Protecting Your Company Records: Companies House PROOF Service

Protect your company from corporate identity theft with Companies House PROOF.

At Perrys, part of the way we keep our client’s information safe is by monitoring their Companies House filings. This allows us to spot any unexpected or unauthorised submissions.

With recent changes at Companies House, including the acceptance of some paper‑filed forms with only a printed name, fraud protection has become even more important. One useful tool available to companies is the PROOF (Protected Online Filing) service.

What is Companies House PROOF?

PROOF is a free Companies House service designed to protect your company from unauthorised changes to key information. Once you are enrolled, Companies House will reject certain ‘protected’ paper forms, meaning these filings can only be submitted online through secure channels.

This reduces the risk of someone fraudulently altering your company’s records by sending in paper documents.

Even when your company is registered for PROOF, Perrys will continue to file all forms electronically on your behalf as normal.

What does PROOF protect?

The service blocks paper filing for specific forms relating to:

• Changes to your registered office address
• Appointment, resignation or personal detail changes for directors or secretaries
• Changes to your company name by special resolution

A full list of protected forms for both limited companies and LLPs is included below.

How to join PROOF

To use PROOF, your company must be registered for online filing. Once signed in:

1. Select ‘Join PROOF’ near the padlock icon on your company overview screen
2. Agree to the terms and conditions
3. Select ‘Protect this company’

You’ll receive an email confirming whether your application has been successful.

Once enrolled, any paper versions of the protected forms will be automatically rejected and returned to your registered office.

What if I no longer want to use the PROOF service?

You can leave the service at any time by selecting the ‘Leave PROOF’ link on your company overview screen. Companies House will email you to confirm. However, once you leave, your company will no longer be protected against fraudulent paper filings.

Forms covered by PROOF

Limited Company forms

• AR01 – Annual Return (but not CS01)
• AP01 – Appointment of director
• AP02 – Appointment of corporate director
• AP03 – Appointment of secretary
• AP04 – Appointment of corporate secretary
• CH01 – Change of director’s details
• CH02 – Change of corporate director’s details
• CH03 – Change of secretary’s details
• CH04 – Change of corporate secretary’s details
• TM01 – Termination of appointment of director
• TM02 – Termination of appointment of secretary
• AD01 – Change of registered office address
• NM01 – Change of company name
• Change of company name by special resolution

Limited Liability Partnership (LLPs) forms

• LL AR01 – Annual Return (but not LLCS01)
• LL AP01 – Appointment of a member
• LL AP02 – Appointment of a corporate member
• LL CH01 – Change of member’s details
• LL CH02 – Change of corporate member’s details
• LL TM01 – Termination of appointment of a member
• LL AD01 – Change of registered office address

All other forms not listed above can still be filed on paper while a company is enrolled in PROOF.

If you do need to submit one of the protected forms by post while registered for PROOF, a paper consent form must be completed.

As always, we are here to help and if you feel you need assistance with your Company Secretarial needs, please contact your local Perrys branch.