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In its previous communication of 7 April 2020, Companies House advised it was developing a new digital service allowing documents to be directly uploaded. Companies House is now pleased to confirm that users will be able to upload certain statutory insolvency documents using the ‘Upload a document to Companies House’ service from Friday 24 July 2020. The list of documents that can be initially uploaded via this service is provided in the attached Annex.
In developing this service, Companies House needed to find a way to ensure that the system was secure to ensure only those authorised to do so could submit insolvency filings. In this regards a list of licensed insolvency practitioners and their contact email address was obtained from the Insolvency Service. This email address will be used as the basis for both system security and access to the upload service.
To access the upload service, you will need to do the following:
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Firstly, insolvency practitioners that haven’t already got a Companies House Service (CHS) account will need to register for a CHS account. Practitioners can register for a CHS account here
- Practitioners must ensure that the username provided matches the email address provided to Companies House by the Insolvency Service otherwise they will not be able to use the uploading service to submit insolvency documents
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Once practitioners have registered and activated a CHS account, they will then be able to access the uploading service here
- Once signed into the service, providing the username matches the email Companies House has been provided with, then insolvency practitioners will be able to access the insolvency part of the system. Practitioners will then be able to choose the relevant insolvency type (for example, liquidation, company voluntary arrangement etc.) and then select the appropriate completed document for submission
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Further guidance is available here
- The system is only designed for the submission of PDFs. Therefore, to submit a document, practitioners will need to save it and convert it to a PDF
- The document will be given a digital timestamp of receipt at the time of submission
Insolvency practitioners will not be able to use the service if:
- Companies House has not been provided with an email address by the Insolvency Service
- Companies House has been provided with an email address by the Insolvency Service that is no longer in use
If either of the above scenarios apply, practitioners will need to contact the Insolvency Service to update their email address.
Furthermore, it is only possible at present for insolvency filings to be made by a licensed insolvency practitioner or the Official Receiver.
Companies House will include in future phases of the upload service, insolvency forms that can be authorised and submitted by other individuals who are not insolvency practitioners or the Official Receiver. In addition, the remaining insolvency forms that are not shown in the attached Annex will become available on the service for uploading in due course.
Whilst the upload system is being developed to cater for all insolvency forms, this service will run in parallel with the current email filing service. However, it is the intention of Companies House to decommission the email system as soon as is reasonably practical. The email system was only ever intended to be a short-term solution to overcome filing difficulties arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Companies House respectfully asks that insolvency practitioners do not submit the same documents in both the upload and email services. This results in duplication of work and contributes to processing delays.
Companies will issue further communications when the next batch of insolvency forms become available for upload on the service.
Companies House thanks you for your continued support.
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