Inspecting the register of shareholders checklist

The register of shareholders can be inspected by shareholders and non-shareholders alike. Our checklist takes you through the procedure.

Request

Anyone wishing to inspect the register of shareholders must make a formal request to the company. They can also request that the register, or a certain part of it, is copied and sent to them.

Purpose of inspection

The right of inspection is widely used by research and marketing organisations. Although companies can refuse access to the register if they believe the request has been made for an improper purpose, they have to apply to court for permission, which can be costly and time consuming.

Shareholders who are concerned about their information being used by such organisations can make sure that the address on the register is not their home address (they can give any postal address from which they can collect their post, including a PO Box number), register for data preference schemes and, if necessary, rely on their right under data protection legislation to serve notice on businesses that use their information for direct marketing to prevent unwanted use of their data.

Registers kept at companies house

If the company has opted to keep its register of shareholders at Companies House, it will not have to deal with requests for inspection as the central register can be inspected directly. A person inspecting the central register at Companies House can, however, require the company to confirm that it is up to date. In addition, the company still has to keep its historic register, i.e. the register up to the point at which it was transferred to the central register, which can be inspected and copied by submitting a request to the company.