Why choose Coddan as your Company Limited by Guarantee formation agent?

A company limited by guarantee, also called a CLG or LBG, has members who give a guarantee rather than shareholders who hold shares. It can give a club, association, residents’ group or other organisation its own legal identity. Choosing the right people, governing rules and supporting arrangements matters as much as registering the name.

Coddan CPM Limited combines company-formation experience with HMRC supervision as a trust or company service provider and Companies House registration as an Authorised Corporate Service Provider. Our Companies House-integrated formation software lets you start online, while our team reviews the information and prepares the agreed application. We serve UK and overseas customers, with practical help before filing and continuing services available after registration.

You may already know exactly what you need and want a simple, affordable formation. Alternatively, you may need to discuss membership, charitable purposes, property interests or suitable articles before ordering. Both are welcome. Tell us what the organisation will do and we can explain the work, documents and service choices relevant to it.

Coddan’s formation-agent, TCSP and ACSP roles

When you choose a provider, it helps to know what its professional descriptions mean. Coddan has provided business-support and formation services since 2005. Our current regulatory roles add specific responsibilities to the work we undertake; each description has its own purpose.

For background, read the official guidance on Companies House authorised agents and trust or company service providers. Ask us if you would like information about Coddan’s registration and supervision before instructing us.

24/7 online access and Companies House-integrated formation software

Our formation portal is available 24/7, so UK and overseas customers can start an order without waiting for the office to open. You can provide the proposed company’s details online and arrange the people, addresses and documents needed for the application. Our formation software connects with Companies House for electronic submission of suitable applications.

The information still needs to be complete and approved. Coddan reviews the instructions, contacts you about points needing attention and prepares the agreed submission. Online access does not mean overnight human review or instant registration: our team works during service hours and Companies House controls its own processing and acceptance.

An easy starting point for a straightforward CLG

Compare the four formation packages already displayed on this page. Choose according to the formation work, documents, address services and continuing help you need. A straightforward organisation can use a low-cost starting package without purchasing wider annual support. Tell us before ordering if you need tailored articles or another service that the selected package does not include.

We also work with founders who live abroad. Explain where the directors and members are based, which identity documents they hold and whether the company’s documents will be used overseas. This helps us identify practical questions early. A UK company needs a suitable UK registered office; an overseas customer does not have to buy every available address or document service.

If you are unsure how to answer a question in the order, contact us rather than guessing. The guide to starting a guarantee company with Coddan explains the ordering and formation process in more detail.

What our team checks before your application is submitted

A formation order should describe the company you actually intend to establish. We consider the purpose and people alongside the application details. For an ordinary club, the questions may be straightforward. A residents’ company, charitable body or organisation with different membership classes may need closer discussion.

• Purpose and intended status: what the organisation will do, who it serves and whether charitable, community-interest or property-related requirements apply.
• Directors and members: who will manage the company, who will become its initial guarantors and what each role means.
• Name, address and jurisdiction: where the company will be registered, whether its name needs permission and whether its office and email arrangements are suitable.
• Guarantee and control: the amount members undertake to contribute and the people-with-significant-control information or statement required by the actual arrangements.
• Articles and objects: whether an appropriate standard constitution fits or particular provisions need preparation.
• Identity and approval: applicable verification requirements, required personal codes and the customer’s authority to approve the application.

Your decisions, prepared for filing

You decide the organisation’s purposes, appointments and membership arrangements and approve the information to be filed. Coddan prepares and checks the work you have instructed. If information is inconsistent or an important point is unresolved, we ask for clarification before submission. Special legal or tax questions may need an appropriate adviser.

The company comes into legal existence when Companies House registers it and issues the certificate of incorporation. Paying for an order or submitting an application is not incorporation. See the CLG formation requirements for a fuller preparation checklist.

Customer checks and Companies House identity verification with Credas

There are two different reasons we may ask for identity information. Coddan carries out customer checks for its anti-money-laundering responsibilities. Separately, relevant individuals must meet Companies House identity-verification requirements. A Companies House Personal Code does not remove our need to understand who is instructing us and the purpose of the service.

