Company Names, Constitutions and Corporate Records — OCR Preparation Guide

OCR's company-administration materials and CAMIS notices govern the current submission process. Portal labels and required fields can change. Select the current CAMIS event and follow its document requirements, while retaining the authority and evidence supporting each submission.

Begin a company record with the legal name, registration number and registered office. Link each shareholder entry to the acquisition or transmission document, the number and class of shares and the relevant certificate. Reconcile the total shares and paid-up amounts with the accounts. A spreadsheet with shareholder names alone may omit restrictions, unpaid subscription balances or the evidence supporting a transfer.

For a director appointment, preserve consent, the decision made by the competent body, the effective date and the accepted OCR particulars. Give departing directors' access and signing powers a separate closing review. Updating the portal does not automatically change bank mandates or contracts signed under an earlier delegation. The same principle applies to a change in the registered office: the constitutional and corporate records, bank, tax office and licensing authorities may each require attention.

Keep personal identification in appropriately restricted company records. Provide it through the applicable filing or lawful disclosure process, observing statutory access rights and privacy requirements.

A written minute should identify the date, attendance, quorum, interests declared, documents considered, decision and authorised signatories. Distinguish a board decision from a shareholder decision; authority for an ordinary operating purchase may differ from constitutional or capital changes. Preserve signed records and their supporting papers in a retrievable register.

A scanned minute is not complete if signatures or attachments are missing. A later filing does not cure an invalid decision. Keep a change log showing when each register entry was amended and the evidence relied upon.

A private company proposes to change its name while expanding from retail into consulting. Treat name change and objective amendment as separate legal and filing questions. Compare the old and proposed constitutional clauses, pass the required resolutions, obtain the applicable OCR records, then update PAN, bank mandates, licences, invoices and contractual disclosures where required. Do not assume a new trade sign automatically changes the company's legal name or authorised objectives.

An investor may discover that a shareholder's name differs between the certificate, register and OCR record. Compare the acquisition evidence and approvals, establish the cause and follow the appropriate correction process before treating the discrepancy as resolved. A name spelling correction, succession following death and disputed ownership are different matters and may require different evidence. Record what remains disputed instead of issuing a clean ownership statement while the underlying entitlement is uncertain.

Reconcile the certificate, memorandum and articles, shareholder and director registers and OCR record. Store signed documents, filing acknowledgements and accepted changes together. Apply the relevant retention requirements; company, tax and employment records do not all share one destruction period. Use the current Companies Act and later applicable law for the event being recorded.