If someone has filed false information about a company, or used your name or address without consent, report it to Companies House straight away: there is an online form for misused personal details, form RP08 for removing material that was not properly delivered, and form RP07 for an address that is not appropriate. Where a crime may have been committed, also report it to Report Fraud, or to Police Scotland if the company is registered in Scotland.

What counts as a fraudulent filing?

Companies House guidance on the registrar’s rules and powers describes information that “should never have been delivered” as including filings that suggest a person has been appointed to a role without their knowledge or consent, filings that record a transaction that never happened, and filings delivered without the knowledge or authority of the company. Typical cases are:

  • a company hijacking, where fraudsters appoint themselves as directors, remove the real ones and move the registered office so that letters stop reaching the owners
  • a stranger’s home being given as a registered office, correspondence address or director’s address
  • a person named as a director, secretary or person with significant control (PSC) who never agreed to it

Companies House’s guidance on the PROOF scheme notes that fraudsters change director and registered office details to hijack a company and that this leaves it vulnerable to further fraud. It adds that a company’s records are sometimes used to check its legitimacy when it applies for a loan.

What should you do first if a company has been hijacked?

  1. Check the filing history on the register to see exactly what was filed, when and by which method.
  2. Contact Companies House as soon as possible and give the company number and the filings in question. Its guidance asks for any information or evidence that supports the claim.
  3. Change the company authentication code if there is any chance it has been compromised; see Companies House authentication codes.
  4. Report the crime to Report Fraud, the police national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre, online or on 0300 123 2040, or to Police Scotland for a Scottish company.
  5. Warn the company’s bank and any lenders, since the register is sometimes used to check a company’s legitimacy when credit is sought.

How do you report a name or address used without consent?

Companies House has an online form, available since 16 September 2025, to report that a company has used your personal details without permission. It covers your name used for any role, including director, company secretary, PSC or beneficial owner, and your address used as a registered office, correspondence address or home address. If you are reporting an address you will be asked for evidence that it is yours.

Companies House says it can usually remove the information if there is enough evidence. It may contact you for more, and will email once the case is processed. It warns that it cannot resolve these cases by phone and that reporting the same case more than once will delay it.

How can Companies House remove false information?

Under section 1094 of the Companies Act 2006 the registrar can administratively remove material that was not properly delivered, or unnecessary material. In most cases you apply on form RP08 with whatever evidence you have. The registrar can also act without an application if it already holds enough information.

The guidance explains two routes. Where there is urgency, material can be removed first and interested parties notified afterwards. Otherwise the registrar may give notice so that the company or its officers can object before anything is removed. For documents with legal consequences on registration, removal is only possible if the applicant’s interests outweigh those of others in the material staying on the register, and an incorporation form will not be removed in its entirety.

Where the facts are disputed the registrar may need a court order under section 1096. A court can order removal of material that derives from something done without the authority of the company, or that is factually inaccurate or forged. Companies House asks people to contact it before applying, as it can often deal with the matter without a court order. Trivial errors, by contrast, are corrected by a second filing on form RP04 rather than by removal.

What if a company is using your address as its registered office?

Section 1097A lets any person apply on form RP07 to rectify a registered office that is not an appropriate address. If the address is your home, Companies House asks you to contact it quickly with evidence of your rights to the property, such as a freehold or leasehold document, a written agreement or a recent utility bill. The same RP07 route under section 1097B applies where a person’s service address does not meet the requirements.

If satisfied, the registrar can move the registered office to a Companies House default address immediately or give the company 14 days to object or supply a new address. Once at the default address, certain disclosure duties are suspended for 28 days, the company has 28 days to deliver a new appropriate address, and the registrar may then begin striking it off. Either side may appeal to the court within 28 days of being notified. The wider rules on what makes an address appropriate are in our guide to registered office address rules.

Is filing false information a crime?

Yes. Since the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 there are two offences. Section 1112 makes it an offence, without reasonable excuse, to deliver a document or make a statement to the registrar that is misleading, false or deceptive in a material particular; it is punishable by a fine. Section 1112A is the aggravated offence where this is done knowingly, carrying up to two years’ imprisonment on indictment. Where a firm commits either offence, every officer in default also commits it.

How can a company protect itself in advance?

  • PROOF. The free protected online filing scheme stops paper versions of key forms being accepted, including AP01, TM01, CH01, AD01 and NM01. Paper versions are rejected and returned to the registered office. A company with an ongoing internal dispute between officers cannot join until it is resolved.
  • Follow. The free Follow service emails when a transaction is filed and accepted, and when one is removed, so directors and advisers can spot unauthorised changes quickly.
  • Authentication code. Companies House describes it as working like a director’s signature, says it will never ask for it by phone or email, and advises changing it when a former accountant or member of staff knows it.
  • Identity verification. Directors and PSCs must now verify their identity, which makes false appointments harder; see Companies House identity verification.

How might this play out?

Illustration only. A practice notices through Follow that a client company has filed an AP01 appointing an unknown director, a TM01 removing the client, and an AD01 moving the registered office to an address in another city. The practice calls the client, who confirms none of it was authorised. The client changes the authentication code, reports to Report Fraud and tells the bank. The practice helps the client submit form RP08 with evidence, such as the client’s identity documents, the original appointment history and correspondence showing the client still runs the business. Because the matter is urgent, Companies House may remove the filings before giving notice. The client then joins PROOF and the practice keeps Follow alerts switched on.

What mistakes make things worse?

  • Waiting for the next confirmation statement to correct the register. The guidance says to contact Companies House as soon as possible.
  • Filing a TM01 to end a fraudulent appointment. The register would then show an appointment followed by a resignation; the route Companies House sets out for a false appointment is to report it and have the material removed.
  • Sending several duplicate reports, which Companies House says delays the case.
  • Leaving the old authentication code in use after a breach.
  • Assuming the registered office cannot be changed back quickly. The RP07 and default address process exists for exactly this situation.

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Sources

Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.