Companies Act 2006

The link selections on this page provide links to the full text of the Companies Act 2006 and additional material relating to the act.

Our separate company law reform bill links page traces the legislative passage of the bill from its publication on 17th March 2005 until it received Royal Assent on 8th November 2006.

Articles and Books

Browse a list of books and articles on the Companies Act 2006

You can find more books and articles on company law by searching LibCat, our online catalogue. For details of our photocopying/fax service please see our FAQ page.

The Act

The Companies Act 2006 received Royal Assent on 8th November 2006 and was announced in the DTI press release Bill to save business millions receives Royal Assent on the same day.

The full text of the Companies Act 2006 was published in PDF format on the OPSI website within the list of Public Acts of the UK Parliament 2006 on 7th December 2006. The complete act is available in HTML and PDF versions. The PDF version is available to download as follows:

• Complete Act (PDF 2.72mb)
• Sections 1-483 (PDF 1.05mb)
• Sections 484-1001 (PDF 972kb)
• Sections 1002-1300 and the Schedules (PDF 817kb)

The website of the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) also provides:

• Table Of Destinations - this table (PDF: 156 kb) 'identifies the provisions of the Companies Act 1985 (c. 6) that are repealed and re-enacted (with or without changes) by the Companies Act 2006 and identifies the corresponding provisions in that Act.'
• Table Of Origins - this table (PDF: 181 kb) 'shows the origin of the company law provisions of the Companies Act 2006 by reference to the enactments in force on the date that Act received Royal Assent'

Secondary Legislation

The BERR website provides a selection of links to related secondary legislation that has either been enacted or exists in draft form for consultation. This includes regulations for model articles, business names and share capital:

• Regulations and Commencement Orders - made or before Parliament
• Regulations - draft

The OPSI website also includes the following regulations (as enacted):

• The Small Companies and Groups (Accounts and Directors’ Report) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/409)
• The Large and Medium-sized Companies and Groups (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/410)

Implementation

The Department for Businesses, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) website includes a dedicated section on the Companies Act 2006 which includes information on the timetable of implementation and an Frequently Asked Questions on the Companies Act 2006.

The early commencement of certain provisions from the act were detailed in a Written Ministerial Statement by the Minister for Industry and the Regions (Margaret Hodge) on 18th December 2006 (Hansard Volume No. 454, Part No. 19).

On 28th February 2007 the full implementation timetable for the Companies Act 2006 was announced by Margaret Hodge and published in the DTI press release Margaret Hodge announces Companies Act Implementation timetable. The DTI also published the consultation document, now available from the BERR website: Implementation of Companies Act 2006 on the 28th February 2007. The paper focuses 'on the policy issues related to secondary legislation which will need to be made under the Companies Act 2006, and on transitional and savings provisions'.

The implementation of the first major provisions of the Companies Act was announced in the press release Benefits for businesses large and small Companies Act 2006 commencement on 28th September 2007.

On Wednesday 7th November 2007 changes to the Companies Act implementation timetable were announced. According to the written statement 'the commencement date for most of the provisions due to be commenced on 1 October 2008 will be put back to 1 October 2009'. The final implementation timetable is available on the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform website.

Companies House provides a section of their website focusing on the Companies Acts which includes a list of the provisions that will come into effect, arranged by date at Companies Act 2006: Implementation. This includes a list of provisions that came into force on 1st October 2008 and those that are due to take effect on 1st October 2009.

Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR)

Following the release of the timetable for implementation the DTI published a series of checklists, which are now available through the BERR website. These checklists are designed to help businesses make the transition, including:

• Companies Act 2006: A summary of what it means for private companies (PDF 36.63kb/ 12 pages)
• Companies Act 2006: Private Company Information (PDF 36.63kb/ 12 pages,)

In June 2008 the department published Guidance for UK Companies on accounting and reporting: Requirements under the Companies Act 2006 and the application of the IAS regulation

The BERR also maintains an FAQ on the Companies Act 2006.

Companies House

The Companies House website includes information on the Companies Acts which includes news, answers to frequently asked questions, information on the implementation of the Companies Act 2006 and a selection of Companies Act publications.

The website includes a page on Table A which provides the latest versions of Table A (in PDF format) for private companies and public companies.

ICAEW

The Institute has published an article on the Companies Act 2006 which summarises some of the specific legislative changes, outlines what will happen next and when the act will come into effect. A further selection of information on company law and related issues is available from the Regulation and Law section of the ICAEW website.

Other institutes and professional bodies

Companies Act 2006 (ICSA) - the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) have published a microsite focused on the Companies Act 2006 which includes ICSA commentary and guidance on the act and a selection of full text articles from Chartered Secretary. The site also inclides the full text of Chartered Secretary supplements on the Companies Act 2006, including:

• The Companies Act 2006: Your essential guide to the new regime (Chartered Secretary Focus, January 2007)
• The Companies Act 2006: The countdown to October implementation begins here (Chartered Secretary Focus, July 2007)

ICSA Guidance on Access to the Register of Members: Proper Purpose Test - updated version of the ICSA guidance note on proper purpose issued on 21 January 2009. The Companies Act 2006 makes access to a company's register of members subject to a 'proper purpose' test.

Related Material

Legal Briefings - international law firm Travers Smith published a series of briefings in April 2007 focusing on the key changes introduced by the Companies Act 2006. The briefings include:

• The Companies Act 2006 - AIM Listed Companies
• The Companies Act 2006 - Listed Companies
• The Companies Act 2006 - Private Companies
• The Companies Act 2006 - Private Equity Firms

CompAct: Q&As on the 2006 Companies Act - guide from Deloitte, published in March 2007, which answers 49 questions on the impact of the Compaines Act for directors, members, accounts, audit and private companies.

Companies Act 2006 - a seven page briefing published by international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer on the Companies Act 2006 in November 2006. The briefing is available through the publications section of the Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer website.

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