A change of directors is one of the most common filings a company makes after registration. It is also one of the easiest to file late, because the deadline is shorter than most founders expect.
The deadline, and what starts it
CAC expects the filing within 14 days of the change. The clock starts the moment someone becomes a director or stops being one, not the day you sit down to do the paperwork.
A change to an existing director's own details, such as a residential address, starts the same clock. CAC treats that as a change of particulars, not a new appointment, but the filing window is identical.
Put the date in a diary the day the change happens. A board that only notices the deadline weeks later has already missed it.
Founders sometimes wait for a "convenient" filing window, planning to bundle the director change with something else. CAC's clock does not pause for that. If another filing is close, file the director change on its own first, then handle the second one.
What the new director must provide
A new director's written consent to act must go in with the notice. CAC will not process an appointment without it.
Alongside that consent, expect to supply the usual registration details: full name, a means of identification, a residential address and a specimen signature.
Documents to change a company director covers what each side, incoming and outgoing, needs to have ready before you start.
Why the outgoing director's exit still needs filing
A name does not leave the register automatically once someone resigns, is removed, or dies. The company still has to notify CAC, inside the same deadline as an appointment.
Skipping this step leaves a former director's name on the public record long after they have gone. That causes its own problems at a bank or during due diligence.
The check that can stop your filing first
Up-to-date annual returns and PSC information before CAC will process this filing at all. This is a published rule, and it is not specific to directors.
If your company has an outstanding annual return, or significant-control information that has gone stale, expect the portal to stop you before payment. That happens regardless of how correct your change-of-directors paperwork is.
Why CAC rejects a change of directors filing walks through this block in more detail, including what to check first.
Filing on top of other recent changes
A change of directors often lands alongside other updates: a new shareholder, more share capital, or a new registered address. CAC annual return after changing directors or shares explains how those changes carry into your next annual return.
Keep one record of every change and its date. It saves you re-checking your company's history when the next filing depends on it.
You can start a CAC change of directors filing once you have the incoming director's consent and your company's other records are current. The CAC registration hub links the rest of this series.