Updates to the Trust Registration Service (TRS) and the Register of Overseas Entities (ROE)

TRS and ROE: Transparency reforms

The UK continues to refine its transparency and anti-money laundering framework, with significant developments affecting both the Trust Registration Service (TRS) and the Register of Overseas Entities (ROE).

The TRS changes are laid out in the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2026, with an explanatory memorandum. They will come into force from 30 June 2026.  

The proposed ROE changes are contained within draft regulations. The Register of Overseas Entities (Protection and Trusts) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Application of Company Law) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 were brought before Parliament on 1 June 2026 (replacing earlier draft regulations), with an explanatory memorandum.

This article discusses some of the headline changes for both regimes.

The Trust Registration Service (TRS): The headline changes

The TRS is a register of information about trusts and their beneficial owners kept by HMRC, and accessible in certain circumstances by third parties.

Non-UK trusts: New trigger of holding UK land

Perhaps the most significant change for international trusts is the extension of the TRS to legacy property-owning structures.

To date, non-UK trusts with no UK trustees have generally only needed to register if either:

• they have become taxable trusts (more on these below); or
• they have acquired an interest in UK land at trust level since 6 October 2020.

Under the new rules, all non-UK express trusts holding an interest in UK land at trust level will need to register.

The legislation also confirms that details of these trusts will be subject to the existing third-party access provisions.

The deadline for most impacted trusts will be 1 September 2027. This is more generous than previous drafts of the regulations which had suggested a registration deadline of six months following enactment.

UK express trusts: New de minimis exemption

The regulations also introduce a new de minimis exemption for low-value, low-risk trusts that would otherwise be required to register. To qualify for this exception, a trust must:

1. not be liable for any relevant UK taxes (more on this below);
2. not hold any interest in UK land;
3. not hold appreciable non-financial assets, such as art, antiques, collectibles or jewellery, with a total value exceeding £2,000;
4. not have held property with a cumulative value of more than £10,000 since creation; and
5. not have annual income exceeding £5,000.

This exemption was originally going to apply for new trusts only but will now be retrospective, meaning that some trusts already on the TRS will be able to de-register.

A key limitation is that any given settlor can only establish one UK express trust which benefits from this ‘de minimis’ exemption during their lifetime though the same settlor may also have established  trusts which are exempt for other reasons.

Taxable Trusts: SDRT removed as a registration trigger

Both UK and non-UK trusts have to register under the TRS if they become liable to pay any of the following UK taxes in relation to either UK assets or UK source income:

• income tax;
• capital gains tax;
• inheritance tax;
• stamp duty land tax (or the Scottish or Welsh equivalents, being land and buildings transaction tax and land transaction tax respectively).

This list previously included Stamp Duty Reserve Tax (a tax on the purchase of shares in the UK) as well, which was something of a trap for trustees who might pay it without even realising they had done so. In a welcome simplifying measure, the payment of SDRT no longer triggers a registration requirement as a taxable trust.

ROE: The headline changes

The ROE is a register of foreign companies and legal entities (and their beneficial owners) which acquire, own or dispose of UK property and is kept by Companies House.

Easier access to trust information held on the ROE generally

Although the ROE is not a trust register per se, it can require the disclosure of trust information where trustees are the beneficial owners of an overseas entity which holds a UK property interest. Click here for a reminder of the information which must be disclosed in these circumstances.

At present, an applicant seeking access to such trust information from the ROE must identify both:

• the overseas entity which is registered; and
• the name of the trust which owns that entity.

This creates a significant practical barrier to obtaining trust-related information because trust names are generally not publicly available.

The draft regulations remove the need to identify the trust. Instead, applicants would be able to make a request using the overseas entity’s name and identification number alone (both of which can be found via Companies House).

This is potentially one of the most important ROE developments since the register was introduced. The practical effect is likely to be a substantial increase in applications for disclosure of trust information and an increased risk of potential “phishing exercises”.

New approach to disclosing trust information where minors are involved

Currently, where an application for information is made in connection with a trust and some of that information relates to a minor, Companies House generally refuses disclosure entirely unless a legitimate interest can be shown.

Under the new regime:

• information relating to the minor would still be held back unless a legitimate interest can be shown; however
• Companies House would be permitted to disclose the remaining trust information (i.e. information not concerning the minor) without the need to ascertain a legitimate interest.

Relaxation of protection application requirements

Protection applications allow certain personal information of a “relevant individual” to be withheld from public disclosure where there is a risk of harm.

There are three grounds for making such protection applications:

1. That making information publicly available creates a serious risk of violence or intimidation for the relevant individual or anyone living with them;
2. That the relevant individual uses a property on the register as their usual residential address; or
3. That the relevant individual is a minor or lacks capacity.

Currently evidence needs to be submitted to support an application regardless of which ground is used. Under the draft regulations, no evidence of actual occupation would be needed to rely on the second (i.e. when applying for a home address to be removed).

Key takeaways

The direction of travel remains clear: the government continues to favour greater transparency of trust and beneficial ownership information. However, the government has also recognised the need to protect privacy in particular circumstances and that is welcome.

For trustees and advisers, the immediate priorities are likely to be:

1. Reviewing whether any non-UK trusts which acquired UK land before 6 October 2020 will need to register on the TRS by 1 September 2027.
2. Identifying existing registrations that may benefit from the new retrospective de minimis exemption.
3. Considering the implications of broader public access to trust information held on the ROE.
4. Assessing whether any changes need to be made to protection arrangements under the ROE.