FORMATION ROUTE & PACKAGE SELECTION

Choose Your Formation Structure, Jurisdiction and Level of Support

The appropriate formation solution starts with the organisation you intend to establish, its commercial purpose, ownership, participants and UK registration jurisdiction. Only then should you decide whether a standard private-company package, a specialist formation route or a different level of professional support is appropriate.

Where director identity verification applies, it is a separate Companies House requirement that may connect with the formation journey. You can use the free official verification route or consider optional support through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP).

Before selecting a formation package, establish which of these situations best describes what you are trying to create.

If you are unsure which legal form fits the organisation you are establishing, determine the structure before treating one of the four standard private-company packages as the default answer.

Three Separate Coddan Capabilities

Coddan's formation, identity-verification and regulatory-supervision positions should be understood as separate functions rather than as one form of government approval.

These capacities remain distinct. Coddan is not Companies House, does not have registrar authority and does not have privileged access that guarantees acceptance of a formation or identity-verification outcome.

Formation, Verification and Incorporation Are Separate Stages

A formation package can connect these stages operationally without making them legally or procedurally identical.

Coddan does not create or issue the Companies House Personal Code and cannot guarantee the incorporation decision.

For an eligible private company, formation normally involves deciding the proposed name, jurisdiction, registered office, directors, shareholders, share structure, persons with significant control (PSCs), constitutional documents and the applicable filing information.

For a new incorporation, each proposed director must have verified their identity and provide their Personal Code as part of the incorporation filing. A proposed PSC has a separate role-related requirement and must provide their Personal Code within the period that applies to their circumstances. Verification, director-role use, PSC-role use and incorporation therefore remain separate stages even when one person holds more than one role.

Director and PSC at the same time

A person who is both a director and a PSC ordinarily verifies their identity as one individual, but separate role-related requirements can remain. Do not treat one verification outcome as automatically completing every corporate event.

Free route remains available

Eligible individuals can use the official GOV.UK One Login identity-verification route. Support available does not mean support is required.

You do not need to predict every future corporate event, but enough should be known to select the appropriate formation route. Work through the following decision points before choosing a package.

Your Registered Office Must Match the Registration Jurisdiction

England and Wales form one company-registration jurisdiction. A company registered in England and Wales requires a registered office in England or Wales; a Scottish company requires a Scottish registered office; and a Northern Irish company requires a Northern Irish registered office.

A registered office is not the same as a director's service address, PSC service address, residential address, trading address or, where relevant, a Single Alternative Inspection Location. Coddan address availability is subject to the relevant service, legal form, due-diligence and compliance requirements.

You do not have to purchase a Coddan address service simply because you are forming a company. If you do need one, the appropriate service depends on the company's jurisdiction and the purpose of the address.

Potentially separate services include a registered office, director service address, PSC service address and wider business or correspondence address arrangements. Availability, annual charges and renewal arrangements should be checked against the current service terms before ordering.

If you have already completed the applicable identity verification and received your 11-character Companies House Personal Code, you do not ordinarily need to verify again simply because you are forming another company. Companies House states that the same Personal Code is used each time verification needs to be confirmed.

The Personal Code belongs to you as an individual, not to the company. Companies House issues it; Coddan does not create or issue it.

How the Personal Code Fits the Formation Process

A Quick Comparison of the Four Formation Solutions

The four standard solutions below are the commercial package journey for eligible private companies limited by shares. They should be compared against your actual address, support, verification and continuing-service requirements rather than treated as interchangeable legal structures.

Package-selection principle: FastStart™ is positioned for straightforward formation where the customer already has a suitable registered office; ProStart™ adds professional address and essential support; CorpSolutions™ extends into broader continuing support; and IntlSolutions™ addresses the additional considerations associated with international founders. The package cards and ordering controls below remain the operative commercial source for these four options.

STRAIGHTFORWARD FORMATION

FastStart™

£19.99 + VAT professional fee

Plus the current £100 Companies House incorporation fee.

For founders who already have a suitable UK registered office address and want straightforward company formation without adding broader address or ongoing compliance support.

Includes UK private company incorporation, Companies House registration, standard formation documents, director and shareholder registration, PSC registration where applicable, digital document delivery and guidance on applicable identity-verification requirements.

Address: You provide a suitable UK registered office address.

FORMATION + ESSENTIAL SUPPORT

ProStart™

£49.99 + VAT professional fee

Plus the current £100 Companies House incorporation fee.

For founders who want company formation together with professional address arrangements and essential Companies House support from the beginning.

Includes everything in FastStart™, together with a Registered Office Address, Director Service Address, PSC Service Address where appropriate, identity-verification guidance, Personal Code guidance and initial Companies House compliance support.

Key difference: Professional address arrangements and essential compliance support are built into the formation solution.

