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Is there any option to not disclose company or personal information relating to myself and my company online? #AskTheAccountant

11/05/2018

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Question: Is there any option to not disclose company or personal information relating to myself and my company online, in particular on my company record at Companies House? For example, with a simple search I am able to find my month and year of birth?

Expert Answer: Having certain details available on the Companies House website is one of the drawbacks of a limited liability company, unfortunately. It is becoming more of an issue with Companies House publishing more and more information without the public having to pay for it, which was not the case prior to 2015.

The best way of preventing these details becoming public is to apply for an order restricting publication, however that is really only available to certain sensitive industries such as companies involved in life sciences/animal experimentation/genetics/security. Such an order has to be approved by the Secretary for State and is therefore difficult to secure.

Understandable many directors are becoming concerned, this is Companies House’s reaction; https://help.ukdata.com/hc/en-us/articles/202662352-Removing-Company-and-Director-Information

This article tells you why the data is there, but does not help in trying to remove it. Popular opinion is that Companies House have gone a bit far in releasing information, but they cannot now change this which is very irritating for many directors.

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