What happens when you instruct our ACSP identity service

Coddan arranges the individual’s Credas check using the contact and personal details needed for that check. The individual receives a link by email or SMS and completes the requested identity-document and liveness steps. Coddan then reviews the result and any further evidence required. If satisfied that the Companies House standard has been met, we manually submit the verification confirmation through our Companies House ACSP account.

Companies House issues the individual’s Personal Code. Credas provides the checking system; it does not automatically submit Coddan’s verification confirmation to Companies House. Where a check needs additional evidence, we explain the next step rather than treating an initial result as an automatic approval.

If you already have a valid Personal Code, tell us before ordering verification. We can explain how it is needed for the relevant incorporation or filing. Keep it secure: an individual’s Personal Code is different from the company’s authentication code. Verification alone does not appoint a director or complete the company application.

Formation-package identity guidance and identity verification performed by Coddan are different services. Check the selected order for inclusions; our verification service is separately instructed and charged where applicable. Read our identity-verification service information or the official guide to using an ACSP.

A straightforward formation service for a non-charitable CLG

A club, association, professional body or community organisation may need a company without seeking charitable status. A CLG can enter contracts and hold assets in its own name, with members undertaking to contribute the stated guarantee in the relevant winding-up circumstances. The guarantee is often £1, but the agreed amount must be recorded correctly.

The directors run the company; members exercise the rights provided by its articles. The same person may hold both roles. Different membership classes, voting arrangements and appointment rules can change how the organisation works, so explain the intended arrangements before we choose the formation documents.

An appropriate standard constitution may be sufficient. Where it is, you do not need to buy bespoke drafting merely because the organisation is limited by guarantee. If your members need particular rights or restrictions, Coddan can discuss the additional preparation before filing. The number of directors or guarantors does not by itself force you into a higher package.

Objects describe the company’s purposes where its articles restrict them. They are different from the activities described by SIC codes. An ordinary CLG does not automatically need a bespoke objects clause, and its limited-by-guarantee structure alone does not establish non-profit restrictions or tax exemption. Our business objects and articles guide helps you consider the relevant choices.

Professional help for charitable, CIO, property and RTM arrangements

Tell us if your organisation has requirements beyond an ordinary non-charitable membership company. Coddan can discuss the appropriate documents and application work without making you fit a standard order that does not reflect your purpose.

Choose the intended status before filing

A CLG is not automatically a registered charity, community interest company or tax-exempt body. A charitable trading subsidiary may need a different company structure. Explain any existing organisation, property, funding conditions or intended charity status so we can discuss the appropriate formation service and identify other advice you may need.

Form your CLG in London, Scotland or Northern Ireland

Coddan supports CLG formation in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The jurisdiction affects where the registered office must be maintained. It is not determined by the country in which a director happens to live, and a London address cannot serve as the registered office of a Scottish or Northern Irish company.

You may use your own appropriate registered office with permission to use it. Buying Coddan’s address service is optional. If you want us to supply one, confirm the exact address, included facilities, service period and renewal terms before ordering.

Address services backed by practical correspondence handling

An official address needs a working arrangement for receiving important correspondence. With Coddan’s address services, clients have portal access and incoming post can be scanned and uploaded free of charge. Alternatively, weekly Royal Mail forwarding can be arranged to the client’s address. We confirm the forwarding destination and applicable charges; postage is not described as free.

Choose how you want to receive post and who in your organisation will monitor it. Portal access at a convenient hour does not mean staff scan letters overnight, and postal delivery times are separate from online access. Receiving or forwarding a letter does not itself include responding to it or completing a filing.

The company’s registered office is different from a director’s service address. Coddan offers director service-address and SAIL options in London and Aldershot. A SAIL is a single alternative inspection location for specified company records; it needs proper custody and inspection arrangements and must be in the company’s jurisdiction. It is not simply another forwarding address.

The registered office must meet the official appropriate-address rules, and the company must also maintain an appropriate registered email address. The office is public; the registered email is not published. Our CLG formation address guide explains the different functions, locations and mail arrangements. Already registered? Use our secretarial registered-office service page for existing-company support.

