Here are the key action points from the ECCTA 2023 changes which come into force on 4 March:

Registered office

The company’s registered office address must be ‘appropriate’ - meaning any documents sent to it should come to the attention of someone acting on behalf of the company so that delivery can be acknowledged and recorded. PO box addresses will no longer be allowed.

If you need to change your registered office, you must notify Companies House of your new, appropriate address by filing a form AD01 by 4 March. Of course, you should also update references to your registered office wherever they appear (e.g. on stationery, invoices and your website).

From 4 March, any new company must have an appropriate registered office on incorporation.

Email address

You need to provide an email address for the company to Companies House where any emails received will come to the attention of someone acting on behalf of the company. The address won’t be publicly available and can be used for multiple companies.

For existing companies, the email address needs to be provided as part of the Company’s next confirmation statement dated on or after 5 March. You don’t have to do anything before then.

From 4 March, any new company must specify an appropriate email address on incorporation.

Statement of lawful purpose

As part of the company’s next annual confirmation statement dated on or after 5 March, you must confirm that the company’s intended future activities are lawful.

From 4 March, subscribers of new companies will need to confirm this on incorporation.

Other changes

Companies House is getting extra powers to query and reject filings, rectify inaccuracies, and annotate the register when information appears confusing or misleading – as well as new powers to share data with governmental departments and law enforcement agencies.

New restrictions will apply to company names to prohibit the use of any name which contains computer code, suggests a foreign government connection or facilitates any crime of dishonesty and deception.