A shareholder register or shareholder list contains information about all the shareholders in a company. All companies must have a shareholder register.
The shareholder register has information about who owns shares—also called stocks—in the company. This includes their names and how many shares they own. It can also include the amount they’ve paid for the shares.
The shareholder register is publicly available—although there can be a small fee to access the information—and shows who currently owns shares in the company now. It can also list previous shareholders in the company.
What does a shareholder register contain?
What you should include in a shareholder register depends on which country you’re operating in. Generally, a shareholder register should contain the following information:
- Shareholder details: When an individual or another company acquires shares of the company, you need to log their name or business name, along with their business number, and address. You also need to note the date that they bought shares in the company.
- Share classes: If you have different types of shares in your company, the share register should state which shareholders hold which types of shares.
- Number of shares: The share has to document the exact number of shares that are owned by each shareholder.
- Amount paid and unpaid: Transparency is important. The register should provide a breakdown of the amount paid for shares held by each shareholder, and the amount outstanding, if applicable.
- Changes to shareholder details: You have to update the shareholder register to reflect changes in your company. This includes share purchases, share buy-backs done by the company, and share transfers done between shareholders in the company. Some companies even include the details of all share transactions in the last ten years, but you only need to include the information that’s required in your country of operations.