Change of Directors: Notice Filing Deadlines

TL;DR: Director appointment and resignation notices must be filed within tight deadlines — 14 days in the UK, even shorter in some countries. The Filing Deadlines tool tracks these event-triggered obligations alongside your annual calendar.

The Problem

Most compliance calendars focus on annual obligations — the filings that happen on a predictable schedule each year. But some compliance obligations are event-triggered: they arise when a specific event happens, and the deadline runs from the date of the event, not from a fixed calendar date. Director changes are one of the most common event-triggered compliance obligations — and one of the most frequently missed.

When a director is appointed or resigns (or dies, or is removed, or changes their personal details), notice must be filed with the corporate registry within a specified period. This period varies by country but is almost always short — between 7 and 28 days. Missing this deadline is a compliance breach that attracts penalties and can create complications: documents signed by a director whose appointment or resignation hasn't been notified may raise questions about their authority.

The event-triggered nature of director change notices means they're particularly easy to overlook. A founder who has an excellent annual compliance calendar may still miss a director change notice because it doesn't appear on the annual calendar — it only becomes relevant when the event occurs, and by then, the deadline is already running.

In multi-director companies or companies with outside investors who sit on the board, director changes can occur frequently — new investors take board seats, advisors rotate off, co-founders exit. Without a system for tracking these event-triggered obligations, compliance gaps accumulate.

How the Filing Deadlines Tool Solves It

The MmowW Scrib🐮 Filing Deadlines tool includes event-triggered compliance tracking alongside its annual calendar. You can log a director change event and the tool immediately generates the filing deadline for your jurisdiction, with a reminder.

How to use the tool for a director change:

1. Navigate to the "Events" section of the Filing Deadlines tool
2. Select "Director appointment" or "Director resignation"
3. Enter the date the appointment/resignation became effective (this is the event date from which the deadline runs)
4. Select your jurisdiction
5. The tool returns the filing deadline, the appropriate form or filing method, and a link to the official filing portal

What to include in a director change notice:

The tool also lists the information required for the filing — this varies by jurisdiction but typically includes: the director's full legal name, date of birth, service address, residential address (may be kept on a private register in some countries), nationality, and effective date of appointment or resignation.

Real-World Scenarios

Scenario 1: The UK Company Appointing an Investor Director

A UK Ltd company receives seed funding. As part of the investment agreement, the lead investor takes a seat on the board as a non-executive director. The appointment takes effect on the date of the investment completion — 14 March.

The Filing Deadlines tool shows: the AP01 form (Appointment of Director) must be filed at Companies House within 14 days of the appointment date — by 28 March. The form requires the director's full name, date of birth, nationality, service address, and residential address (which can be kept private using Companies House's registered address service).

The founder sets the action date as 20 March, giving 8 days before the deadline to complete and submit the form. The filing takes approximately 10 minutes online at Companies House.

Scenario 2: The Australian Company and the Director Resignation

An Australian Pty Ltd's co-founder resigns as a director effective 1 August. The company needs to notify ASIC. The Filing Deadlines tool shows: a Form 484 must be lodged with ASIC within 28 days of the change — by 29 August. Fee: AUD $0 for this change notification (ASIC does not charge for director change notifications for proprietary companies).

The tool also flags that if the resignation leaves the company with fewer directors than required (the company must have at least one director ordinarily resident in Australia), this is a critical compliance issue that must be resolved immediately, not just notified. The company needs to appoint a replacement director to remain compliant.

Scenario 3: The Multi-Country Director Change

A UK-Canadian dual-listed company (UK Ltd + Canadian federal corporation) appoints a new director to both boards simultaneously, effective the same date. The Filing Deadlines tool generates two separate deadlines:

UK: AP01 at Companies House — within 14 days.

Canada: Director appointment notice to Corporations Canada — within 15 days.

Both deadlines are similar, but the forms are different, the portals are different, and the required information differs slightly between jurisdictions. The tool generates separate action items for each, with the correct form, deadline, and portal link.

Country-by-Country Requirements

Try It Now — It's Free

Filing Deadlines is completely free — no signup required. Track both annual and event-triggered compliance obligations in one place.

Other MmowW Scrib🐮 free tools:

• Cost Calculator — Estimate company formation costs
• Name Checker — Verify company name availability rules
• Director Checker — Check director eligibility requirements
• Employment Checker — Verify employment contract requirements

Ready to prepare your documents? Start your Scrib🐮 pass — unlimited document preparation across 7 countries from $149/month.

MmowW Scrib🐮 is a document preparation service, not a law firm. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified attorney or solicitor for advice specific to your situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What happens if a director resigns without a replacement being appointed?

A: This depends on whether the resignation leaves the company below the minimum number of directors required by law. In the UK, a private company must have at least one director; in Australia, at least one Australian-resident director; in Canada, the required proportion of resident directors. If resignation would take the company below the minimum, the company is technically in breach of its constitutive requirements until a replacement is appointed. The resigning director should ideally not have their resignation take effect until a replacement is confirmed.

Q: Does a change in a director's residential address need to be notified?

A: Yes, in most jurisdictions. A director must notify the company of any change in their residential address, and the company must update its register and (in many cases) notify the corporate registry within the specified period. In the UK, a director's change of address at Companies House is filed within 14 days of the director notifying the company. Other jurisdictions have similar requirements. This is an often-overlooked event-triggered obligation.

Q: What is a "service address" and does it need to be updated separately?

A: A service address is the official address at which a director can be served with legal documents and government correspondence — it appears on the public register. This can be different from the director's home address (in the UK, directors can keep their home address off the public register by using a service address). If a director changes their service address, this must be notified to the corporate registry separately from a change of residential address. The Filing Deadlines tool tracks both types of address change as distinct event-triggered obligations.

Loved for Safety. MmowW Scrib🐮 — Document preparation made simple across 7 countries.

Loved for Safety.