FORMATION ROUTE & PACKAGE SELECTION

Prepare the Formation Work Your Company Needs

For a new UK private limited company, Coddan helps you select suitable formation support, checks the required information and prepares the authorised incorporation application. Tell us the proposed company, registration jurisdiction, people involved and any verification already completed. Clear preparation and clarification keep the work organised; you do not need to diagnose a technical filing route.

Starting a UK limited company in 2026 just got much simpler. Coddan CPM Ltd’s sophisticated limited company formation service handles everything — including the mandatory Companies House Identity Verification (IDV) now required under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act for all directors and Persons with Significant Control. The best part? You don’t need a UK address, passport, or visa to get started. Foreign nationals can form and direct a UK company, provided they meet all compliance rules. With fast limited company formation and ID verification for UK and non-UK resident directors and PSCs built into one streamlined process, you can register your company entirely online for just £40 + VAT. Fast, fully compliant, and refreshingly straightforward — it’s company formation done properly.

Choose a suitable published formation package directly, or ask about particular requirements before ordering. Paid verification is separately instructed where needed; accepted verification or the free official route may mean no verification purchase. Coddan explains the selected scope and charges before you decide.

Describe the intended company and its purpose to Coddan. The situations below help us identify suitable formation work and any separately scoped specialist requirement.

If the legal form or required support is unclear, tell Coddan your plans. We help identify the appropriate supported formation service before you select a standard package.

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 are distinct capabilities: Coddan undertakes the selected preparation, review and submission work; Companies House makes its own incorporation and filing decisions. Registration and supervision are not government endorsement.

Formation, Verification and Incorporation Are Separate Stages

Use accepted verification where available. For proposed directors who still need verification, complete a suitable route and obtain the Personal Code before the incorporation application is submitted. PSC code provision follows its separate procedure.

Selecting a formation package is not submission of the incorporation. Customer information and instructions, any individual checks and Coddan’s preparation must be completed for the relevant stage.

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

One accepted identity verification normally serves the same individual across applicable roles and companies. Being both director and PSC does not automatically require two verification purchases. Provide the Personal Code separately through the applicable director and PSC procedures; verification alone does not complete those submissions.

Free route remains available

Eligible proposed directors can use the official GOV.UK One Login identity-verification route. Follow its method-specific evidence and access requirements. Compare the practical participation and support in the route comparison below; neither verification route automatically incorporates your company.

Tell Coddan what you know about the intended company and the points below. We explain the suitable supported formation route and what remains to be decided; you do not need to diagnose the legal structure or every possible complication before asking for help.

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.

Where included in your selected package, the registered office is provided for 12 months from incorporation. Relevant packages also include one individual’s director/PSC service address for 12 months. Each additional individual needing a service address costs £15 per year; ask Coddan to confirm the applicable tax treatment and total before ordering. One person holding both director and PSC roles does not automatically need two service-address purchases. Check the selected address location and renewal terms; wider business-address and correspondence services have their own scope.

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.

Use the comparison below to distinguish the individual’s verification code from the company’s filing credentials. Neither replaces the other, the company registration number or your GOV.UK One Login credentials. Keep confidential codes within the appropriate secure process.

Your Personal Code, Company Authentication Code and Formation

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.

Verification for several people or professional clients

Each verification purchase covers one individual director or PSC, not each appointment. For several individuals or professional clients, email info@coddan.co.uk before ordering with the organisation’s name and legal structure, number of distinct people still needing checks, relevant dates and coordination needs. Advisers should add their firm’s name and whether one or several client organisations are involved. Discounted quotations are available for multi-person orders and professional intermediaries. Coddan confirms suitable work and discounted charges before you decide; an enquiry creates no obligation.

Each individual supplies their own identity evidence and completes their own checks. Identify the instructing party and agreed progress contact; payment or coordination alone does not authorise access to another person’s evidence, Personal Code or account, or authority to file. Communication permissions and any company work are agreed separately. Do not attach identity documents or confidential codes. Where the main question is the identity-verification position rather than the formation package, use the director identity-verification route.

Your personal manager helps by email or telephone with instructions, required information, clarification, progress and order or verification status during the instructed work. This normal assistance is distinct from separately agreed priority, extended consultation and continuing company support. You provide accurate information and confirm the formation instructions; each individual personally completes any required identity checks. You can add further instructions through the online order form. Its free-text instructions are not a facility for submitting identity evidence, confidential codes or passwords; follow the appropriate secure process when instructed.

If additional information is required

Tell your manager whether the invitation arrived, the last step reached and any message, unclear photograph, name difference or device/camera/access difficulty. You do not need to diagnose the solution. If an invitation looks doubtful, check with Coddan through a known contact route before using it. We review the position and explain supported next steps; an interrupted check or missing code does not automatically require another purchase. Do not assume unlimited attempts or free repeat checks; any further work and charges need agreement.

Coddan carries out the professional work selected for your formation and any separately instructed verification. Preparation, suitable evidence, manager instructions and clarification help avoid unnecessary repeat work. A straightforward founder can choose straightforward support; living abroad alone does not require a higher-priced package.

KYC/AML customer due diligence: Coddan obtains and reviews relevant customer, identity, business-purpose and ownership/control information for the instructed relationship. A KYC checking charge does not by itself purchase Companies House identity verification or produce a Personal Code.

Companies House identity verification: The individual completes supported checks; Coddan reviews and clarifies the results and submits ACSP confirmation when satisfied. Companies House issues the Personal Code; separate role submissions may remain. Some evidence may overlap, but earlier KYC does not automatically establish Companies House verification, and a Personal Code does not complete all due diligence for a new instruction. Your manager explains what remains; evidence reuse is not automatic.

Identity evidence and confidential codes follow the appropriate secure process, not an ordinary initial enquiry. The required retained verification records are distinct from the verification statement Companies House displays on the public register after the verified identity is connected to its records. That statement is not publication of your identity-document images.

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.

For a straightforward limited company, choose suitable published formation work. If your intended structure or requirements fall outside that scope, describe them to Coddan so we can explain the appropriate supported next step.

Select the Outcome That Actually Fits

For pre-order help, email info@coddan.co.uk or call 020 7935 5171. Describe your intended company, role, verification/code position, difficulty, document type and issuing country, and any relevant date. An enquiry creates no obligation; do not attach identity evidence or confidential codes. If formation, verification and applicable role tasks are complete and no related work remains, no further purchase is needed for those completed tasks.