What is director disqualification in the UK?

A court order or formal undertaking under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 (CDDA) that prohibits a person from acting as a director of a UK company, or being involved in the promotion, formation, or management of a company, for a fixed period of two to fifteen years. A disqualified person cannot be a director, a shadow director, or a manager of a UK company without leave of the court. A breach is a criminal offence (CDDA section 13) and can carry personal liability for the company's debts incurred during the period of breach (section 15).

How long does director disqualification last?

From 2 to 15 years, depending on the section of the CDDA under which the order is made and the seriousness of the conduct. Section 6 (the most common ground, unfitness in an insolvent company) carries a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 15. The Insolvency Service publishes the precise duration of every order on its register. Once the disqualification period expires, the person can act as a director again without restriction.

Why would a director be disqualified?

The most common ground is section 6 of the CDDA: unfitness in an insolvent company. After an administration or liquidation, the office-holder reports to the Insolvency Service on the conduct of every director who was in office in the three years before insolvency. If the report indicates unfitness, the Insolvency Service can apply for disqualification. Typical findings of unfitness include trading while insolvent and increasing creditor losses, failure to keep proper accounting records, failure to pay HMRC liabilities, transactions at undervalue, preferences to connected creditors, and misuse of bounce-back loans or other COVID-era support.

What is a disqualification undertaking?

A voluntary, written commitment given by the director to the Secretary of State, accepted under section 1A of the CDDA, with the same legal effect as a court order. Used as a way of avoiding the cost and publicity of a court hearing: the director agrees the conduct described in the Insolvency Service's report and accepts a disqualification period that the Secretary of State considers appropriate. The undertaking appears on the public register exactly like a court order would.

Can a bankrupt person be a director?

No, not in the UK. Section 11 of the CDDA imposes an automatic disqualification from acting as a director on any individual who is an undischarged bankrupt, the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order or undertaking, or the subject of a debt relief restrictions order or undertaking. The ban runs for the duration of the bankruptcy (usually one year) plus any restrictions period. This is a separate ban to a CDDA disqualification and does not appear on the Insolvency Service disqualification register (a bankruptcy ban shows up on the Individual Insolvency Register instead).

Where can I check whether a director is disqualified?

The Insolvency Service publishes the Companies House register of disqualified directors at find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk (the Companies House public search), and the Disqualified Directors Register at gov.uk/government/publications/companies-house-register-of-disqualified-directors. Both list the person's name, the period of disqualification, and the section of the CDDA under which it was made. The register covers active disqualifications and is updated as orders are made or expire.

What can a disqualified person not do?

Act as a director, shadow director, manager, or person concerned in the formation, promotion, or management of any UK company, directly or indirectly, for the duration of the order. The ban also covers acting as an insolvency practitioner and (separately, under the Charities Act 2011) acting as a trustee of a charity. The person can be granted leave by the court to act despite the disqualification (under CDDA section 17) in limited circumstances, typically where the company's survival depends on their involvement.

What happens if a disqualified person acts as a director anyway?

Two consequences. Section 13 of the CDDA makes it a criminal offence punishable by up to two years' imprisonment and / or an unlimited fine. Section 15 makes the disqualified person (and anyone knowingly acting on their instructions) personally liable for the company's debts and liabilities incurred during the period of breach: the company's limited-liability protection falls away in respect of those debts.

Does a disqualification affect existing companies the person is a director of?

Yes. The order takes effect from the date specified in the court order or undertaking (often 21 days after the date of the order, to allow for orderly resignation). From that date, the person must resign from every directorship they hold. The director's resignations are filed at Companies House on form TM01. Failure to resign on time is itself a section 13 offence.

Where does the law come from?

The Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 (CDDA) is the primary statute. It is supplemented by the Insolvent Companies (Reports on Conduct of Directors) (England and Wales) Rules 2016, which set out what office-holders must report; the Insolvency Act 1986, sections 213 and 214 (fraudulent and wrongful trading); and the Companies Act 2006 (general directors' duties). Scotland uses the Insolvent Companies (Reports on Conduct of Directors) (Scotland) Rules 2016 for the equivalent reporting framework.

