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Statutory registers every company must maintain
Every UK limited company must keep a set of statutory registers at its registered office or a Single Alternative Inspection Location (SAIL) notified to Companies House. These are not accounting records — they are governance documents that record the legal constitution of the company.
- Register of members (shareholders)
- Register of directors and their residential addresses
- Register of secretaries (if applicable)
- Register of People with Significant Control (PSC register)
- Register of charges (debentures and mortgages over company assets)
- Minutes of board meetings and general meetings
- Copies of resolutions passed other than at a general meeting
Companies House holds a public record, but your own registers must be accurate, current, and accessible to members and others who have a right of inspection.
Accounting records: what the law requires
Section 386 of the Companies Act 2006 requires every company to keep adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the company's transactions, to disclose the financial position of the company at any time with reasonable accuracy, and to enable directors to ensure that any accounts prepared comply with the Act.
In practice this means: daily records of money received and spent, a record of assets and liabilities, and — where the company deals in goods — statements of stock held at year end and of stocktakings. These must be retained for at least six years from the date they are made. For sole directors and small companies with no PAYE, HMRC's own retention rules may extend this further for tax purposes.
HMRC's additional tax record requirements
Separately from Companies Act obligations, HMRC requires businesses to keep records that support their Corporation Tax return for at least six years from the end of the accounting period they relate to. For VAT-registered businesses, VAT records (VAT account, sales and purchase records, import and export documents) must be kept for six years. PAYE records — payroll, P11s, expenses and benefits — must generally be kept for three years after the end of the tax year to which they relate.
If HMRC opens an enquiry into a return, the obligation to retain records continues until the enquiry is closed. Destroying records prematurely can lead to estimated assessments and penalties.
Consequences of inadequate record-keeping
Failing to keep adequate accounting records is a criminal offence under the Companies Act 2006. Each officer in default can be fined up to £3,000. HMRC can also charge penalties and make best-judgement assessments if records are unavailable during an enquiry. Beyond legal penalties, poor records undermine your ability to manage the business, raise finance, or defend against a future dispute with a customer, supplier, or former director.
Frequently asked questions
Can accounting records be kept electronically?
Yes. HMRC and Companies House both accept electronic records provided they are accurate, accessible, and capable of being reproduced in a legible form. Ensure your backup process is robust — loss of electronic records is not an excuse accepted by HMRC or the courts.
Does the six-year rule apply from the date of the transaction or the year end?
For Corporation Tax purposes, HMRC requires records to be kept for six years from the end of the accounting period they relate to, not from the date of the individual transaction. For Companies Act purposes, the six-year clock runs from the date the record was made. In practice, retaining everything for six years from the relevant year end covers both.
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