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Establish the charitable company you actually intend to operate — not simply a company that can be registered.
A charitable Company Limited by Guarantee is created at Companies House, but the incorporation application is only one part of establishing the organisation.
Its purposes, beneficiaries, activities, directors, members or guarantors, governance arrangements and constitutional documents need to belong to the same organisation. Where charitable status, particular funding arrangements, overseas involvement or unusual governance requirements are relevant, those circumstances may also affect how the company should be established.
Coddan's company-secretarial support brings those elements together around the formation of the CLG. We help turn the organisation you intend to establish into the corporate structure, constitution and formation arrangements required to create it — and provide a route into the corporate administration that follows incorporation.
The objective is not simply to obtain a certificate of incorporation. It is to establish a company capable of serving the organisation for which it was created.
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The first stage is to understand the organisation itself. You describe what you are trying to establish and Coddan uses that information to identify the appropriate formation considerations.
Before considering incorporation details, it is useful to establish what you are actually trying to create. You may be establishing a charity or an organisation with charitable purposes, a club, an association, a membership organisation, a community organisation or another organisation that requires a particular corporate structure.
Simply describe the organisation in ordinary language and explain what you are trying to establish. You do not need to decide the legal structure from technical terminology alone.
In England and Wales, a charitable company is formed as a private company limited by guarantee through Companies House. If its annual income is at least £5,000, it generally must also apply to the Charity Commission for registration; that charity-registration process is separate from incorporation. The company does not become a registered charity simply because it has charitable purposes.
Coddan can support the company-formation stage and, where separately instructed, help prepare or coordinate agreed material for a charity-registration application. The trustees remain responsible for the charity's purposes, public-benefit position, decisions and statutory responsibilities, and registration is decided by the Charity Commission. Recognition by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for applicable tax relief is a further, separate matter.
The starting point is the organisation's purpose, membership and governance rather than a pre-selected package. Coddan can provide a professional formation service for organisations that need the Company Limited by Guarantee route prepared and submitted within an agreed scope.
There is usually a practical reason why a Company Limited by Guarantee is being considered for an organisation. The reason may relate to the way the organisation is intended to operate, its membership, governance, purpose or the way responsibility is intended to be structured.
Explain what you expect the CLG structure to achieve for the organisation. You do not need to translate that objective into technical company-law terminology.
Coddan can support formations involving individuals, organisations, members and directors. Where Companies House identity-verification requirements apply, Coddan can also support the applicable verification process through its Authorised Corporate Service Provider role.
The organisation may involve several people or organisations, and the way they are expected to participate can differ. A CLG must have at least one guarantor, who is a member, and it must have at least one director. A company secretary is not generally mandatory for a private company unless the articles require one.
Simply tell us who will be involved and what each person or organisation is expected to do. Coddan can then translate those circumstances into the appropriate company roles and formation information.
Where a person meets the statutory conditions for being a person with significant control, the relevant Companies House information must also be considered. The control position should be assessed from the actual structure rather than assumed from the organisation's non-profit purpose.
A formation for a charity, club, association or other non-profit organisation may need particular consideration where the proposed purpose, objects or governance arrangements are unusual. Coddan can provide professional formation support without assuming that every organisation requires bespoke constitutional work.
Describe the activities the organisation is intended to undertake and what it is intended to achieve. You do not need to convert those activities into constitutional wording yourself.
The relationship between the organisation's intended activities and its constitutional framework can matter when determining the appropriate formation route.
From what you tell us, Coddan can consider whether the organisation can proceed through a straightforward CLG formation or whether its purpose means that particular objects, constitutional wording, permissions or a specialist formation route need to be considered.
Once the organisation, its purpose and the people involved are understood, the proposed name and constitutional requirements can be considered without requiring you to diagnose the technical route yourself.
Simply tell Coddan the company name you want to use. You do not need to determine whether the name is legally acceptable or identify every consequence that may arise from it. Coddan can consider whether the proposed name appears capable of proceeding normally or whether something about it requires further consideration.
A proposed company name is not automatically entitled to registration simply because it is the name you want to use. Certain wording can require additional consideration, approval, evidence or a different formation details.
This can include sensitive or restricted wording, charitable terminology such as "charity" or "charitable", or circumstances in which an exemption from using "Limited" is being sought. A CLG does not receive that exemption merely because it is non-profit; the statutory conditions and constitutional requirements must be met.
