Expansion of the UK Trust Registration Service: implications for non-UK trusts

On 2 September 2025, the UK Government published draft “Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment and Miscellaneous Provision) Regulations 2025” (the Regulations), which included proposed amendments to the rules governing the UK’s Trust Registration Service (TRS). These changes aim to improve efficacy, enhance transparency, close loopholes and address emerging risks in relation to financial crime. The technical consultation on the draft Regulations closed on 30 September 2025, with final Regulations expected to be laid before Parliament in early 2026.

The TRS is a database maintained by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to record details of certain trusts, including its beneficial owners. The proposed reforms will broaden the scope of non-UK trusts required to register and will subject them to increased regulatory scrutiny.

Current registration requirements for non-UK trusts

Under the existing framework, non-UK trusts must register on the TRS and file information on a trust’s beneficial owners if the trust meets any of the following conditions:

• acquisition of UK land or property: the trust directly acquired UK land or property on or after 6 October 2020; or
• UK tax liability: the trustees are liable to UK tax on UK source income or UK assets; or
• UK business relationship: the trust has at least one UK-resident trustee and enters into a business relationship with a UK “relevant person” (for example, a contract for services with a solicitor, accountant, bank, estate agent or other person to whom the UK’s money laundering legislation applies), where the business relationship is anticipated to be ongoing.

There are a range of narrow exclusions that prevent a trust from needing to be registered on the TRS; albeit, in the vast majority of cases, the exclusion will only endure for so long as the trust does not incur UK tax. Trusts that are already registered on the beneficial ownership registers of another EEA state are also effectively excluded from registration on the TRS in some circumstances.

Information on the TRS is not publicly accessible; however, the public can apply to HMRC for certain information provided that the applicant can show a “legitimate interest” in the information which broadly requires the applicant to demonstrate that the information is needed in connection with an investigation into money laundering or terrorist financing. If a trust has a controlling interest in a “third country entity” (broadly, a non-UK entity which is not subject to national legislation equivalent to the EU’s rules on transparency of beneficial owners), an application for information on the trust’s beneficial owners (a third country entity request) does not need to pass this “legitimate interest” test. A “controlling interest” typically refers to the ability to exercise significant influence over the company’s affairs. Currently, non-UK trusts that do not have a UK trustee are effectively exempted from legitimate interest requests and third country entity requests.

For those trusts that are not exempted from such requests, information on beneficial owners is effectively protected from disclosure (under either a legitimate interest request or a third country entity request) if HMRC consider the information would expose the beneficial owner to a disproportionate risk of harm or if the beneficial owner is under 18 or lacks mental capacity.

Proposed changes affecting non-UK trusts

The draft Regulations propose the following key changes.

• Retrospective UK land or property ownership: non-UK trusts that acquired UK land or property before 6 October 2020 will be required to register on the TRS if they still hold the land or property when the new Regulations come into force, regardless of whether the trust has incurred UK tax or not.
• Legitimate interest requests: the data sharing rules outlined above, whereby information on the beneficial owners of a TRS registered trust can be requested if a legitimate interest is shown, will apply to all TRS registered non-UK trusts (including those where none of the trustees are UK resident). The protection rules outlined above will still apply, however, for those beneficial owners who HMRC consider to be at risk of harm, or who are under 18 or who lack mental capacity.
• Third country entity requests: these will apply to all TRS registered non-UK trusts (whether or not the trust has a UK trustee) and even if no legitimate interest is demonstrated.
• Removal of stamp duty reserve tax (SDRT) liability as a TRS trigger: incurring liability to SDRT will no longer be one of the UK taxes that causes a trust (UK or non-UK) to become registrable on the TRS in situations where this is the only UK tax incurred and there are no other registration triggering circumstances. This change will not apply retrospectively, however, so non-UK trusts that have acquired UK shares via an intermediary and incurred SDRT in a tax year prior to the Regulations coming into force will still have a TRS registration requirement.

Recommended actions for trustees of non-UK trusts

Trustees should consider taking the following proactive steps now to assess their exposure under the TRS regime once the Regulations come into force.

• Review UK land or property ownership: trustees should assess whether the trust will directly own UK land or property after the proposed Regulations are implemented which is likely to be in early 2026. If the land or property is disposed of before the implementation date, the holding of the land or property itself will not trigger TRS registration, but the disposal will if it results in a UK tax liability.
• Consider UK tax liabilities: trustees should consider UK tax exposure arising through nominee arrangements or corporate structures. Trusts holding UK assets via non-UK companies will be registrable if the UK tax liability “looks through” such entities to the trustees.
• Prepare for data requests: trustees should ensure all beneficial ownership records are accurate and up to date. Information subject to disclosure (if a legitimate interest or third country entity request is validly made) includes the name, nationality, month and year of birth and country of residence of beneficial owners.
• Apply for protective measures: trustees may apply for exemptions from disclosing certain trust information where there is a significant risk of harm, or where beneficiaries are minors or lack mental capacity. These exemptions are not granted automatically and must be actively maintained and renewed by the trustees.
• Monitor business relationships: UK-resident trustees of non-UK trusts should keep engagements with UK professionals under review as such a relationship can cause the trust to become registrable under the TRS.
• Register promptly: currently, trusts must generally be registered within 90 days of becoming registrable under the TRS. Once the Regulations are implemented, a non-UK trust that newly becomes registrable due to the trustees holding UK land or property on the implementation date, where that land or property was acquired prior to 6 October 2020, must be registered within six months of the implementation date.

Trustees of non-UK trusts must remain vigilant to the requirements of the TRS. The proposed Regulations broaden the scope of registration and introduce new transparency rules for a wider range of non-UK trusts. Failure to comply may result in penalties, reputational risk and increased scrutiny under the UK’s anti-money laundering regime.

For further information on how the TRS impacts a trust with which you are connected, please speak to your usual Wedlake Bell adviser or contact a member of our Private Client team.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or a comprehensive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should always be sought in relation to individual circumstances.

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