Compliance tools · Corporate governance, employment and financial

Companies Act 2006 compliance tool

Companies Act 2006 (c. 46) · United Kingdom · Binding instrument

Name anyone on your staff. The system makes them your compliance person.

A member of your own staff, with no compliance background, reads the training module, answers the interview, and finishes with your Companies Act 2006 documentation cited article by article. The knowledge stays in the business.

Every account level runs inside a dedicated Claude account. Anyone can try a toolkit in their own Claude account; compliance work runs in a dedicated one. The Claude Max plan is £90 a month, paid to Anthropic, and is not included in any level.

See a finished report

Companies Act 2006 (c. 46) is a binding instrument in the United Kingdom. Core UK company law: directors' duties, accounts, filings and registers.

The free assessment screens every United Kingdom business against this instrument: it applies across sectors rather than to one activity, and binds companies and LLPs registered at Companies House.

Screen your business against all 116 agent toolkits, free →

• Your exact position under Companies Act 2006: what is in place, what is missing, and what to do about each gap.
• Documentation with article citations, ready for auditors, insurers, customers and public buyers.
• A trained person inside the business who understands what the regulation requires, and stays.
• A dated record of every section completed, with the reports themselves staying in your own Claude account. The toolkit is carried by an account level, see the plans.
• All of it completed in-house, at your own pace, without booking a single meeting.

Check that Companies Act 2006 applies to your business, free →

Does Companies Act 2006 apply to my business?

The Companies Act 2006 applies to companies formed and registered under it, including companies previously formed under the Companies Act 1985, the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 and existing companies under those instruments. Certain provisions also apply to unregistered bodies incorporated in the UK and to overseas companies.

Who does Companies Act 2006 apply to?

It applies to companies, their directors, their company secretaries, their members, subscribers to the memorandum, and applicants for registration acting on the company's behalf. The Act carries 783 obligations that fall on these duty holders.

Does Companies Act 2006 apply to a small business?

The Companies Act 2006 has no size threshold. It applies to all companies regardless of size, including single-member companies and small private limited companies, and formation, constitution, naming and capacity obligations apply universally.

When does Companies Act 2006 apply from, and what are the deadlines?

The Act received Royal Assent on 8 November 2006, with commencement spread across dates between 2007 and 2009. Fixed deadlines include 14 days (38 obligations, for example s.87(4)), 15 days (15 obligations, for example s.26), 21 days (8 obligations, for example s.304(1)) and 28 days (8 obligations, for example s.27).

What does Companies Act 2006 require me to do?

You must comply with the obligations the Act places on the company and its officers, and the toolkit works through them in order. These cover formation, constitution, company name, registered office and registered email, director appointment and general duties, registers, resolutions and meetings, share capital, accounts and reports, audit, the PSC register, the annual confirmation statement, charges and business names.

What records or documents does Companies Act 2006 require me to keep or produce?

You must keep the registers and records the Act requires, including the register of members (s.113(1)), the register of people with significant control (Part 21A), directors' records (ss.167H(1)-(3)), accounting records (s.386(1)), and minutes of general meetings and resolutions (Part 13). You must also file the annual confirmation statement (s.853A(1)) and deliver documents to the registrar (Part 35).

What happens if I do not comply with Companies Act 2006?

The consolidated penalty entry attached to ss.26, 27, 30, 34, 35, 36, 45, 63 and 64 sets maximum fines of Level 5 on the standard scale plus a daily default fine of one-tenth of the greater of £5,000 or level 4 for offences under ss.63 and 64, and level 3 plus a daily default fine of one-tenth of level 3 for offences under ss.26, 30, 34, 35 and 36. A civil penalty of £200 applies for failure to comply with a registrar's notice under s.27.

How is Companies Act 2006 different from ECCTA 2023?

The difference that matters most is that the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 inserted identity verification, registered email addresses and expanded registrar powers into the Companies Act 2006, amending ss.67, 68, 69, 73, 75, 76, 86, 87, 88, 112 and 113 and inserting ss.76A to 76E, 88A, 88B and 113A to 113J.

How do I start complying with Companies Act 2006?

The first practical step is formation and registration under Part 2 (ss.7 to 16), covering the memorandum of association, the requirements for registration, the registration documents and the effect of registration. Formation, constitution, naming and capacity obligations apply universally.

Which ComplianceSME account includes the Companies Act 2006 toolkit?

The Companies Act 2006 agent toolkit is free with the Start account.

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