Are you wondering how to appoint a new company director now that your company is up and running? Don’t worry, the process is straightforward. Simply get consent from the proposed new director, have the company approve the appointment (for example, by passing an ordinary resolution of your members with more than 50% votes in favour), and file the Form AP01, together with the relevant information, with Companies House within 14 days of the appointment.
Due to changes brought in by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, your new director must verify their identity with Companies House and provide their personal code upon appointment.
You can appoint a new company director by passing an ordinary resolution of your members, either at a general meeting or in writing. Alternatively, in your articles of association, you can authorise your board of directors to appoint new directors by passing a director resolution. Check your articles of association to discover the rules that apply to your company.
Follow these steps to appoint a new director by ordinary shareholder resolution:
You can also submit Form AP01 free of charge through Rapid Formations’ Online Admin Portal . Simply enter a few details and submit the information to Companies House.
You must provide Companies House with the following information when you appoint a new director:
You can change any of the information Companies House holds about your directors using Form CH01 . You must notify Companies House of any changes to the director’s information within 14 days of the change.
Currently, you can appoint any individual or corporate body as a director, provided they’re not:
The UK government is planning to ban companies from appointing corporate entities as directors. As of April 2026, this had not yet come into force – check the latest guidance from Companies House to stay compliant.
In general, a person does not need to be a shareholder to be able to be a director of a company. However, shareholders are often also directors of their company, and directors can be offered shares in the company they manage.
You can only remove a director before appointing a new one if, after the removal, at least one director (who must be a natural person) would remain in post. If the director you wish to remove is your only director, you must first appoint a replacement. Your articles of association may require a higher minimum number of directors, in which case you must ensure that the minimum is maintained at all times.
Appointing a new director is an important milestone – and getting the process right from the start protects both the company and the incoming director.
If you’d like support with the appointment, Rapid Formations offers a dedicated director appointment service that handles every step for you, from drafting the resolution to filing with Companies House.
The law requires you to have at least one human director in post at a private limited company; you can’t appoint a corporate body to be the sole director of your company. If you want to replace your only director, you must appoint a new director before they stand down to ensure there’s always one director in post.
Some information about a director is publicly available, including their name, nationality and the month and year they were born. If you provide a home address as the service address, this is also made public. You can keep a home address private by using a third-party address as the service address.
Identity verification is a requirement introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 . Directors must verify their identity with Companies House, after which they receive a unique personal code. This code must be submitted each time they are appointed to a new director role.