The home of Companies House on GOV.UK. Companies House incorporates and dissolves limited companies, registers the information companies are legally required to supply, and makes that information available to the public.
PROOF (Protected Online Filing) enables companies to protect themselves from unauthorised changes to their company's record as it prevents the filing of certain paper forms. These include documents for an appointment/resignation/change of particulars of company officer and the change of the registered office.
It’s important that your company’s records are correct because they’re sometimes used to check its legitimacy if you apply for a loan.
Fraudsters are known to hijack a company by changing the details of the company’s directors and registered office. This leaves the company vulnerable to further fraud.
Companies House deals with around 50 to 100 cases of corporate identity theft every month. If you suspect fraudulent activity against a company you should report this to Companies House.
Once you have joined PROOF, Companies House will reject any paper versions of these forms and send them back to the registered office address. This will help ensure that any changes made have been registered by the company itself.
To register your company for the PROOF, go online, simply agree to the Terms and Conditions and choose 'Join PROOF'. You can be assured that attempts to file the following forms on paper will be rejected: change of registered office address, appointment, resignation or change particulars of an officer.
Join PROOF using the Companies House online filing service. You’ll need to be registered for online filing.
Once you’ve signed in, complete the following steps:
- select the ‘Join PROOF’ link near the padlock icon at the top of the overview screen,
- agree to the terms and conditions,
- select ‘Protect this company’.
You’ll get an email to let you know if your application has been successful.
Once you’ve joined, the forms covered by PROOF can only be filed online, so:
- tell anyone who files documents for your company that you’re joining PROOF,
- give them the authentication codes they’ll need to file online.
Companies House will reject any paper versions of the forms and send them back to the registered office address.
Your PROOF status is on the company overview screen. (Please note that applications to join or leave PROOF in the last 48 hours may not have yet been applied, but should show a status of pending).
If you want to leave the PROOF, just select the 'Leave PROOF' link on the company overview screen. Leaving the PROOF scheme means that your company will no longer be protected against fraudulent filings on paper.
The following forms are all within the PROOF scheme and, if filed on paper, will be rejected:
Limited company forms
| Form | Description |
| AR01 | Annual Return |
| 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 |
Limited liability partnership (LLP) forms
| Form | Description |
| LL AR01 | Annual Return |
| 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 |
If you need to file one of the forms covered by PROOF on paper while you’re still registered for PROOF, you’ll need to complete a paper consent form.
You should only use a paper consent form if absolutely necessary. See the PROOF terms and conditions for more information.
Call the Companies House contact centre on 0303 1234 500 to request a paper consent form.