Where the constitution needs particular attention, customers can obtain professional guidance on articles of association for CLGs. Where custom objects or governance provisions are genuinely required, this can extend to drafting support within the agreed professional scope.
The organisation's purpose, activities, people and intended governance help determine whether a straightforward constitutional route is appropriate or whether particular constitutional treatment needs to be considered.
For a CLG, the formation documents include the memorandum and articles of association and the statement of guarantee. The statement of guarantee records the guarantors and the amount each has agreed to contribute if the company cannot meet its debts.
You do not need to decide which articles or clauses are legally required. Describe how you expect the organisation to operate and be governed; Coddan can identify the constitutional treatment that needs to be considered and prepare the agreed material for your review and approval.
A genuine bespoke requirement may call for additional formation or advisory work rather than a more expensive standard package. The purpose is to identify what actually needs to differ and avoid treating the word "bespoke" as a solution in itself.
If you say that the organisation needs "bespoke articles", the important question is what needs to be different and why.
"Bespoke" can describe different underlying requirements. You may mean particular objects, different governance arrangements, membership provisions, restrictions, permissions or another departure from a straightforward constitutional arrangement.
The next stage is to confirm the practical information needed for the formation, including the people involved, the proposed address and any privacy or identity-verification considerations.
Coddan is an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). Where the Companies House identity-verification requirements apply, Coddan can support the applicable verification and incorporation process through its authorised-agent route.
Once the organisation, its proposed name and constitutional requirements are understood, Coddan needs accurate information about the people and organisations involved in the formation.
You may already have the relevant details for the proposed directors, guarantors or members, company secretary if one will be appointed, and any organisation involved in the formation. Simply provide the information requested about those individuals or organisations as accurately as you can.
This information matters because the incorporation application, statement of guarantee and Companies House record need to reflect the company that is actually being established. Errors, omissions or inconsistencies can lead to the formation requiring correction or further attention.
You do not need to determine every technical filing requirement for each company role. Coddan uses the information you provide to identify the formation details that need to be prepared.
The aim is not to make you navigate the technical requirements yourself, but to give Coddan a sufficiently accurate picture of the people and organisations involved so that the formation can be prepared correctly.
Since 18 November 2025, Companies House identity-verification requirements have applied to new directors and people with significant control. Where the requirement applies, the relevant individual must complete identity verification and provide the Companies House personal code required for the relevant filing or registration step.
Where Coddan acts as an ACSP for identity verification, that service supports the Companies House process; it does not remove the individual's responsibility to provide accurate information and complete the required verification.
For organisations with more involved requirements, Coddan can provide a tailored professional formation and governance-support approach. This is particularly relevant where customers need specialist support for association and club incorporation rather than a purely self-service formation.
Most straightforward CLG formations can follow a straightforward route. Not every organisation, however, fits neatly into the same circumstances.
You may already know that something about your proposed formation is unusual, uncertain or different from a typical CLG. Perhaps there is a particular feature of the organisation, its proposed name, its people involved, its purpose or its intended arrangements that you are not sure how to deal with.
You do not need to identify the legal category or determine what special procedure applies. Tell us what is different about your circumstances and why it matters to you.
Coddan can then consider whether the formation can proceed normally or whether that particular circumstance needs additional attention before the company is incorporated.
This provides a professional route for circumstances that do not fit neatly into a standardised formation process without assuming that every unusual detail requires a complicated solution.
A registered office address is required as part of the company's formation, and the address must meet the applicable Companies House requirements. The right choice still depends on your circumstances.
You may already have premises you intend to use, or you may be considering whether your home or another address is suitable. Simply tell us the address arrangement you are proposing and, where relevant, how you expect to use it.
Coddan can consider the proposed arrangement in the context of the formation and explain whether it is suitable for the registered-office function.
There is no need to assume that choosing a particular address automatically means that you need to purchase an address service. If the arrangement you already have is suitable, it may simply be used.
Equally, if your circumstances mean that a different arrangement would be more appropriate, that can be considered before the formation is completed.
The important point at this stage is to establish what address arrangement you actually intend to use and whether it fits the company's formation requirements. The incorporation also requires the company's registered email address and a suitable SIC code identifying its intended activities.
For some people, the proposed address raises a straightforward practical concern: "I do not want my home address to appear publicly."
That is a legitimate consideration, but privacy preference and legal necessity are not the same thing.
