Companies House Information Charter

This Information Charter sets out the standards you can expect from Companies House when we request or hold information, including but not limited to personal data about you or your enquiries. The charter covers both personal data and other information the Registrar of Companies holds in connection with his obligations under the Companies Act and related legislation. This charter will be reviewed annually and updated to take into account any changes in legislation or our policies.

The main functions of Companies House are to:

incorporate and dissolve limited companies
examine and store company information under the Companies Act and related legislation; and
make this information available to the public

Companies House also carries out delegated functions for the Secretary of State, for example, enforcing the delivery of annual accounts and annual returns; directing companies to change their names that are similar to those currently on the public record, etc.

In the course of maintaining and administering the public register we will hold personal information about individuals that will fall into the categories of public and non-public data. Information is held on a variety of databases, information stores and systems.

Companies House will manage, maintain and protect all information according to relevant legislation such as the Companies Act and the Data Protection Act 1998. We have security measures in place to maintain and safeguard the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our systems and data.

Public Data

In accordance with the Companies Act and related legislation, we will:

only ask for information that is required
put this information on the public record
make it available to the public

As the Companies Act requires us to keep the public register, we have no control over the actions of anyone who obtains or uses data from it. This includes people using internet search engines.

Non Public data

When we request personal information, we will:

make sure you know why we need it
only ask for what we need, and not collect excessive or irrelevant information
protect it and make sure nobody has access to it who shouldn’t
only keep it for as long as necessary

In return, we ask you to:

give us accurate information
tell us as soon as possible if there are any changes

Please contact the Information Rights Team for further information on:

how to find out what information we hold about you
the circumstances where we can pass on your personal information without telling you, for example, to prevent and detect crime or to produce anonymised statistics

Email informationrights@companieshouse.gov.uk

We are committed to providing our customers with high quality and efficient services. If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your information and wish to make a complaint please contact our Customer Services.

Email: jwalters@companieshouse.gov.uk

For independent advice about data protection, privacy and data-sharing issues, you can contact the Information Commissioner at:

Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Website: www.ico.gov.uk

Issued: March 2013
Review Date: January 2014