The Companies House register is a public record, which means that some personal details filed about company officers and others may be available for public inspection. In certain circumstances, it may be possible to apply to Companies House to remove or suppress specific personal information from documents on the register. This can include a home address, signature, business occupation, or the day of a date of birth, depending on the type of information and the document on which it appears.
Removing a home address
You can apply to remove your home address if it was used as your service or “correspondence” address, or as the company’s registered office.
If your home address was used as a correspondence address:
If you hold an active position in the company and the address is your current address, you will need to provide a replacement address.
If your home address was used as a registered office address:
If the company is active, and has not been dissolved, you must change the company’s registered office address before you can apply to remove your home address from the register.
If the company has been dissolved, you must wait six months before applying to remove an address that was used as the company’s registered office.
Other personal details that may be removed
Other examples of personal details that may be removed from the Companies House register include:
- a business occupation;
- a signature; and
- the day of a date of birth.
For example, Companies House guidance states that an occupation can only be removed where it was a requirement to provide that occupation, and the day of a date of birth can be removed if it was given on a document filed before 10 October 2015.
How to apply
Applications by an individual for a UK company are made using form SR01, “Application to remove personal details from the public register”. The form and guidance are available on GOV.UK here: Apply to remove your personal details from the Companies House register (SR01).
Before applying, you should identify the documents on the Companies House register that contain the personal details you want removed. Companies House also provides guidance on how to complete form SR01 and a list of the types of documents that can be suppressed.
The fee must be paid before sending the application, and the payment reference must be included with the completed SR01 form. Companies House says the quickest way to register the application is to email the completed SR01 form and payment reference to dsr@companieshouse.gov.uk. Applications can also be made by post, although paper applications usually take longer to process.
It costs £34 for each document listed in the application, so the total cost will depend on how many documents contain the personal details that need to be removed.
