- 27 Sep 2024
- •
- 2 min read
Essential company compliance – displaying your company details
Ensuring your company complies with trading disclosure regulations is crucial to avoid penalties and maintain transparency. These rules govern where and how your company details must be displayed, both at physical locations and on business communications. Failure to adhere to these requirements can result in legal consequences for the company and its directors. This update outlines the key obligations and offers practical tips to help you stay compliant with current regulations.
Where should your company name be displayed?
You should be displaying your company’s full registered name at:
- its registered office;
- any location where company records are kept available for inspection (i.e. statutory books); and
- any location where the company carries out its business, unless it is also your primary residence.
How should your company name be displayed?
Your company’s full registered name should:
- be prominently displayed so that visitors can easily read it; and
- be shown exactly as registered with Companies House.
In workspaces shared by six or more companies, you must either:
- display the registered name for at least fifteen continuous seconds, at least twice every three minutes; or
- make the registered name available for inspection on a register accessible to visitors.
Exceptions to the display requirements
Your company is exempt from displaying its name at business premises if:
- the registered office has been moved to the office of a liquidator, administrator, or administrative receiver; and/or
- there is a credible risk of violence or intimidation at the business premises, although the name must still be displayed at any inspection site.
Business communications – what needs to be included?
Your company’s full registered name must appear on all ‘business communications’. Deciding whether or not an item is a ‘business communication’ is done by reference to its content, rather than its description, format or whether it is in hard copy or electronic form.
The term business communications includes the following:
- business letters;
- business emails;
- order forms;
- websites;
- invoices and payment demands ;
- receipts; and
- applications for licences to carry on trade or activities.
In addition to the registered name, business letters (which may include emails), order forms and websites must also include:
- the company’s registered number;
- the registered office address; and
- the country within the UK where it was registered in (e.g. England and Wales).
What if the company is part of a group?
If your company is part of a group of companies that shares a single website, the details of each company within the group must also be included on the website. These details need not be included on every page of the website but should be placed somewhere prominent.
Is it necessary to list directors?
There is no obligation to display lists of directors, but where your company’s business letter template includes the name of a director of that company, other than in the text or as a signatory, the letter must disclose the name of every director of that company.
Responding to requests for information
If your company receives a written request for information, it must disclose within five days:
- the registered office address; and
- any inspection site and the types of company records kept there.
Consequences of non-compliance
Failure to comply with trading disclosure rules could result in your company and/or its directors committing an offence, potentially leading to fines. It is essential to ensure your company meets these obligations to avoid penalties.
