Beneficial ownership registers: where they stand in 2026

United Kingdom: the PSC register

UK guidance says a person with significant control is usually anyone with more than 25% of shares or voting rights. It can be someone who can appoint or remove a majority of directors, or who can influence or control the company or a trust ³. Companies report their PSCs to Companies House ³.

Two changes took effect on 18 November 2025. Identity verification became mandatory for directors and PSCs, under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 ⁵. Existing PSCs must verify within 12 months of the requirement starting ⁵. On the same date, the chapter of the Companies Act 2006 that made companies keep their own PSC register was omitted in full ⁴. Companies House estimated that 6 to 7 million people would need to verify by mid-November 2026 ⁵.

Some people can apply to protect their PSC details from publication on the public register. Protection starts from the date of the application ³.

European Union: the 2022 ruling and the legitimate interest test

On 22 November 2022 the Court of Justice, sitting as the Grand Chamber, ruled in Joined Cases C-37/20 Luxembourg Business Registers and C-601/20 Sovim ¹. It held invalid the anti-money laundering directive provision that made beneficial ownership information open to any member of the general public in all cases ¹. The Court found the access was a serious interference with the rights to private life and data protection in Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights ¹. It accepted that fighting money laundering is a legitimate aim, but found the interference was not limited to what is strictly necessary ¹.

The EU answered with Directive (EU) 2024/1640 of 31 May 2024, which entered into force on 9 July 2024 ². Its recitals say legitimate interest should be presumed for certain groups. They name non-governmental organisations, academics and investigative journalists ². Recital 135 says the provisions on access based on legitimate interest should be transposed by member states by 10 July 2026 ².

United States: the Corporate Transparency Act after 2025

Under the Corporate Transparency Act, companies report beneficial ownership information to FinCEN ⁶. On 21 March 2025 FinCEN announced an interim final rule, published on 26 March 2025, that removed reporting for entities created in the United States and their beneficial owners ⁶. The term reporting company now covers only foreign entities registered to do business in a US state or tribal jurisdiction ⁶.

On 11 August 2026 the Treasury said FinCEN had made the change permanent ⁷. FinCEN says the final rule became effective on 14 August 2026 ⁶. Foreign reporting companies still report beneficial owners who are foreign individuals ⁷. FinCEN said it will delete information previously reported by US persons who are now exempt ⁷.

Status at a glance

What this means for a sourced profile

Ownership data is a record of what a company or person filed, at a date. Cite the register, the filing date and the access route. In the UK, check whether a PSC entry shows a verified identity under the 2025 rules ⁵. In the EU, expect access to depend on a legitimate interest request ². In the US, a domestic company will have no FinCEN report to find after the 2026 final rule ⁶.