The Ultimate Guide To Registering Your Company in the UK

05 Mar The Ultimate Guide To Registering Your Company in the UK

“You have to work on the business first before it works for you.”

― Idowu Koyenikan

As the founder of a company, registering your company is essential and a priority.

These days it is easy to register a company,  long gone are the days when you had to file paper forms, wait weeks for approval and pay a princely sum for the privilege. While

some people looking to start a company will ask their accountant or solicitor to handle the few online formalities, an increasing number of people are taking control of their company from the very start and registering it themselves.

In this post, we will be guiding you from the beginning until you have successfully registered your company.

Deciding if you need a limited company

A private limited company has various advantages like holding most of the legal rights of an individual and offering substantial protection to shareholders from the liabilities of the business.  You will also need to maintain company records,  file accounts and other documents with HMRC or Companies House.

Register Your Company

You could also be a sole trader or a business partner.

Company Name

If you are setting up a private limited company, then the first thing you need to do is to decide a good company name.

There are a number of rules that govern choosing a company name when you register a new company, the most important one is that it should be different from any company that already exists and the company name should not be offensive. A new limited company must get approval from Companies House of any name that’s proposed.

Other details to register the company

Apart from the Company name, you will need the following:

• Registered office

This is your registered office address that comes up in the records of Company House.  You need to provide the full address including postcode.

• Share particulars

A limited company must have at least one share in issue at the time of incorporation.  You will need to provide the nominal value of each share class and the prescribed particulars applying.

• Directors

Your company must have at least one director who is an individual aged 16 or over.  For each individual director you will need to provide:

1. Full forename(s)
2. Surname
3. Previous name(s)
4. Full-service address including town, county, and postcode
5. Usual residential address
6. Country of residence
7. Date of birth
8. Nationality
9. Business occupation
10. The number of shares
11. Confirmation that the individual has consented to act as a director of the company.

For each corporate director you will need to provide:

1. Corporate name and company registration number
2. Registered/principal office address
3. Whether or not the director is an EEA company
4. The name of the authorized signatory
5. The number of shares (if any)
6. Confirmation that the corporate body has consented to act as a director of the company.

• Shareholders

If the shareholder is also a director or secretary, you will have provided the details needed already.

• PSC control reason(s)

Confirmation that they have confirmed they are a PSC (if they are an individual)

If they are an individual, but not a director or shareholder, you will also need to provide:

1. Full forename(s)
2. Surname
3. Full-service address
4. Usual residential address
5. Country of residence
6. Date of birth
7. Nationality

Prepare Memorandum and Articles of Association

The memorandum and articles of association collectively make up the constitution of the company.

When you register your company you need a ‘memorandum of association’ which is a legal statement signed by all initial shareholders agreeing to form the company and you will also need the ‘articles of association’  which are written rules about running the company agreed by the shareholders, directors and the company secretary.

The memorandum of association must be filed with Companies House as part of registering a company. This can also be done electronically rather than sending paper copies and a system like Inform Direct will create, fill in and send these documents automatically.

Registering your company

You are now ready to register your company. Here are three ways in which you can do so:

1. Online Filing:  You can only register online if your company is limited by shares and uses standard articles of association (‘model articles’). It costs £12 and can be paid by debit or credit card or Paypal account. Your company is usually registered within 24 hours.
2. By Post: You can register by post using form IN01. Postal applications take 8 to 10 days and cost £40 (paid by cheque made out to ‘Companies House’).
3. Using an agent or using third-party software

Approval for Company Registration

You can operate the business as a limited company only after you receive approval from Companies House, who will undertake some checks of the information you’ve submitted. If you file online, the approval of your new company is quick. If you register a new company using paper forms, the process of approval will take longer.