Since June 2016, companies have been required to submit PSC information to Companies House upon incorporation and with their annual confirmation statements. However, main market listed and AIM quoted companies were exempt from the requirement to hold a PSC register.

Important news for AIM and ISDX quoted companies is that the Fourth Money Laundering Directive will see the PSC requirements extended to entities that have not previously been required to comply with the PSC register. This is understood to apply to companies with shares admitted to trading on prescribed markets like AIM and ISDX. Companies House will be communicating with such companies to ensure that they are aware of their new obligations and are in a position to comply when the rules change.

Further changes have been introduced from 26 June 2017 which include updating PSC registers within 14 days of a change to their PSC information on an event driven basis (as is the case with, for example, changes in directors). Up until now, PSC information was required to be updated only in the annual confirmation statement. Companies House has created a variety of forms to enable companies to update their PSC information and these are now available on the Companies House website.

Also with effect from 24 July 2017, the PSC regime will be extended to active Scottish limited partnerships and general Scottish partnerships where all the partners are corporate bodies. There will also be changes to the protection regime, where companies can apply to have their PSC information withheld from the public register where disclosure would put a person at risk of violence or intimidation.

Companies House has also stated that it intends to improve the accuracy and completeness of PSC data, recognising that a number of organisations have analysed such data and found inaccuracies. Companies House aims to contact those with clearly incorrect PSC data and will introduce a new “report it now” button on their website. This will enable those accessing information on the register to report problems with the information and for people who spot potential inaccuracies in a company’s PSC information, so that this can be reported instantly to Companies House. Companies House will also review its guidance so as to better assist companies and PSCs to make the appropriate disclosures.