PSC register: who counts as a person with significant control

A person with significant control (PSC) is anyone who owns or controls more than 25% of a company’s shares or votes, can appoint or remove most of its directors, or has significant influence or control over it. Companies must report their PSCs to Companies House within 14 days. Since 18 November 2025 that information sits only on the central register at Companies House, not in a register the company keeps itself.

Who counts as a person with significant control?

You are a PSC if you meet any one of five conditions in Schedule 1A of the Companies Act 2006. Each can be met directly or indirectly, for example through another company you control.

Exactly 25% is not enough. A 50:50 company owned by two people has two PSCs, but a company split equally four ways (25% each) may have none under conditions 1 and 2.

What counts as significant influence or control?

Condition 4 catches people who steer a company without holding more than 25%. Companies House’s PSC guidance, updated 30 July 2026, says this condition applies only in limited circumstances.

The test covers both a formal right to exercise influence and influence that is actually exercised. Situations worth checking include:

• someone who directs the board even though they are not a director, and
• a shareholder at 25% or below who holds rights, such as vetoes, beyond their shareholding.

If you are unsure, the full statutory guidance in the DBT guidance collection, updated 4 March 2026, has worked examples.

What about trusts and companies that own shares?

Trusts and firms have their own rule. If a trust or firm meets a condition, the guidance says you record all trustees or partners as PSCs, along with anyone who controls the trust or firm.

A company that owns your shares may be a relevant legal entity (RLE). Under section 790C, an RLE is a legal entity that would be a PSC if it were an individual and is subject to its own disclosure requirements. A UK parent company is the usual example. You register the RLE, not the people behind it, because the parent reports its own PSCs to Companies House.

What information is recorded?

Companies House records the same core details for each individual PSC.

• Name, date of birth, nationality and usual country of residence.
• Service address, and usual residential address (which is not made public).
• The date they became a PSC.
• Each nature of control they meet.
• Their share or voting band: over 25% up to 50%, more than 50% and less than 75%, or 75% or more.

The public register shows only the month and year of birth. Read removing your home address and birth date if older filings show more.

Do companies still keep their own PSC register?

No. The duty to keep a company PSC register, in Part 21A Chapter 3 of the Companies Act 2006, was removed by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 from 18 November 2025. The note on section 790M on legislation.gov.uk confirms the date.

PSC information is now held on the central register at Companies House, which is public. Keep your working papers showing how you identified your PSCs, as you may need them if Companies House queries the record.

How to report PSCs to Companies House

Follow these steps when a company is formed or its ownership changes. Deadlines come from the government’s summary guidance.

1. Identify. Check the register of members and any shareholder agreements for each of the five conditions.
2. Investigate. If you do not know who a PSC is, take reasonable steps to find out, including sending notices.
3. Confirm. Get the PSC to confirm their details.
4. File. Give Companies House the information within 14 days of it being confirmed.
5. Update. Report changes within 14 days of confirming them, and report that someone has stopped being a PSC within 14 days of knowing.
6. Verify. Each individual PSC must verify their identity and give their personal code. See PSC identity verification.

Your annual confirmation statement also confirms the PSC information is accurate.

What if the company has no PSC?

The PSC information can never be blank. If nobody meets the conditions, or you cannot identify or confirm a PSC, the company files a statement explaining why. A company owned equally by five shareholders at 20% each, with no other control, would usually file a “no PSC” statement.

What happens if you get it wrong?

Failing to provide accurate PSC information, or to comply with a notice, without a reasonable excuse is a criminal offence. The summary guidance says it can lead to a fine, a prison sentence of up to 2 years, or both. Companies can also restrict a person’s shares or voting rights if they repeatedly fail to respond.

HMRC has also written to some PSCs asking them to check their 2025/26 Self Assessment return. See HMRC letters to PSC company owners.

Frequently asked questions

Is a 25% shareholder a person with significant control?

Not under the shares test. The condition is more than 25%, so exactly 25% does not count unless another condition applies.

Can a company have more than one PSC?

Yes. Every person or entity that meets any condition is a PSC, so a company can have several.

Are directors automatically PSCs?

No. A director is a PSC only if they also meet one of the five conditions, such as holding more than 25% of the shares.

How long do I have to tell Companies House about a new PSC?

14 days from the information being confirmed. Changes and ceasing PSCs also have 14-day deadlines.

Does the company still need its own PSC register?

No. Since 18 November 2025 the company PSC register requirement has been removed and Companies House holds the information centrally.