Company charges
MR04 filing checklist
Form MR04 clears a repaid charge off the Companies House register, but it has to state clearly whether the charge is satisfied in full or only in part, and uses a different part of the form for charges created before 6 April 2013 than for later ones. This checklist covers what to have ready before you file, so the paperwork matches the actual facts of the repayment.
Before you start
Get the deed of release from the lender first
File MR04 once the lender has confirmed the charge is released, not before. If the debt is repaid but you haven't had that confirmation yet, use our deed of release request letter first. Filing MR04 without it risks stating the charge is satisfied when the lender's own records, or an all-monies clause tying the charge to other lending, might say otherwise.
The checklist
- Confirm the charge is genuinely fully repaid, with no residual balance, undrawn commitment fee, or all-monies clause still tying it to other live lending. Check the actual charge document, not just your recollection.
- Get written confirmation of release from the lender (a deed of release, or the lender's own confirmation letter). Companies can file MR04 without the lender initiating it, but you still need to be confident the charge is actually satisfied before you state that on a public filing.
- Find the charge's registration date and charge code from your Companies House filing history or the original registration confirmation, to make sure you're satisfying the correct charge if the company has more than one.
- Check when the charge was created: charges created before 6 April 2013 use a different part of the MR04 form to those created on or after that date. Get this wrong and the filing can be rejected or, worse, accepted incorrectly.
- Decide full or partial satisfaction, and be precise. A full satisfaction stated when only part of the debt was actually cleared creates confusion on the public record that's harder to correct after the fact than to get right first time.
- File online rather than on paper where possible. Companies House processes online filings faster.
- Keep a copy of the filed form and the lender's confirmation on the company's own file, in case a later transaction (a sale, a refinance, a due diligence exercise) needs proof the charge was properly cleared and when.
Where to file
Form MR04 is filed directly with Companies House: gov.uk, register a statement of satisfaction (MR04). There's no statutory deadline for filing it, unlike the 21-day window for registering the charge in the first place, but leaving a satisfied charge showing as outstanding on the public register can complicate a later transaction. Source: gov.uk, register a statement of satisfaction, and section 859L of the Companies Act 2006.
If it's disputed
This checklist covers the straightforward case: a genuinely repaid debt with no dispute about the facts. If the original lender disputes that the debt is actually repaid, or the charge is an all-monies debenture and there's disagreement about whether other lending is still secured by it, that's a legal question between the parties, not something a Companies House filing resolves on its own.
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Adam Parker
Founder of Muswell Rose Consulting Ltd, which trades as Established Finance · former Managing Director of Penny, an invoice finance business, working in mortgages, commercial finance and fintech lending since 2010 (career history).
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Practical questions
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