Amended money laundering regulations changed the Trust Registration Service rules on 30 June 2026. Some non-UK trusts with UK links are now caught for the first time, while genuinely low-risk trusts get new easements. Because it cuts both ways, every trust needs re-checking against the current rules — advice given before June 2026 may now be wrong in either direction.
Two duties catch trustees out. First, registration itself: new trusts generally within 90 days, and trusts created by a Will are the ones most often forgotten because the family only thinks about probate. Second, keeping the register updated — a trustee dying, retiring or being appointed, a new beneficiary, a change of assets or address all require an update, generally within 90 days, and taxable trusts must confirm annually.
Registration is not a tax return: a trust with no income can still be registrable. Trustees are personally and jointly liable, and without a Unique Reference Number banks and conveyancers will stall property sales and account openings.
If you are a trustee, list every trust you act for — including declarations of trust and policy trusts — and check each one. Also ask whether a ten-year charge is due.