Three Companies House forms get muddled, and filing the wrong one gets your change rejected. CH01 changes an existing director’s recorded details. AP01 appoints a new director. TM01 removes one. Every director change must reach Companies House within 14 days. This guide treats the official Companies House CH01 guidance as the source of truth and gets each form right.
The title says “adding or removing,” so this guide covers all three forms. But CH01 alone does neither. It only edits a director already on the record.
What Is the CH01 Form?
The CH01 form is the Companies House form for changing an existing individual director’s recorded details. It covers name, service address, residential address, nationality, occupation, country of residence, and date of birth (DOB) corrections. Its legal basis is section 167H of the Companies Act 2006. Filing is free. It does not add or remove anyone.
The current form is version 8.0, last updated 18 November 2025, per the Companies House CH01 form page. The form itself states you must use AP01, not CH01, to appoint a new director.
AP01 vs CH01 vs TM01: Which Form Do I Need?
Match the form to the event. You appoint with AP01. You change an existing director’s details with CH01. You remove a director with TM01. All three carry the same 14-day deadline and cost nothing to file. Never use CH01 to appoint or remove anyone.
| Form | Purpose | Deadline | Fee | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP01 | Appoint an individual director | 14 days | Free | gov.uk (AP01) |
| AP02 | Appoint a corporate director | 14 days | Free | Companies House |
| AP03 / AP04 | Appoint a secretary (individual / corporate) | 14 days | Free | Companies House |
| CH01 | Change an individual director’s details | 14 days | Free | gov.uk (CH01) |
| CH02 | Change a corporate director’s details | 14 days | Free | Companies House |
| CH03 / CH04 | Change a secretary’s details (individual / corporate) | 14 days | Free | Companies House |
| TM01 | Terminate a director’s appointment | 14 days | Free | gov.uk (TM01) |
| TM02 | Terminate a secretary’s appointment | 14 days | Free | Companies House |
| PSC01\0909 | Notify People with Significant Control (PSC) changes | 14 days | Free | Companies House |
A director change can also trigger a PSC filing. If the person becomes or stops being a PSC, you file the matching PSC form on the same 14-day clock.
When Must You File CH01? The 14-Day Deadline
You must file CH01 within 14 days of the change taking effect. The duty sits in section 167H of the Companies Act 2006, inserted by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA). The clock starts the day the change happens, not the day you file. AP01 and TM01 run on the same 14-day deadline.
Triggering events for CH01 include a service address change, a residential address change, a name change, and a nationality, occupation, or DOB correction. Each one starts its own 14-day window.
How Do You File the CH01 Form Online?
File CH01 free through Companies House WebFiling using your company authentication code. Most online filings process within 24 hours, and Companies House sends a receipt email within about 3 hours of upload. WebFiling is faster and less error-prone than paper. The authentication code is the practical gatekeeper, so have it ready before you start.
| Method | Speed | Requirements | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| WebFiling (online) | Within 24 hours; receipt email within 3 hours; accept or reject decision normally within 2 working days | Company authentication code | gov.uk / Companies House |
| Paper (post) | A week or more, plus postal time | Signed form posted to Cardiff (England and Wales), Edinburgh (Scotland), or Belfast (Northern Ireland) | gov.uk |
| Third-party software | Same as online, agent-managed | Company secretarial software or filing agent | Companies House |
What Information Do You Need Before Filing?
You need the company name and number, the director’s current details, the new details, and the date the change took effect. Companies House checks the current details against its record, so a mismatch stalls the filing. The effective date must be the real date of the change, never the filing date.
What Director Details Can You Change With CH01?
CH01 changes a director’s name, service address, residential address, nationality, occupation, country or state of residence, and corrects DOB errors. It does not appoint or remove anyone. Each detail has its own field on the form, and you record both the old value and the new value plus the effective date.
How Do You Update a Director’s Service Address?
Enter the new service (correspondence) address and the effective date on CH01. The service address must be a full physical UK address where documents can be delivered. A bare PO Box is invalid unless the full address is given. A director’s residential address stays on a protected register and is not shown publicly unless it doubles as the service address. Section 243 suppression applications are a separate process.