If you are considering using your home address, Coddan can explain the relevant consequences so that you understand what information may become publicly available as part of the company's formation and ongoing record.
Where you prefer not to use your home address for a particular company function, a different lawful address arrangement may be available. The appropriate choice depends on what you are trying to achieve and the function the address needs to perform.
You therefore do not need to purchase an address service simply because you prefer greater privacy. Nor should a privacy concern be ignored where it is important to you.
The practical objective is to understand the privacy consequence of the address arrangement you are considering and, where necessary, identify an appropriate alternative before the formation is completed.
Coddan's ACSP status enables it to support applicable Companies House filing and identity-verification work within the agreed service scope. It does not transfer the company's or its officers' statutory responsibilities, and Companies House remains responsible for its statutory decisions.
By this point, the relevant circumstances have been established: what you are creating, why a CLG is being considered, who is involved, what the organisation intends to do, the proposed name, constitutional requirements, practical information, unusual circumstances and address/privacy arrangements.
You provide the facts and circumstances; Coddan determines the appropriate formation requirements and professional support.
The value of the formation service is the work carried out between your instructions and the Companies House application. You provide the facts about the organisation and the people involved; Coddan uses that information to prepare the agreed formation service, identify information that needs clarification and submit the incorporation application within the agreed formation scope.
Incorporation is the agreed work needed to establish the company. Later corporate administration is a separate category of work and should be instructed when a particular task arises. An existing Company Limited by Guarantee can also instruct Coddan for a specific secretarial or filing task even if Coddan did not carry out the original incorporation.
Overseas advisers, accountants, lawyers and other professional intermediaries can instruct Coddan for an agreed CLG formation or corporate-services project. The partner remains responsible for its client relationship and supplies the authority, information and approvals needed for Coddan to carry out the agreed work.
For professional-to-professional enquiries, Coddan can discuss an agreed project scope through its professional verification and project enquiry route.
Once the appropriate formation route has been identified, the next stage is to provide the information and instructions needed for Coddan to proceed with that route.
The online order form is a convenient way to provide the information and instructions needed to proceed. You are not expected to diagnose the legal formation details yourself.
For organisations that need more than the incorporation event, Coddan can continue with governance and administration support. This may include access to specialist legal and constitutional advice for guarantee companies where legal advice is separately required, alongside Coddan's own corporate formation and administration services.
Incorporation changes the organisation's position because the company now legally exists as the corporate entity that has been established through the formation process.
The organisation can now operate on the basis for which it was established, subject to the responsibilities and arrangements that genuinely apply to that company and the way it intends to operate.
What needs attention immediately after incorporation depends on the organisation you have established and how it intends to operate. Further corporate, governance, compliance, address, records, tax or other matters should be considered only where they genuinely arise from those circumstances.
The company will also have ongoing filing and record-keeping responsibilities. These can include maintaining company records, keeping Companies House information up to date, filing confirmation statements and accounts where required, and dealing with tax or other regulatory obligations arising from the company's activities.
The exact obligations depend on the CLG's circumstances. Incorporation itself does not transfer those responsibilities to Coddan or to any professional service provider.
This final stage is a practical check based on the organisation and circumstances established throughout the formation. It helps distinguish a completed incorporation from a company that still has a specific unresolved issue.
The question is whether the newly incorporated CLG is ready to operate and be governed appropriately on the basis established during formation, or whether something genuinely remains unresolved.
If the organisation is ready to operate on the basis established during formation, nothing further is presently required and the formation process is complete.
If something remains unresolved, you can describe the circumstance or outcome you are concerned about. You do not need to diagnose the legal or professional solution before the appropriate next destination can be identified.
A further Coddan service or professional destination should be considered only where the organisation's circumstances create a genuine requirement. The availability of additional support does not itself create a requirement to purchase it.
If nothing further is presently required, the appropriate destination is simply to proceed with the CLG you have established.
If you are ready to establish a Company Limited by Guarantee, these related services can help with wider formation support or with identity-verification requirements that may apply to the people involved.
Review Coddan's wider company formation-agent support for address services, company administration and other professional services that may be relevant to your CLG. Choose only the support your organisation actually needs.
Explore CLG formation support →If a proposed director or person with significant control needs support with Companies House identity verification, review the dedicated CLG identity-verification service before proceeding with formation.
View CLG identity verification support →
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