CIC Persons with Significant Control (PSC)

The PSC regime exists so that the public register shows who really controls each UK company. Every company, including every CIC, must identify its PSCs, report them to Companies House and keep the information up to date. A CIC limited by guarantee has members instead of shareholders, so control is measured through voting rights and influence rather than shares.

PSCs are usually individuals. Where a company or other legal entity controls your CIC, it is recorded as a “relevant legal entity” instead.

A person is a PSC if they meet one or more of these conditions.

Voting rights are only the first test. Someone who holds fewer votes can still be a PSC if they have the right to appoint or remove most of the directors, or if in practice the company does what they say. Directors are not automatically PSCs; being a director and being a member are different roles, though in small CICs the same people usually hold both.

Some founders prefer a structure where no single person is a PSC, because it signals shared ownership to funders and the community. Four or more members with equal votes achieves that on the voting test, provided nobody has other rights of control. This is a design choice, not a legal requirement, and it has trade-offs: more members means more people to keep engaged and to verify.

Whatever you choose, be honest in the filing. Reporting “no PSC” when a founder in fact controls the CIC is a false statement to Companies House. See our guide to director structure for how boards and members fit together.

Companies have historically had to keep their own PSC register as well as reporting to Companies House. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 is moving company registers onto the central register held by Companies House, and the changes are being switched on in stages. Gov.uk's PSC guidance currently describes the reporting duties to Companies House without setting out a local register requirement. Until Companies House confirms the position for your company, keep a simple record of your PSC decisions and dates; it costs nothing and answers any question later.

At incorporation

Your first PSCs are part of the registration application. For each PSC you give their name, date of birth, nationality, address, the conditions met and, for voting rights, the band: more than 25% up to and including 50%, more than 50% and less than 75%, or 75% or more. Since 18 November 2025 each PSC also needs a verified identity and personal code.

After incorporation

• New PSC: form PSC01 within 14 days of confirming the change.
• Change to a PSC's details: form PSC04 within 14 days.
• PSC ceases: form PSC07 within 14 days.
• Every year: confirm the PSC information is correct in the confirmation statement. See our annual requirements guide.

Filing is free online through Companies House WebFiling.

• A member joins or leaves, changing everyone's share of the votes.
• The articles are changed, for example to give someone the right to appoint directors.
• A founder steps back, or a new person starts making the decisions in practice.
• Before every confirmation statement.

• Assuming guarantee companies have no PSCs. They do; the test is votes and influence.
• Listing every director as a PSC. Directors are only PSCs if they meet a condition.
• Treating 25% as “more than 25%”. Four equal members are not PSCs on votes alone.
• Ignoring the influence test. A founder who controls decisions is a PSC whatever the vote count.
• Missing the 14-day deadline after a member joins or leaves.
• Forgetting identity verification for a new PSC.