How Do You Update a Director’s Name After Marriage?
Record the former name, the new name, and the effective date on CH01. Companies House keeps the former name on the record for continuity. Only the month and year of a director’s DOB appear on the public register, with the day suppressed since 10 October 2015 per Companies House guidance on personal information. Keep the name consistent with passport and bank records to avoid identity-verification snags.
How Do You Appoint a New Director in a UK Company?
You appoint with AP01, not CH01. Check the articles and shareholders’ agreement, pass a board resolution, and get the director’s consent. Then file form AP01 within 14 days, update the register of directors, and issue the appointment letter. AP01 is free. CH01 only enters later, if the director’s recorded details change after appointment.
Searchers often reach for CH01 to add someone. That filing gets rejected. AP01 is the form that puts a new individual on the board record.
How Do You Remove a UK Director With TM01?
File form TM01 within 14 days of the resignation, removal, retirement, or death. CH01 is never the removal form. Removal by shareholders usually needs an ordinary resolution under the Companies Act 2006, with special notice. A resignation just needs the letter and board acknowledgment. TM01 is free and best filed online, as paper takes longer.
If you change a departing director’s details right before they leave, you may file both CH01 and TM01. The detail change goes on CH01; the departure goes on TM01.
How Do You Add a Director After Series A Funding?
A Series A round typically adds an investor director under board appointment rights in the shareholders’ agreement (SHA). The Companies House mechanics stay the same: consent, board resolution, AP01 within 14 days, then update the registers. The difference is sequence. Consent and appointment rights in the SHA come first, before any filing.
For a UK subsidiary of a foreign parent, confirm who signs, who holds the company authentication code, and who keeps the local statutory register current. A venture capital (VC) fund may become a PSC depending on its shareholding or control, so run a PSC assessment alongside the AP01. Weighing a subsidiary against other structures? Commenda’s Entity vs EOR calculator compares opening an entity against using an employer of record.
What Are the Penalties for Late CH01 Filing?
Failing to notify a director change under section 167 of the Companies Act 2006 is a criminal offence by the company and every officer in default, punishable by a fine (up to level 5 on the standard scale, plus a daily default fine for continuing breach, per legislation.gov.uk). There is no automatic tiered penalty for CH01. Readers often confuse this with the automatic late-accounts penalties of \a3150 to \a31,500. Those apply to annual accounts, not director filings.
Accuracy matters more now. Under ECCTA 2023, mandatory identity verification for directors and PSCs began on 18 November 2025, with a 12-month transition for existing directors verified at their next confirmation statement. Companies House also gained stronger powers to query and reject filings.
What Else Must You Update After a Director Change?
The Companies House form is one step in a chain. You must also update your statutory registers, reassess PSC status, and reconcile the annual confirmation statement (CS01). Bank mandates, HMRC payroll, insurance, and SHA consent rights all follow. A mismatch between your internal registers and the public record surfaces during due diligence and at CS01 time.
| Obligation | Where it lives | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Register of directors and register of directors’ residential addresses | Registered office, SAIL address, or central register at Companies House | Companies Act 2006 |
| PSC assessment and PSC forms if status changed | Companies House PSC register | Companies House |
| Confirmation statement (CS01) alignment | Annual CS01 filing | gov.uk |
| Bank mandates | Company bank | Internal |
| HMRC PAYE if the director is paid | HMRC | gov.uk |
| Directors’ and officers’ insurance | Insurer | Internal |
| Shareholder agreement consent rights | SHA and articles | Internal |
What Are Common Mistakes When Filing CH01?
Five errors cause most rejections and downstream delays. Fix each before you file.
- Filing CH01 to remove a director gets rejected; use TM01 instead.
- Missing the 14-day window exposes the company and officers to a fine; file the day the change takes effect.
- A non-UK or bare PO Box service address is invalid; give a full physical UK address.
- Letting statutory registers drift from the Companies House record fails due diligence; update both together.
- Misspelling a name stalls banking and diligence; match the name to passport and bank records.
How Commenda Helps With UK Director Changes
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That is certainty of process: country 12 behaves like country 1, and your registers never drift from the public record. Book a demo to get every UK director filing tracked and handled from one platform.
