The Joint Stock Companies Act 1856 abolished the dual registration system of the 1844 Act provisional registration ceased to be possible. Main article: Joint Stock Companies Act 1856 Companies registered under the Joint Stock Companies Act 1844

The Joint Stock Companies Act 1844 applied only to England and Wales, and Ireland it did not apply to Scotland. Given that there was no requirement for companies granted a certificate of provisional registration to submit the remaining information in order to become completely registered, the Act was not hugely successful as many of its provisions applied only to completely registered companies. The filing requirements for complete registration were more extensive than those for provisional registration. The Act provided for two types of company registration: provisional, and complete.

All companies, irrespective of their method of incorporation, were obliged to register within three months of the commencement of the Act. It was hoped by MPs of the day that a publicly accessible central company register would help to protect the public from fraud. The Act created the office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies to maintain the register of companies, which was publicly accessible. The origins of Companies House date back to 1844, the year the Joint Stock Companies Act received royal assent, enabling companies to be incorporated by registration for the first time. Main article: Joint Stock Companies Act 1844 The legislation governing company registration matters is the Companies Act 2006. The United Kingdom has had a system of company registration since 1844. Only some registered unlimited companies (meeting certain conditions) are exempt from this requirement. All registered limited companies, including subsidiary, small and inactive companies, must file annual financial statements in addition to annual company returns, and all these are public records.

All forms of companies (as permitted by the United Kingdom Companies Act) are incorporated and registered with Companies House and file specific details as required by legislation. Helen Shilliday, Registrar of Companies for Northern Irelandĭepartment for Business, Energy and Industrial StrategyĬompanies House is the United Kingdom's registrar of companies and is an executive agency and trading fund of Her Majesty's Government, falling under the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.Lisa Davis, Registrar of Companies for Scotland.Louise Smyth, Chief Executive and Registrar of Companies for England and Wales.

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