Administrator.uk

Director disqualification UK: grounds, length, and the public register

By the administrator.uk editorial teamLast reviewed 23 May 2026

A UK director can be disqualified, by court order or by formal undertaking, for between 2 and 15 years under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. The order bans them from acting as a director, shadow director, or manager of a UK company for the duration. Breach is a criminal offence and removes the protection of limited liability for company debts incurred during the period of breach.

Below is the framework, the nine grounds on which disqualification can be made, the durations associated with each, and where to check the public register.

In one minute

The statute is the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 (CDDA). Nine sections set out distinct grounds.
The duration is 2 to 15 years. Section 6 (unfitness in an insolvent company) is the most common in practice.
Most disqualifications are by voluntary undertaking under section 1A, not by court order. Same legal effect.
Bankruptcy creates an automatic ban under CDDA section 11 for the duration of the bankruptcy. A separate framework, not on the CDDA register.
The public register is searchable on gov.uk and on Companies House. Lists every active disqualification by name, section, and duration.
Breach is a crime (CDDA s.13) and a route to personal liability for the company's debts (CDDA s.15).

The legal framework

What disqualification is and where it sits

UK company law operates on the principle of limited liability: the company is a separate legal person and the directors are not personally liable for the company's debts. Director disqualification is the public-policy mechanism for excluding individuals who have abused that protection from holding directorships in future. It does not retrospectively remove limited liability from past trading; it prevents the person from being a director going forward.

A disqualification order or undertaking prohibits the person from:

being a director of a UK company, including as a shadow director (someone in accordance with whose directions the actual directors are accustomed to act);
being a manager of, or otherwise concerned in the formation, promotion, or management of, a UK company;
acting as an insolvency practitioner;
being a trustee of a charity (a separate ban under the Charities Act 2011 that follows from a CDDA order automatically).

The person can apply to the court for leave to act despite the disqualification (CDDA section 17). Leave is sparingly granted and usually conditional: it tends to be used where a small company's survival depends on the individual's specific knowledge or relationships and the court is satisfied that creditors will be protected.

The grounds

Nine routes to a CDDA disqualification

The CDDA lists nine distinct grounds for disqualification, in different sections. Each ground triggers a different procedure (criminal court, civil court, undertaking) and carries a different maximum (and sometimes minimum) period.

Section 2

Conviction of an indictable offence

Disqualification on conviction of an indictable offence connected with the promotion, formation, management, liquidation, or striking off of a company. The court considering the criminal matter imposes the ban as part of the sentence. Maximum disqualification period: 15 years (or 5 years in a magistrates' court).

Section 3

Persistent default in filing returns

Persistent breach of companies' filing obligations: three or more defaults in filing returns or accounts at Companies House over a five-year period. Disqualification by the court on the Secretary of State's application. Maximum period: 5 years.

Section 4

Fraud in winding-up

Disqualification on a finding by a liquidator's report that the director has been guilty of fraud during a winding-up, or of any breach of duty as an officer of the company. Maximum period: 15 years.

Section 5

Summary conviction on filing defaults

Disqualification for repeated breaches of the obligation to file returns or accounts (three or more in five years), on summary conviction. Maximum period: 5 years.

Section 5A

Competition disqualification

Disqualification where the director's company has committed a breach of UK or EU competition law and the court considers the director's conduct makes them unfit. Brought by the Competition and Markets Authority or a sector regulator. Maximum period: 15 years.

Section 6

Unfitness in an insolvent company

The most common ground in practice. Where the director's conduct as a director of a company that has become insolvent (in administration, liquidation, or receivership) makes them unfit to be concerned in the management of a company. Brought by the Insolvency Service on the Secretary of State's behalf, following the administrator's or liquidator's report on the director's conduct. Minimum disqualification: 2 years. Maximum: 15 years.

Section 8

Unfitness following investigation

Disqualification where the Secretary of State considers, on the basis of an investigation under the Companies Act 1985 or 2006 or the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, that disqualification is in the public interest. Maximum period: 15 years.

Section 9A

Unfitness in a company committing competition breach

A narrower variant of section 5A: disqualification where the company has broken competition law and the director either contributed to the breach, had reasonable grounds to suspect it, or ought to have known. Maximum period: 15 years.

