How director disqualification works in the UK

In Great Britain a director can be banned for up to 15 years, either by a court order or by a voluntary undertaking given to the Insolvency Service.

The government says directors can be disqualified for unfit conduct, such as letting a company trade when it cannot pay its debts, not keeping proper accounting records, not filing accounts or tax, or using company money for personal benefit.¹
The Insolvency Service may investigate when a company is in insolvency proceedings or a complaint is made. Companies House, the Competition and Markets Authority, the courts and insolvency practitioners can also apply for disqualification.¹
Before starting proceedings the Insolvency Service must set out in writing what it thinks the director did. The director can defend court action or give a disqualification undertaking, which ends the court case.¹
A disqualification can last up to 15 years.¹
A disqualified person cannot act as a director of a UK company, or an overseas company with UK connections, or be involved in forming, marketing or running a company without the court's permission. Breaking a ban can lead to a fine or up to 2 years in prison.¹
The Companies House register records the type of disqualification, the law used, the start and end dates and the companies concerned. For example it records an 8 year undertaking by Richard Howson under section 7 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 for conduct at Carillion PLC.²

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