Former names on the Companies House register: what trans creators who are directors can and cannot suppress

Trans creators who are UK company directors may find a former name — potentially a deadname — permanently on the public Companies House register: former names cannot be removed using form SR01. When a director is appointed, form AP01 requires their full legal name including any former names used in the last 20 years, and that filed AP01 is permanently viewable in the company's public filing history. This is a UK-specific guide, written by Beloura, a management agency built for trans creators. It is general information, not legal advice.

Former names and deadnames in the Companies House director record

Companies House is the UK registrar of companies. Every company is required to keep details of its directors, and when a director is appointed the company files form AP01. The AP01 asks for the director's full legal name and any former names used for business purposes in the last 20 years.

Once filed, the AP01 is a permanent public document. Anyone with a company name or number can search the register at find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk, open the filing history, find the AP01, and read it. If a trans creator's former name appears on that AP01, it is visible to any member of the public who looks up the company.

The officer profile page on Companies House shows a director's name, nationality, the month and year of their date of birth, and service address. Former names do not appear as a separate field on that profile page. The risk is in the filed documents. The filing history is publicly accessible and permanent: no document is removed once accepted.

For a cis director who changed their name after marriage, the AP01 carries a similar requirement. The difference for trans creators is that the former name in question may be a deadname that pairs their current and former identity publicly, and that this is visible to anyone who knows how to look.

Identity verification from 18 November 2025: directors must confirm former names

Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, identity verification became mandatory for new directors from 18 November 2025. Before an AP01 is accepted, the director must have a verified identity on record with Companies House.

The identity verification process requires providing full name and any former names, date of birth, home address, address history for the last 12 months, and email address. This is set out in the gov.uk guidance on meeting the Companies House identity verification standard.

An authorised verifier — known as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, or ACSP — confirms to Companies House that they have verified the identity, tells Companies House the person's details, and provides information about the documents used. The verifier does not submit document copies to Companies House; they retain them for seven years.

The verified information, including any former names provided, is reported to Companies House. The practical effect is that a director who has a former name and goes through identity verification will have confirmed that former name as part of their verified record.

Filing to appoint or update a director: AP01 and CH01

AP01 (appointing a director): The form requires the director's full legal name and any former names used in the last 20 years. The completed form is a public document filed in the company's filing history. A trans creator whose former name falls within the 20-year window must include it. The AP01 remains in the filing history permanently; there is no mechanism to amend or withdraw it after acceptance.

CH01 (updating a director's details): When a director changes their legal name — for example after a deed poll or after a court order — the change must be notified to Companies House using form CH01. The CH01 is also a public document. Once filed, it sits in the filing history alongside the earlier AP01. A search of the company's filing history will show both: the AP01 with the former name and the CH01 recording the change. Both are permanently accessible.

Companies House does not merge or replace earlier filings. The CH01 confirms the update; it does not remove the AP01. Anyone examining the filing history can see the full sequence.

What SR01 can and cannot suppress

Form SR01 lets a person apply to remove certain personal details from filed documents on the Companies House register. The suppressible categories are:

• Home address
• The day of a date of birth, from documents filed before 10 October 2015
• Signature
• Business occupation

Former names are not in this list. A trans creator cannot use SR01 to remove a former name from an AP01, a CH01, or any other filed document. Checked against the gov.uk SR01 guidance in October 2026.

SR01 also charges £34 per document and requires the applicant to identify each document. Even for the categories it does cover, it removes the detail from that specific document only. There is no route to remove former names from filed Companies House documents under current rules.

After a legal name change: filing a CH01 and what stays in the filing history

After a legal name change by deed poll, a director updates the Companies House record by filing a CH01. This does not happen automatically; the company is responsible for keeping the register up to date.

What filing a CH01 does:

• Updates the officer record to show the new name going forward
• Creates a permanent document in the filing history showing the change

What filing a CH01 does not do:

• Remove or replace the earlier AP01
• Clear the former name from the filing history

After the CH01 is accepted, the register shows the new name on the officer's current record. The filing history still contains both the original AP01, which may include the former name, and the CH01. Anyone who opens the filing history can see both documents.

The guide on legal name and deadname on OnlyFans and Fansly covers how former names interact with platform records. The name-change checklist for creators covers the broader set of records that need updating after a legal name change.

Gender Recognition Certificate: whether it changes anything at Companies House

No Companies House guidance has confirmed that holding a Gender Recognition Certificate creates any carve-out from the usual director information requirements. The GRC legally recognises an individual's affirmed gender in the UK and has significant effects in a number of legal contexts, but no published Companies House guidance states that it changes the rules about former names on the register.

Section 22 of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 concerns the disclosure of protected information about a person's gender recognition history. What it protects and what it does not cover in specific administrative contexts is set out in the guide on section 22 of the Gender Recognition Act. The guide on HMRC name and gender change covers how HMRC handles a GRC and the protections it creates there.

For advice on whether a GRC affects a specific Companies House obligation, checking with a solicitor is recommended.

What to check before incorporating or appointing as a director

• Check whether a former name falls within the AP01's requirement. If it does, it will appear in the public filing history.
• Consider completing a legal name change before incorporating or being appointed, so the current name is the only one that appears on the AP01.
• Note that the filing history is public and permanent. A CH01 filed later confirms the current name but does not remove an earlier AP01.
• SR01 does not cover former names. There is currently no application route to remove a former name from a filed document.
• Identity verification collects former names; confirm what a chosen verifier does with that information before proceeding.

Sources

Companies House search — find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk — checked 6 October 2026.

The following pages were checked in October 2026. gov.uk and legislation.gov.uk are not on the link allowlist for this site, so they are named without links.

• gov.uk/guidance/how-to-meet-companies-house-identity-verification-standard — identity verification requirements, including the "full name and any former names" collection requirement and what authorised verifiers report to Companies House
• gov.uk/government/publications/apply-to-remove-your-personal-details-from-the-companies-house-register-sr01/how-to-complete-the-form-sr01 — SR01 suppression categories (home address, day of DOB pre-October 2015, signature, business occupation; former names absent from the list)
• gov.uk/guidance/your-personal-information-on-the-companies-house-register — publicly shown director fields: name, nationality, month and year of date of birth
• AP01 Appointment of director form, version 10.0, August 2026 (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) — requires full legal name including former names used in the last 20 years
• CH01 Change of director's details form, version 8.0, November 2025 (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) — used to notify Companies House of a name change; filed document is publicly viewable in the filing history
• legislation.gov.uk, Companies Act 2006 section 163 — omitted by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, in force 18 November 2025

What changed

• 6 October 2026: first published. Rules checked against the sources above on that date.