What are persons with significant control (PSC)?

By Ben Davies · Updated 28 March 2026

Stop keeping this deadline in your head

A person with significant control (PSC) is an individual who has substantial ownership or influence over a UK company. Since April 2016, every company must identify its PSCs and keep a register of them.

Who counts as a PSC?

You are a PSC if you meet one or more of the following conditions:

Own more than 25% of shares in the company
Hold more than 25% of voting rights in the company
Have the right to appoint or remove a majority of directors
Have the right to exercise, or actually exercise, significant influence or control over the company
Have the right to exercise, or actually exercise, significant influence or control over a trust or firm that itself satisfies any of the above conditions

For most dormant companies with a single shareholder-director, that person will be the only PSC — they typically hold 100% of the shares and voting rights.

The PSC register

Every company must maintain its own PSC register. This register records the name, date of birth, nationality, address, and the nature of control for each PSC. The information on the register must be kept up to date — if a PSC's details change, the register must be updated within 14 days of the company becoming aware of the change.

Reporting PSC information to Companies House

Changes to PSC information must be filed with Companies House within 14 days of updating your PSC register, using forms PSC01 to PSC09 (or their online equivalents in WebFiling and filing software). This has been the rule since June 2017 — you cannot save the changes up for your next confirmation statement.

The annual confirmation statement (CS01) does not replace those filings — it simply confirms once a year that the PSC information already on the public register is correct.

Why it matters

The PSC register exists to increase transparency about who ultimately owns and controls UK companies. Failing to maintain it or report accurate information is a criminal offence. For dormant companies, the requirement is exactly the same as for active ones — there are no exemptions.