Guidance

Upload a document to Companies House

How to file certain documents online that would usually be sent to us in a paper format.

This guidance has been created for the Upload a document to Companies House service to enable paperless filing in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Published 8 April 2020

From: Companies House

Contents

Documents you can upload

Insolvency

Registered insolvency practitioners can upload most insolvency documents to Companies House using this service, including:

Companies House moratorium forms

Companies House forms for Insolvency Rules 2016

Companies House forms for insolvency (1986)

Companies House forms for insolvency (Scotland)

Insolvency practitioners can also upload form AD01 using this service.

Read the guidance for uploading insolvency documents.

Share capital

SH forms, statement by directors, solvency statement and resolution

Change of constitution

CC forms

You can only upload one document at a time. If you need to upload documents that would usually be filed together, you must start the service again to upload each one separately.

CC01 - Give notice of restriction on the company's articles

CC02 - Give notice of removal of restriction on company's articles

CC04 - Notify the change of company's objects

CC05 - Change constitution by enactment

CC06 - Change constitution by order of court or other authority

Articles and resolutions

You can only upload one document at a time. If you need to upload documents that would usually be filed together, you must start the service again to upload each one separately.

Articles

Resolution

You cannot use this service to upload a resolution:

  • to change the name of a company
  • for company to community interest company (CIC) conversions and CIC to charitable company conversions

How to prepare the document

You must complete the document in advance. Save it to the device you are using in a PDF format so that it is ready to upload. The file must be less than 4MB.

Companies House forms

You can complete the form electronically:

  1. Find the Companies House form that you need and download it.
  2. Type the information directly onto the form.
  3. Save the form to the device you are using so that it is ready to upload.

You can complete the form using a pen:

  • Print the form.
  • Fill in the information directly onto the form using black ink.
  • Scan the completed form.
  • Save the scanned form to the device you are using so that it is ready to upload.

Signatures

We can accept signatures that are:

  • digitally generated
  • typed directly into the form
  • scanned onto the form
  • hand-written in black ink
Do not include a signature certificate if your document has been digitally signed. It is not required and your document will be rejected.

Cover letters

For now, you cannot upload cover letters in this service. You must upload the document only.

Continuation pages

If you need to include continuation pages with your submission, you must merge the document and the continuation pages first. This enables you to upload them as one document.

Help with merging a document and continuation pages

To merge a document with continuation pages, you could:

  • use an online tool or app that merges PDF documents
  • create a new document and combine saved files into a single PDF
  • scan documents together if you have access to a printer or photocopier, and save the scan as a single PDF

How to upload documents usually filed together

For now, you can only upload one document at a time in this service.

If you need to upload a package of documents that you would usually file together, you must upload each document separately. This means you must start the service again for each document you need to upload. You can either restart the service or use the link on the confirmation page after you've uploaded a document.

You should do this as soon as possible after you've uploaded the previous document so that associated documents can be processed together. Otherwise, some documents may be rejected for missing the required supporting documents.

Reduction of capital (SH19) forms and supporting documents

If you need associated reduction of capital documents to be processed together, you should:

  • upload supporting documents first, one at a time (the resolution, solvency statement and statement by directors as applicable)
  • upload the SH19 form last, after you have uploaded the supporting documents

You should upload each document as soon as possible after the previous document was uploaded. You can either restart the service or use the link on the confirmation page after you've uploaded a document.

You cannot use this service if your SH19 form is supported by a court order. If your form is supported by a court order, you must send all documents to us by post.

You can read the guidance to find out more about share capital.

Standard or same day service

You have the option of a standard service or a same day service when you upload an SH19 document.

The standard service costs £10. The SH19 is processed within 10 to 14 days.

The same day service costs £50. The SH19 is processed on the same working day it's uploaded if we receive it by 11am. You must also upload the relevant resolution and solvency statement by this time. If you upload the SH19 and relevant documents after 11am, we will process them the next working day.

Documents that need evidence

RP07 and LL RP07 - Apply to change a company's disputed registered office address

You must include evidence to support your application. Your evidence can be copies of original documents. You can upload up to 9 files of supporting evidence in the service. Applications submitted without evidence will be rejected.

The evidence we need for a person or service provider where the address is being used without permission

The evidence we can accept may include:

  • documents showing the applicant’s proprietary rights in the address, including leasehold or freehold
  • a written agreement which entitles the applicant to use the address
  • a utility bill sent to the applicant at the address dated within the last 6 months

The evidence we need for a service provider who had a contract with the company which is now terminated

The evidence we can accept may include:

  • written evidence of the start and end of the contract, which might include the applicant's request for service, an invoice that shows proof of payment or any other evidence of the company’s direct involvement
  • a copy of the signed contract and the termination letter

Documents that have a fee

Some documents have a filing fee. You can check if the document you want to upload has a fee:

  • on the document itself
  • in the 'Documents you can upload' section of this guidance

You can pay for the document in the service by debit or credit card if it has a fee. You cannot pay with a Companies House payment account in this service.

Refunds

If your document is rejected, we will refund your fee to the original payment method. This can take up to 7 days.

What happens next

We'll send you a confirmation email to let you know if the document has been uploaded. An examiner will then process the uploaded document to check if it's acceptable for filing. The document will be registered with the date it was uploaded to Companies House as long as it is acceptable.

We'll email you to tell you if the document is acceptable for filing. If the document is not acceptable for filing, we'll email you to let you know what to do next.

Registrar's powers documents

If the document is acceptable for filing, we’ll send a letter to tell you when we have started to review your case and explain what happens next. If the document is not acceptable, we'll email you to let you know what to do next.

Contact us

If you have a question about your submission, you can contact us.

Telephone

  • 0303 1234 500
  • Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6pm

Find out about call charges

Email