From April 2016, the vast majority of UK limited companies have been required to create and maintain a register of people with significant control. Commonly known as the PSC register, this includes details of who ultimately controls or exercises significant influence upon the company.
1. Go to the PSCs tab and select 'Add new PSC/RLE'.
2. Select 'Known Individual' and then click the green 'Next' button.
If you need to record an RLE see: How do I record an RLE?
If the identity of the PSC is not known see: How do I record an Unknown person as a PSC?
Note: If the person you are adding is a trustee holding shares or voting rights on behalf of a trust, select Known Individual as normal (or record an RLE if the trustee is a company). A trust itself has no legal personality and can never be registered as a PSC or RLE in its own right. See Trusts and Inform Direct for full guidance on recording a trust's PSCs.
Please note: While Companies House uses different forms for adding individual PSCs (PSC01), relevant legal entity RLE's (PSC02), and "other registrable person" (PSC03), you do not need to complete separate forms when using Inform Direct.
Simply select the appropriate type. Inform Direct will file the correct form with Companies House for you.
3. Add the Date the PSC was first identified.
Note: The 6 April 2016 was when the PSC register was first introduced and therefore you cannot use a date before then.
3a. Has the individual confirmed they are a PSC? If you answer Yes, input the date this individual confirmed the full required details.
In almost all cases the date the PSC was first identified and date all details were confirmed should match. A difference between the date identified and date confirmed would result in additional filings of PSC08 & PSC09 to Companies House. These forms submit and withdraw a statement saying that for the date period between being identified and confirmed: The company knows or has cause to believe that a person has become a registrable person or a registrable relevant legal entity in relation to the company, but it has not yet had confirmation.
3b. Has a notice been issued to the PSC or any other person under section 790D of the Companies Act? If you answer 'Yes,' go to 'What do I do if a 790D notice has been issued to a PSC?'
4. In the next window, start typing the Forename or Surname of the person you are adding, this will check for records of existing people from your portfolio of companies. See How do I select an Existing Person?
Note: The Green icon next to the individual name indicates that it is the record from within that company. Those without a green icon relate to another company.
If the officer is not already known to Inform Direct select the green 'Create new person' button and enter the details requested.
5. Add/confirm the required personal details for the person.
Note: Included here is a PSC Service address requirement. Inform Direct will default to suggesting the Company's Registered Office. Change the PSC Service address to another location if required. The PSC Service address is available on the public record.
6. If a personal code has not been entered for the PSC, accounts which have an authorised corporate service provider (ACSP) number recorded will be presented with the option to send an identity check.
7. Next, enter the Significant Control Criteria for the person.
How to complete the PSC Register if you own 100% of the shares
How to complete the PSC Register if 2 people own 50% of the shares each
Note: It can be more than one. However, you can only answer 'Yes' to Q4 if the answer to Q1, 2 and 3 are all 'No'. If the answer to any of Q1, 2 or 3 is 'Yes' then the answer to Q4 defaults to No.
With regard to either Shareholding or Voting rights more detail is required. Clicking 'Yes' will reveal these options.
There are also two subsections below. Click on the titles to reveal the options if applicable. When you are finished, select 'Next.'
8. Before submitting the new PSC details to Companies House there is an opportunity to produce a summary document, this can be used to get approval before making the submission. Selecting Yes will take you through the process to create the approval document.
How do I prepare draft documents to add a PSC?
Selecting No does not create the summary document and proceeds to step 8 below.
Note: The approval document feature is only available to subscribers to the software. Please see What are the benefits of subscribing to Inform Direct?
9. Finally, you can view the details in the summary. Then click the red button 'Submit to Companies House' button and an electronic PSC01 form is sent to Companies House.
Note: Once you click the red button, there is nothing that we can do until Companies House accept or reject the filing.
Note: The details for this person will now show on the PSC Register.
On the document creation screen you will be able to create a combination of prepopulated documents based on the information you had previously entered or amended.
To see a full list of what documents you could create: What documents are available to support PSC changes?
A PSC was missed when the PSC register began. How do I add them now?
Use Add new PSC/RLE as described above and enter the date the PSC was first identified, which can be as early as 6 April 2016 but not earlier. This is the only way to add them, because the 2016 confirmation statement that originally reported PSCs no longer exists, so there is no earlier filing to correct.
Also known as: missing PSC, PSC never filed, PSC left off the 2016 confirmation statement.
Why has a PSC08 (and PSC09) been filed for my company?
Inform Direct only files a PSC08 and PSC09 when a PSC is appointed and the date the PSC was first identified is different from the date their details were confirmed (see step 3a above). The two forms submit and withdraw a statement covering the period between the two dates: the company knows or has cause to believe that a person has become a registrable person (or registrable relevant legal entity), but has not yet had confirmation. They are not filed for a change to an existing PSC's details (PSC04). If you see a PSC08 and PSC09 after adding a PSC, check whether the identified and confirmed dates entered were different.
Also known as: PSC08 filed, PSC09 filed, unexpected PSC statement, PSC statement filed with a new PSC, PSC04 and PSC08 filed.