Country-specific guidance Current
Requesting beneficial ownership information from a corporate client
Who counts as a person with significant control, and what to ask for.
A corporate client's beneficial owners are not always the people named as directors. This guide sets out a practical approach to requesting people with significant control information from a company client. It is general information, not legal or compliance advice.
Action plan
1 Understand who counts as a person with significant control PSC status is based on ownership and control, not job title.
Companies House guidance on people with significant control (PSCs) sets out that a PSC is someone who owns or controls a company, generally including anyone holding more than 25% of shares or voting rights, anyone who can appoint or remove most of the board, or anyone who otherwise has significant influence or control over the company. Use this definition to work out who to ask for, rather than relying on the client's own list of directors.
- Check shareholding and voting rights against the 25% thresholds PSC guidance sets out
- Check separately who can appoint or remove most of the board
- Don't assume a company's registered directors are automatically its PSCs
Done when: Every individual meeting the PSC definition for the corporate client has been identified
GOV.UK: people with significant control (PSCs)2 Request the specific details PSC guidance requires a company to hold A name alone is not enough, ask for what the company itself is required to record.
The same guidance sets out that a company must record specific details for each PSC, including full name, date of birth, nationality, country of residence, service address, the date they became a PSC, and the nature of the control they hold. Ask the client to provide these details directly, rather than reconstructing them yourself from partial information.
- Ask for each PSC's full name, date of birth, nationality, and country of residence
- Ask for the date each PSC's control began and the nature of the control held
- Cross-check what the client provides against what's recorded for the company
Done when: The specific PSC details PSC guidance describes have been requested and received for each PSC
GOV.UK: people with significant control (PSCs)3 Check what's already recorded at Companies House The public register is a useful cross-check, not a replacement for asking the client directly.
Companies House's own register lets you check what a company has already recorded about its PSCs, including name, month and year of birth, nationality, and the nature of their interest. Use this as a cross-check against what the client tells you, and follow up directly on any mismatch rather than assuming the register is automatically current.
- Search the company's PSC record on the Companies House register
- Compare what the register shows against what the client has told you
- Follow up directly with the client on any mismatch, rather than assuming the register is right
Done when: The client's stated PSC information has been cross-checked against the Companies House record
See verifying a company client's registration details