Change the Name of a Limited Company
After choosing a new name, you will need to apply to Companies House for their approval. You must not use a new company name or address until it gets approved.
There are two ways to change your private limited company name:
- By the process of ‘special resolution’ (after you get agreement from your company).
- By permission granted in the limited company articles of association.
You must follow all the rules for company names UK when choosing a new company name. Names which contain any ‘sensitive’ words or expressions would need supporting documentation.
What if you only want to correct a spelling error, change a symbol, or edit a punctuation mark? In this cases, you would still need to go through the official company name-changing procedure.
Note: The new name of a company will not change ‘officially’ until Companies House has registered it.
Register Changes Online
The online service allows you to file changes of company name by special resolution only. Use it to tell Companies House about changes to your limited company. The standard filing fee is £8 and the same-day service costs £30.
Register Changes by Post
Applying by Special Resolution
Use ‘Form NM01‘ to give notice by postal methods of an unconditional change of company name by a resolution. Download the form, fill it in, and attach a copy of your company resolution to the application.
Send the documents to the address written on the form with a cheque for £10 (the same-day service costs £50).
Registering with Permission from Articles of Association
Use ‘Form NM04‘ to give notice by postal methods of an unconditional change of name by the company members. Download the form, fill it in, and send it to the address written on the form with a cheque for £10 (the same-day service costs £50).
Change the Address of a Limited Company
You can change your company address, but you must inform Companies House. They will need to know any time that you want to change:
- The registered office address of a private limited company.
- The address used to keep the company records (including which particular records you keep at that location).
Note: The new address of a company will not change ‘officially’ until Companies House has registered it.
As a rule, a change to a company address should take place in the same area of the United Kingdom where the company got incorporated.
So for example, the new registered office address of a company registered in Wales (incorporated) should also be an address in Wales.
You would need to ‘re-incorporate’ the company if the new address is in another part of the United Kingdom (e.g. moving from Wales to England).
Note: Companies House would inform HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) once you change your registered office address.
Register Changes Online
The online service allows you to file changes of company address. Use it to tell Companies House about changes to your limited company.
Register Changes by Post
A government collection has all the Companies House forms that you need to file a change of limited company address by postal methods. Download the form, fill it in, and send it to the Companies House address written on the document.
Changes to Company Directors and Secretaries
Companies House will need to know about changes to company directors or secretaries. Thus, the situations that you must notify Companies House of include:
- Any new appointments of directors and secretaries.
- Changes to the personal details of directors and secretaries (e.g. a residential address).
- Director or secretary resignations.
Register Changes Online
The online service allows you to file changes to directors and company secretaries. Use it to tell Companies House about changes to your limited company.
Register Changes by Post
A government collection has all the Companies House forms needed for filing changes to directors and company secretaries. Download the form, fill it in, and send it to the Companies House address written on the document.
ALSO IN THIS SECTION
Getting a Company Agreement | Check the process for shareholder voting and how to hold a resolution.
How to Change Company Status | You can change status to a public company or an unlimited company.