Section 10

Participation in wrongful or fraudulent trading

Disqualification consequential on a court order under section 213 (fraudulent trading) or section 214 (wrongful trading) of the Insolvency Act 1986. The disqualification follows the substantive finding. Maximum period: 15 years.

In practice

How section 6 actually unfolds

Section 6 is the workhorse of UK director disqualification. It catches conduct that falls short of fraud but indicates unfitness, and it follows automatically after every UK corporate insolvency. The process runs along the following lines:

The company enters administration or liquidation. The office-holder (administrator or liquidator) takes office.
The office-holder reviews the director's conduct. The Insolvent Companies (Reports on Conduct of Directors) (England and Wales) Rules 2016 require a conduct report on every director who was in office in the three years before insolvency.
The report goes to the Insolvency Service. Within three months of the insolvency. The report identifies any conduct the office-holder thinks could be unfit, and any conduct the office-holder is sure was not unfit.
The Insolvency Service decides whether to pursue. Based on the report and any further investigation, the Insolvency Service can apply to the court for disqualification under section 6, propose a section 1A undertaking, or take no further action.
The director responds. A director facing proposed disqualification can give an undertaking under section 1A (avoiding court), defend the application in court, or apply for leave to act despite disqualification in respect of named companies.

Most directors who are pursued under section 6 give an undertaking rather than going to court. The undertaking process is faster, cheaper, and avoids a public hearing; the underlying period of disqualification ends up similar to what the court would have ordered.

The public register

How a creditor can check whether a director is disqualified

The Insolvency Service maintains the public register of disqualified directors. It is the authoritative source for checking whether a given individual is currently disqualified. Two ways to look:

The Disqualified Directors Register on gov.uk: a downloadable list of currently disqualified persons. Updated as orders and undertakings are made.
The Insolvency Service's search at gov.uk/insolvency-service and the Companies House search at find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk: search by name and date of birth; returns active disqualification details where they exist.

The register only shows active orders. Once the disqualification period expires, the entry comes off the register and the person can act as a director again without restriction. There is no "permanent record" on the public register beyond the duration of the order itself.

For a creditor evaluating a potential customer or supplier, the register is useful as a one-time look at the directors named on the counterparty's Companies House record. It is a binary signal: either someone is currently barred from being a director (and shouldn't be one of your counterparty's officers), or they are not.

Adjacent ban

Bankruptcy as an automatic disqualification

Section 11 of the CDDA imposes an automatic disqualification, separately to the section-by-section grounds above, on any individual who is:

an undischarged bankrupt;
subject to a bankruptcy restrictions order or undertaking (BRO / BRU);
subject to a debt relief restrictions order or undertaking (DRRO / DRRU);
subject to a moratorium under section 2A of the Insolvency Act 1986 (a moratorium debt relief order).

The ban runs automatically for the duration of the underlying insolvency status. Bankruptcy itself usually discharges after one year, so the standard section 11 ban also lasts a year; a restrictions order can extend that to 15 years. Section 11 disqualifications do not appear on the CDDA disqualification register (which only covers court orders and undertakings under sections 2 to 10); they appear on the Individual Insolvency Register at gov.uk instead.

Bankruptcy is a financial event, not a finding of misconduct. A person can become bankrupt as a result of medical bills, divorce, a partner's fraud, or a personal guarantee on a previous business that failed. The CDDA section 11 ban is a practical safeguard (a bankrupt cannot reliably stand behind a company), not a stigma.

Counterparty due diligence

Get alerts on the company, not just the directors.

A current disqualification is the binary check: either a director is barred today, or they are not. Most counterparty distress shows up elsewhere first. Late filings, a flurry of new charges, a director resignation, a Notice of Intention to Appoint Administrators. None of these on their own prove a company is in trouble, and most are routine. Together, in the wrong combination, they are often the only warning a supplier gets.

Confirmed is free: add up to five customers or suppliers, and you get an email the day one of them goes into administration. The earlier signals above come with Protect, which flags them well before it's official, across an unlimited number of companies.

