To complete Form MR01, you enter the company name and number, the date the charge was created, a short description of the instrument, the full names of every person entitled to the charge, the property covered by any fixed charge, and whether the instrument contains a floating charge or a negative pledge; you then authenticate the form and deliver it to Companies House with a certified copy of the charge instrument and the filing fee. Online filing costs £14, paper filing costs £24, and you have 21 days beginning with the day after the charge is created to get everything in. Miss that window and the charge is void against a liquidator, administrator, or creditor if the company later becomes insolvent.
Who Files the Form
Either the company or any person with an interest in the charge can deliver the form. In practice the lender or its solicitors handle it, because the lender is the party that loses its security if registration fails. Whoever files must authenticate the form, and authentication requires a person with an interest in the charge or formal authorisation from a party to the security agreement.
What to Have In Front of You
Pull the executed security agreement and collect the following before opening the form:
- The company’s registered name and number, copied exactly from the Companies House register or the certificate of incorporation. A minor mismatch gets the form rejected.
- The charge creation date, meaning the date the instrument was executed, not the date you complete the form.
- A short description of the instrument, such as “Debenture” or “Legal Mortgage.”
- The full legal name of every lender, security agent, or trustee entitled to the charge.
- A description of any land, ships, aircraft, or intellectual property subject to a fixed charge or fixed security. Floating charges over general assets are handled by ticking a box rather than listing assets.
- A certified copy of the instrument. Not the original. You can certify the copy yourself or ask a solicitor to do it.
Filling In the Form
The paper form runs through numbered sections; WebFiling presents the same fields as screen prompts. Work through them in order.
Company Details and Creation Date
Enter the company name and registered number at the top, taken from the certificate of incorporation or an existing filing rather than from memory. Then enter the date the charge was created. Companies House checks the name and number against its register, and any discrepancy sends the form back.
Instrument Description and Persons Entitled
Give a brief description of the type of instrument, for example “Debenture” or “Legal Mortgage.” Then list the full legal name of each person or entity entitled to the charge. Where a security trustee acts for a syndicate of lenders, name the trustee.
Charge Type and Property
Tick the boxes indicating whether the instrument contains a floating charge, and if it does, whether that floating charge covers all the property and undertaking of the company. If the instrument also creates a fixed charge or fixed security over specific assets (land, ships, aircraft, intellectual property, or other tangible or intangible property), tick the further boxes and add a short description of that property. Leaving these Yes/No boxes blank is one of the most common reasons for rejection, so answer every one.
Negative Pledge
Tick “Yes” if the instrument prohibits the company from creating further security ranking equally with or ahead of the charge without the lender’s consent. Registering a negative pledge puts later lenders on notice, but it does not by itself give the first lender automatic priority. If the borrower breaches the pledge and grants further security anyway, the original lender’s remedy is contractual, as an event of default under the finance documents, rather than a guaranteed right to jump ahead in the queue.
Authentication
Sign and date the form. The person authenticating must have an interest in the charge. Include their name and the capacity in which they sign, such as “solicitor for the chargee.”
Redacting the Certified Copy
Everything filed becomes part of the public register, so certain sensitive details may be blacked out from the certified copy before submission. Permitted redactions are:
- Personal information about an individual, but not their name.
- Bank or securities account numbers.
- Signatures, including electronic signature certificates.
Digital redaction in a PDF or physical redaction on a paper copy are both acceptable. The redacted version must still be certified as a true copy of the original instrument, minus the removed details.
How to Submit
There are three delivery channels: WebFiling, software filing, and paper post.
Online via WebFiling
Online filing costs £14 per charge and is the fastest route. You need a WebFiling account and the company’s authentication code. If you don’t have the code, request one through the Companies House website; it is posted to an active officer’s home address and takes around ten working days to arrive, so don’t leave it to the last minute. Log in, select the company, choose “Register a charge,” and follow the prompts. Upload the certified copy as a PDF, review the summary, pay, and submit. The certificate of registration usually arrives within about five working days.
Paper Post
Paper filing costs £24 per charge. Print the completed form, enclose the certified copy of the instrument, and include a cheque or postal order for £24 payable to “Companies House.” Post to:
Companies House
Crown Way
Cardiff
CF14 3UZ
What matters is when the documents reach the registrar, not when you post them. If the deadline is close, file online or use same-day courier.
The 21-Day Deadline
The statutory period runs 21 days beginning with the day after the charge was created. If the charge was created on 1 June, day one is 2 June and the deadline is 22 June. Companies House does not automatically extend paper filing deadlines for weekends or bank holidays, so deliver before any non-working day at the end of the window.
Miss the deadline and the charge is void against a liquidator, administrator, or creditor. The debt still exists, but the security backing it is gone, and the entire amount secured by the charge becomes immediately payable once the charge is voided. The only route to save the registration is a court application under Section 859F of the Companies Act 2006 for an extension, which requires evidence that the failure was accidental or otherwise excusable and involves court fees plus legal costs. It is a costly fix for something a calendar reminder prevents.
Why Forms Get Rejected
A rejected filing does not stop the 21-day clock, so it pays to check every field against the instrument before submitting. The most frequent problems are:
- Company name or number that does not match the public register.
- A blank charge creation date.
- Persons entitled to the charge not identified.
- Yes/No boxes for floating charges, fixed charges, and negative pledges left blank.
- Missing property description where a fixed charge covers registrable property.
- Sending the original deed instead of a certified copy. The form instructions specifically warn against this.
- No authentication, meaning no signature by a person with an interest in the charge.
- Missing, short, or incorrectly made-out payment.
What You Receive After Registration
Once Companies House accepts the filing, the registrar allocates the charge a unique reference code, enters it on the company’s public record, and issues a certificate of registration to the person who delivered the form. The certificate shows the company’s registered name and number and the unique reference code for the charge, and is signed or sealed by the registrar.
Under Section 859I of the Companies Act 2006, that certificate is conclusive evidence that the required documents were delivered within the allowed period. Once issued, no one can argue that the registration was late, even if it was. Keep it on file. The registered charge is then publicly searchable on the Companies House website, so any prospective lender can see what security already exists over the company’s assets.