes, get advice on the current rules and process before you file anything
What are the penalties for getting the PSC register wrong?
Not following the PSC rules is not just an administrative issue. The company and its officers can commit an offence, and a PSC who does not provide information or complete identity checks can also be at fault. This can lead to financial penalties and, for serious or repeated failures, criminal charges. Companies House now has more power to question and reject information and to act against incorrect filings.
In reality, the commercial consequences usually come first, and they are often most severe for property investors.
PSC register requirements for property SPVs
Most property SPVs are set up with straightforward ownership: one or two individuals holding all the shares directly. In these cases, PSC identification is simple, and the main task is making sure the company’s PSC information is updated promptly whenever shares move. Getting PSC registration right at the outset, before shares move or a holding company is added, is far easier than untangling it after the fact.
Ownership becomes more complex, and more prone to error, in a few common scenarios. Where a property portfolio is split across several SPVs beneath a single holding company, each subsidiary needs its PSC or RLE position assessed on its own, since the holding company will typically be the RLE of each subsidiary rather than the ultimate individual owners. Where alphabet shares or family trusts are used for succession or income-splitting purposes, the trustees or the individuals who control the trust may need to be recorded as PSCs even where they hold no shares directly. Where an overseas investor holds shares personally or through an overseas vehicle, the PSC or RLE analysis needs to trace the structure carefully, since not every overseas entity qualifies as an RLE.
Because SPV ownership structures are often set up for tax or succession planning reasons, it is worth checking the PSC position whenever a structure is designed or changed, rather than treating it as a separate administrative step. A structure that is efficient for tax purposes can still generate PSC obligations that are easy to overlook if company secretarial and tax advice are not considered together.
Why accurate PSC information matters commercially
Lenders and conveyancers routinely check a company’s Person with Significant Control information as part of anti-money laundering and source-of-funds checks before completing a purchase, remortgage, or sale.
Information that is out of date or inconsistent with the actual ownership structure can delay a transaction at a critical point, particularly where a chain or a lending deadline is involved. Missing a PSC filing deadline during a live transaction is one of the more avoidable causes of delay, since it is entirely within the company’s control to keep pace with.
Where an SPV is being sold, refinanced, or restructured, for example ahead of transferring shares between family members or into a new holding structure, accurate PSC information also makes due diligence faster and cheaper, since a buyer’s or lender’s solicitors will otherwise need to query discrepancies before proceeding. For investors with several SPVs, keeping PSC information current across all of them, rather than only the entity directly involved in a given transaction, also reduces the risk of an unrelated filing failure surfacing during due diligence on a different property.
PSC and the confirmation statement
The confirmation statement is a separate annual filing from PSC updates, and it is easy to conflate the two. The confirmation statement asks a company to confirm, as at a specific date, that the information held on its records, including PSC details, directors, registered office, and shareholders, is still correct.
It does not replace the ongoing obligation to report PSC changes within 14 days of the company confirming the change. A company that transfers shares in March but waits until its confirmation statement in October to reflect the change has missed its filing deadline for that change by several months, even though the confirmation statement will eventually show the correct position. The confirmation statement is best treated as a final check that nothing has slipped through, rather than the primary mechanism for keeping PSC information current.
Where a PSC who is also a director has not yet verified their identity, this can also affect the timing of a confirmation statement filing, since verification and confirmation statement deadlines are now linked for that group. Companies planning a confirmation statement filing should confirm in advance that any director-PSCs have completed identity verification, to avoid a last-minute delay.
Conclusion
Keeping PSC information up to date is an ongoing responsibility linked to certain events, not just something to do once a year with the confirmation statement. For most property SPVs, finding the right PSC or RLE is usually simple. However, if your structure includes holding companies, trusts, or overseas investors, it is worth reviewing things carefully when you set up or make changes. Since identity verification is now part of the filing process, make sure your PSC has enough time to get their personal code before you file. If you manage several SPVs, it helps to have a clear process for spotting trigger events and updating PSC details within 14 days. If your ownership structure is complicated, getting professional advice is a good idea.
FAQ
It is the record, held centrally by the registrar, of the individuals and relevant legal entities who own or control a UK company. It includes their name, nature of control, and other required details, and it forms part of the public register.
For an individual PSC: full name, date of birth, nationality, country of residence, a service address, their residential address (not disclosed publicly), the date they became a PSC, and which conditions of control they meet, including the relevant banding for their shares or voting rights. For a registrable RLE, the equivalent entity details are recorded instead, such as its name, registered office, legal form, and governing law.
No. A PSC is by definition an individual. Where a company owns or controls another company, the corporate owner may be recorded as a relevant legal entity (RLE) instead, and only the first RLE in the ownership chain is registrable.
Confirm the change and gather the updated details, check the individual has a valid personal code from identity verification, have the change authorised by a director or company secretary, and file it through WebFiling or equivalent software within 14 days of the change being confirmed.
Whenever a trigger event occurs: a new PSC, a change in an existing PSC’s level of control or personal details, a PSC ceasing to qualify, or a change in the registrable RLE. The update must be filed within 14 days of the company confirming the change, not left until the next confirmation statement.
A PSC is an individual. An RLE is a body corporate that meets one of the same conditions of control and is itself subject to an equivalent disclosure regime, either required to report PSC information, or with voting shares traded on a qualifying market. Only the first RLE tracing up the ownership chain is recorded.
Online filings are typically processed more quickly than paper filings, though Companies House processing times vary. The main variable in practice is how long it takes to gather the required details and complete identity verification beforehand, which is why starting the process as soon as a change is known about, rather than close to the 14-day deadline, is worth building into an SPV’s internal process.
Let Property SPV handle your PSC filings
We handle the whole PSC and RLE filing for your SPV, identifying whether the correct entry is an individual PSC or an RLE, preparing the right form (PSC01, PSC04 or PSC07), managing identity verification, and submitting within the 14-day deadline.