FORMATION + ONGOING SUPPORT

CorpSolutions™

£99.99 + VAT professional fee

Plus the current £100 Companies House incorporation fee.

For business owners who want professional support beyond incorporation and prefer to establish their company with ongoing Companies House and post-incorporation support.

Includes everything in ProStart™, together with broader Companies House compliance guidance, support with company changes and statutory amendments, Confirmation Statement guidance and practical post-incorporation company secretarial assistance.

Key difference: The formation relationship can continue into ongoing Companies House and post-incorporation support.

INTERNATIONAL FOUNDERS

IntlSolutions™

£149.99 + VAT professional fee

Plus the current £100 Companies House incorporation fee.

For non-UK residents, overseas directors and international entrepreneurs establishing a UK company and requiring additional international formation and verification guidance.

Includes everything in CorpSolutions™, together with international company formation guidance, overseas identity-verification route guidance, consideration of the route appropriate to internationally issued identity evidence, Personal Code guidance and ongoing support relevant to international founders.

Key difference: The package is structured around the additional considerations that can arise when forming a UK company from overseas.

Important: the four packages are not substitutes for specialist formation structures. If the proposed organisation is a CLG, LLP, limited partnership, PLC, unlimited company, overseas establishment or another specialist structure, use the appropriate specialist route instead of assuming that one of these four private-company packages applies.

Living outside the UK does not by itself create a different Companies House identity-verification standard. An overseas founder may nevertheless need to consider the available verification route, identity evidence, address arrangements, document compatibility, communication and ownership structure.

International circumstances therefore inform package selection, but they do not automatically mean that Coddan support, a UK-resident director, a UK bank account or a paid verification route is required.

Once the appropriate service has been selected, the practical implementation depends on the purchased scope and the Participant's circumstances. The process should not be confused with a guarantee that Companies House will accept the proposed name, filing or incorporation application.

If additional information is required

Questions or missing information can be addressed before the application progresses. The appropriate response depends on the issue; an incomplete or unsuccessful verification does not automatically mean that another attempt, an ACSP or paid support is required.

The relevant question is not whether every Participant needs every Coddan service. It is whether the selected service solves the particular formation, address, verification or continuing-administration requirement that has actually been identified.

Verification responsibility: on a Coddan-supported ACSP route, the technology performs the applicable checks; Coddan reviews the resulting information; Coddan determines whether it is satisfied that the Companies House identity-verification standard has been met; and, following a successful outcome, Coddan performs its applicable notification responsibility. Coddan does not replace the technology’s applicable identity and document checks.

The four standard packages are principally a private-company limited-by-shares journey. A different legal form or materially specialist commercial arrangement should be routed to the appropriate destination rather than forced into the standard package model.

Business purpose also matters. A family business, joint venture, holding business, group company, intellectual-property business or royalty business is not itself a separate Companies House legal form.

Other Legal Forms and Specialist Destinations

Coddan publishes formation routes for other structures, including companies limited by guarantee, suitable non-profit structures, LLPs, limited partnerships, unlimited companies, public companies where supported and UK establishments of overseas entities.

Ordinary Formation Documents

Depending on the selected formation service, ordinary implementation may involve documents such as a certificate of incorporation, memorandum and articles, statutory registers and share certificates.

First-board records, company seals or stamps, certified or printed documents and documents prepared for overseas use are separate matters and should not be assumed to be compulsory or included in every package.

Incorporation creates the company but does not complete every future corporate responsibility. Later professional jobs may arise as the company changes, files information or encounters a Companies House reconciliation issue.

These later services are separate jobs. A newly incorporated company does not automatically need continuing support, but an appropriate service can be selected if a genuine later requirement arises.

Restoration and Outstanding-Filing Interface

If an existing company or LLP has already been dissolved, struck off or has outstanding filing problems, this is not a new-company formation job. The relevant professional route may instead involve restoration, outstanding accounts or Confirmation Statements, correction of company information, current directors or PSCs, Personal Code or role linkage and restoration-specific requirements.

Identity verification itself does not restore an entity. Where restoration is required, use the appropriate restoration service and consider the corporate records and verification position as separate matters.

When Specialist Advice or a Different Destination Is Required

A specialist destination or external professional advice may be appropriate for bespoke articles, shareholders' or joint-venture agreements, tax structuring, IP transfers or licensing, royalty arrangements, complex group reorganisations, regulated activities, overseas legal or tax consequences, charities, specialist partnerships, public companies or disputed legal or ownership matters.

The objective is appropriate routing, not unnecessary escalation. An ordinary formation should remain an ordinary formation where that is the professional job.

Select the Outcome That Actually Fits

If the appropriate conclusion is that no additional Coddan support is required, Nothing Further Required can be the correct outcome. The absence of a purchase is not itself a compliance failure.