Record & Protocol: templates and forms

For the owner or council taxpayer of a home in Scotland who thinks it is in the wrong council tax band: a signed statement of your evidence — why the band is wrong, and the addresses and bands of similar homes nearby — to send or upload with your proposal to the local Assessor, who sets bands in Scotland. The Scottish Assessors' free online proposal form is the route; this statement carries your comparisons. A proposal can be made only in limited cases, most often within six months of your becoming the taxpayer or of the Assessor altering the band. The band can go up as well as down.

For a driver in Northern Ireland after a collision: one place to write down the other driver’s name, address, vehicle and insurer, the time and place, what happened, the damage and the witnesses, while the details are fresh. Each driver keeps their own record and sends it with the insurance claim. It is not an admission of fault, and it does not replace the report to the police that Article 175 of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 requires if anyone else is hurt or you did not give your details at the scene.

For landlords, letting agents and tenants in Northern Ireland at the start of a private tenancy. It records the condition of each room, the furniture and appliances, the meter readings, the keys and the smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms, refers to dated photos, and gives the tenant seven days to add comments. Both sign it. No law requires an inventory, but the free dispute services of TDS Northern Ireland and myDeposits Northern Ireland rely on one when a landlord proposes deductions from the deposit.

For a ratepayer in Northern Ireland who thinks the capital value of their home — the figure domestic rates are worked out on — is too high. A signed statement of your evidence: why the value is wrong, and the addresses and capital values of similar homes nearby, to go with a free review request to Land & Property Services through nidirect. Values rest on what the home would have sold for on 1 January 2005, up to a maximum of £400,000, and a review can raise the value as well as lower it. Keep paying your rates meanwhile.

For the end of a private tenancy in Northern Ireland. It records the day the keys were returned, the final meter readings, the condition of each room compared with the check-in report and anything the tenant does not accept. Signed by both — or, if the landlord or agent does not attend, completed by the tenant alone with dated photos and sent the same day by email and by recorded delivery. It is the evidence the free dispute service of TDS Northern Ireland or myDeposits Northern Ireland weighs.

For the directors and shareholders of a private limited company in the UK deciding without a meeting: changing the articles or the name, approving a director's long service contract, or any other members' decision. The directors circulate the resolution as ordinary (more than half of the voting rights) or special (at least 75%), and each member signs to agree. It lapses after 28 days unless the articles say otherwise. A special resolution goes to Companies House within 15 days. It cannot be used to remove a director or an auditor.

For the directors of a private limited company in the UK who are moving its registered office. The written resolution, signed by every director, records the new address, confirms that it is an appropriate address in the part of the UK where the company is registered, and names the director who will file the change. The change takes effect when Companies House registers it; form AD01 is filed online, without a fee, by the company itself. This is the decision for the company's records, not the filing.

For a homeowner, tenant or landlord asked to confirm in writing that a person — a partner, grown-up child, relative or lodger — lives at the address, often for a bank account, a phone contract, a school or a GP registration. The UK has no residence certificate, so organisations ask for bills or statements, and some accept a letter like this; ask them first what they accept. The letter states since when the person has lived there and gives your contact details.

For the directors of a private limited company in the UK recording a board meeting: who attended, the quorum, declarations of interest, and each decision taken, such as a bank mandate, a contract, an interim dividend or new premises. Every company must keep minutes of its directors' meetings for at least ten years (section 248 of the Companies Act 2006), and the chair signs them as a correct record. Nothing here is filed with Companies House.

For a debtor who confirms in writing how much they owe a creditor, and for the creditor who asks for it — a private loan, unpaid rent, money owed between friends or businesses. Signed by the debtor, it is an acknowledgement under sections 29 and 30 of the Limitation Act 1980, so the six-year limitation period starts again from its date; a debt that is already statute-barred is not revived. An optional plan sets monthly instalments. The debtor signs; the creditor keeps the original.

For the board of a private limited company in the UK appointing a new director. The directors' written resolution records the appointment, the date it takes effect and who will notify Companies House, and the new director signs a consent to act. Since 18 November 2025 a new director must first verify their identity with Companies House and give the company their personal code; the company files the appointment on form AP01, online, within 14 days. The company keeps this record in its books.

For the directors of a solvent private limited company in the UK that has stopped trading and is to be closed. The written resolution records that the company meets the conditions of the Companies Act 2006 for voluntary strike-off, authorises the application on form DS01 (£13 online) and the copies that must go within seven days to its members, employees, creditors, any director who did not sign and pension trustees. A company that cannot pay its debts is closed through an insolvency practitioner instead.

For a parent or guardian changing the name of a child under 18 — after a divorce, a new family or at the child’s wish. Everyone with parental responsibility must agree, or the court must permit it; the deed says which, and a 16- or 17-year-old signs their own consent. It renounces the old name and adopts the new one, signed in front of two adult witnesses. GOV.UK explains the free route and the optional enrolment, which costs a fee.

For a council taxpayer in England or Wales who thinks their home is in the wrong band: a signed statement of your evidence — why the band is wrong, and the addresses and bands of similar homes nearby — to upload or send with your challenge through the Valuation Office's free service on GOV.UK. A formal challenge is open if you became the taxpayer, or the Valuation Office changed the band, in the last six months, or if a change has affected the home; otherwise you can ask for a review. The band can go up as well as down. Keep paying your bill meanwhile.

For anyone aged 16 or over who is changing their first name, surname or both — after marriage, divorce or simply by choice — and needs proof for their bank, employer, HM Passport Office or DVLA. An unenrolled deed poll you make yourself: it renounces the old name, adopts the new one and is signed in both names in front of two adult witnesses. GOV.UK explains the free route and the optional enrolment at the Royal Courts of Justice, which costs a fee.

For a driver in Great Britain after a collision: one place to write down the other driver's name, address, vehicle and insurer, the time and place, what happened, the damage and the witnesses, while the details are fresh. Each driver keeps their own record and sends it with the insurance claim. It is not an admission of fault. A driver who does not give their details at the scene must report the accident to the police as soon as possible and within 24 hours at most (section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988); this record does not replace that report.

For the end of a tenancy in England, Wales or Scotland (in Wales, an occupation contract). It records the day the keys were returned, the final meter readings, the condition of each room compared with the check-in report and anything the tenant does not accept. Signed by both — or, if the landlord or agent does not attend, completed by the tenant alone with dated photos and sent to them by email and first class post. It is the evidence the deposit scheme’s free dispute service looks at.

For landlords, letting agents and tenants in England, Wales or Scotland at the start of a tenancy — in Wales, an occupation contract. It records the condition of each room, the furniture and appliances, the meter readings, the keys and the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, refers to dated photos, and gives the tenant seven days to add comments. Both sign it. No law requires a landlord to make an inventory (in Scotland, a letting agent who manages the check-in must), but the deposit schemes’ free dispute services rely on one when a landlord proposes deductions at the end.