AP01 Appointment of Director

The people who are in charge of managing a company, and making day-to-day decisions on how it should be run are called directors. Sometimes companies have special names for their directors, such as “wardens” or “governors” but this does not affect their legal obligations.

The minimum legal requirement is for a private limited company to have one director and for a public limited company to have two directors. The law also requires that each one of the directors is a natural person (i.e. is an individual as opposed to another company).

The directors are responsible for the actions of the company and may be liable for any offences which they cause the company to commit. They can authorise business transactions and enter into contracts on behalf of the company.

The method by which directors are chosen and appointed varies between companies, and the procedure will be set out in the company’s Articles of Association. Companies House keeps a record of each company’s directors, and whenever a new director is appointed it should be notified using this form.