Start free →Or see this week's UK administrations →

Frequently asked

Common questions about CDDA disqualification

What is director disqualification in the UK?: A court order or formal undertaking under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 (CDDA) that prohibits a person from acting as a director of a UK company, or being involved in the promotion, formation, or management of a company, for a fixed period of two to fifteen years. A disqualified person cannot be a director, a shadow director, or a manager of a UK company without leave of the court. A breach is a criminal offence (CDDA section 13) and can carry personal liability for the company's debts incurred during the period of breach (section 15).
How long does director disqualification last?: From 2 to 15 years, depending on the section of the CDDA under which the order is made and the seriousness of the conduct. Section 6 (the most common ground, unfitness in an insolvent company) carries a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 15. The Insolvency Service publishes the precise duration of every order on its register. Once the disqualification period expires, the person can act as a director again without restriction.
Why would a director be disqualified?: The most common ground is section 6 of the CDDA: unfitness in an insolvent company. After an administration or liquidation, the office-holder reports to the Insolvency Service on the conduct of every director who was in office in the three years before insolvency. If the report indicates unfitness, the Insolvency Service can apply for disqualification. Typical findings of unfitness include trading while insolvent and increasing creditor losses, failure to keep proper accounting records, failure to pay HMRC liabilities, transactions at undervalue, preferences to connected creditors, and misuse of bounce-back loans or other COVID-era support.
What is a disqualification undertaking?: A voluntary, written commitment given by the director to the Secretary of State, accepted under section 1A of the CDDA, with the same legal effect as a court order. Used as a way of avoiding the cost and publicity of a court hearing: the director agrees the conduct described in the Insolvency Service's report and accepts a disqualification period that the Secretary of State considers appropriate. The undertaking appears on the public register exactly like a court order would.
Can a bankrupt person be a director?: No, not in the UK. Section 11 of the CDDA imposes an automatic disqualification from acting as a director on any individual who is an undischarged bankrupt, the subject of a bankruptcy restrictions order or undertaking, or the subject of a debt relief restrictions order or undertaking. The ban runs for the duration of the bankruptcy (usually one year) plus any restrictions period. This is a separate ban to a CDDA disqualification and does not appear on the Insolvency Service disqualification register (a bankruptcy ban shows up on the Individual Insolvency Register instead).
Where can I check whether a director is disqualified?: The Insolvency Service publishes the Companies House register of disqualified directors at find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk (the Companies House public search), and the Disqualified Directors Register at gov.uk/government/publications/companies-house-register-of-disqualified-directors. Both list the person's name, the period of disqualification, and the section of the CDDA under which it was made. The register covers active disqualifications and is updated as orders are made or expire.
What can a disqualified person not do?: Act as a director, shadow director, manager, or person concerned in the formation, promotion, or management of any UK company, directly or indirectly, for the duration of the order. The ban also covers acting as an insolvency practitioner and (separately, under the Charities Act 2011) acting as a trustee of a charity. The person can be granted leave by the court to act despite the disqualification (under CDDA section 17) in limited circumstances, typically where the company's survival depends on their involvement.
What happens if a disqualified person acts as a director anyway?: Two consequences. Section 13 of the CDDA makes it a criminal offence punishable by up to two years' imprisonment and / or an unlimited fine. Section 15 makes the disqualified person (and anyone knowingly acting on their instructions) personally liable for the company's debts and liabilities incurred during the period of breach: the company's limited-liability protection falls away in respect of those debts.
Does a disqualification affect existing companies the person is a director of?: Yes. The order takes effect from the date specified in the court order or undertaking (often 21 days after the date of the order, to allow for orderly resignation). From that date, the person must resign from every directorship they hold. The director's resignations are filed at Companies House on form TM01. Failure to resign on time is itself a section 13 offence.
Where does the law come from?: The Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 (CDDA) is the primary statute. It is supplemented by the Insolvent Companies (Reports on Conduct of Directors) (England and Wales) Rules 2016, which set out what office-holders must report; the Insolvency Act 1986, sections 213 and 214 (fraudulent and wrongful trading); and the Companies Act 2006 (general directors' duties). Scotland uses the Insolvent Companies (Reports on Conduct of Directors) (Scotland) Rules 2016 for the equivalent reporting framework.