As part of its response to the COVID-19 situation, Companies House has announced that it will accept the filing of statutory insolvency documents via emailed PDF attachments.

This measure applies to companies registered in Scotland, as well as England & Wales and is yet another practical example of the steps being taken to try and alleviate the administrative burden on insolvency practitioners.

Dispensing with the need to post hard copy documents to the Registrar of Companies, reduces the need for insolvency practitioners and their staff (who have been designated as key workers) from having to travel to offices and post offices to comply with their statutory duties, and further underpins the Government's "stay at home, protect our NHS" message.

How it works:

The relevant forms are available via Companies House.

They should be completed as normal and saved as PDF and then sent to:

Liquidation_SC@companieshouse.gov.uk for Scottish Companies or

Liquidation_EW@companieshouse.gov.uk for England & Wales.

Companies House requirements for filing in this manner are as follows:

  • You must enter the company name and number in the email subject line. Any discrepancy between the company name and number in the email, and the name and number entered in the PDF attachment, may result in the document(s) being returned for clarification.
  • Digital signatures may be used on the forms if preferred.
  • Only attach a document or a package of documents for one company to each email. Emails containing documents for more than one company will be returned.
  • Only use this service for filings required under the Insolvency Act 1986, or the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, with the exception of certain Companies Act filings that may be submitted as part of a package of documents; for example, a form AD01 notifying of a change of registered office address. Companies Act filings sent by this method that are not part of a package of insolvency documents will be returned.
  • Any documents that need to be rejected will be returned to the email address from which they were sent.

The Registrar advises that it is in the process of developing a system that will allow documents to be directly uploaded as opposed to being submitted by email, but in the meantime this interim measure is welcomed by insolvency practitioners and solicitors alike.

Contributor

Lucy McCann

Partner