Documents that help your CLG operate after registration

After successful incorporation, keep the certificate, memorandum, registered articles and relevant filed information accessible. These establish what was registered and provide the governing rules the directors and members need to follow. Digital incorporation documents are supplied under the relevant formation package; check its precise contents before ordering.

The next questions concern the working organisation: who keeps the membership record, who may sign for the company, how the first decisions are recorded and who controls access to filing codes. Coddan can prepare agreed initial minutes, a member register, membership documents and other relevant company records. The records should reflect decisions actually made and the people’s authority.

A CLG membership certificate, where appropriate, is not a share certificate. First-board minutes should record real decisions rather than imply every company needs identical approvals. Company seals and professionally prepared printed documents may be useful in particular circumstances; neither a seal nor a presentation bundle is a universal formation requirement.

We can discuss electronic records, bound printed documents or a combination that the people running the company can use. Decide what the organisation needs first, then agree the preparation and delivery. Prepared records, printed sets and additional documents are included only where the selected service expressly provides them.

If a bank, funder or overseas recipient asks for certified documents, notarisation, an apostille or translation, tell us what they have requested and where the documents will be used. The recipient’s requirements determine the appropriate next step; living overseas does not automatically mean every incorporation document needs legalisation.

A written service agreement when you need one

If you require a written service agreement between you or your organisation and Coddan CPM Limited, we can provide one for the agreed formation and customer-check services. Where ordered, it can also cover Companies House identity verification. Ask for the agreement before the work begins so the parties, services and responsibilities can be recorded clearly.

The agreement identifies the instructing customer and refers to the accepted order for the selected package, included work, agreed additions and applicable charges. Your accepted order records the services you have chosen and the charges agreed for that instruction.

If the company has not yet been incorporated, we establish who is contracting with Coddan. Naming a proposed company does not make it an existing contracting party. An individual or an existing organisation may instruct the work; the person signing for an organisation needs authority to do so.

A service agreement with Coddan is separate from the CLG’s articles of association. It also does not automatically include a registered-office subscription, an ongoing secretarial engagement or future filings. We can explain how any separately agreed services are recorded. Contact us if your committee, professional adviser or internal approval process needs a written agreement.

One provider for formation and continuing CLG support

The membership rules, people and addresses established at formation become the starting point for later company administration. Coddan can continue supporting the organisation under an agreed secretarial service, helping with company records, decisions, changes and relevant correspondence. You can choose focused filing help or wider ongoing support according to the work needed.

Confirmation statements and annual accounts

We can check information supplied for a confirmation statement, identify changes needing separate filings, and prepare and submit the agreed statement. It confirms company-register information and does not replace annual accounts. Coddan can also undertake agreed accounts preparation and filing, including dormant accounts where the company qualifies as dormant. Accounting work and its charges are confirmed separately.

Directors remain responsible for the company’s records, accurate information and timely filings. Charity reporting and tax obligations depend on the activities and status of the organisation. Incorporation does not itself complete HMRC activity notification, VAT registration or other tax work. See our post-incorporation guide for the practical next steps.

Maintain records and respond when circumstances change

Your CLG must maintain its member register and relevant decision and accounting records. Current rules no longer require separate local registers of directors, directors’ residential addresses, secretaries or PSCs, but the corresponding Companies House information must still be kept current. Membership changes also need consideration where they alter voting rights or control.

Tell us when directors, members, addresses or activities change. We can explain the agreed records and filings needed, including identity requirements relevant to a new role. If the company needs to close, we can discuss voluntary dissolution support. If already dissolved, our restoration support starts with considering the available route and outstanding work. Closure and restoration are separate instructions.

Explore the CLG secretarial-services hub and its confirmation-statement service. A named contact or company-secretarial package does not automatically include every future return, accounts service or specialist application.

A UK formation and administration partner for professional firms

International accountants, company formation agents and corporate-service providers can discuss instructing Coddan for their clients’ UK CLGs. You may need a UK provider to prepare an incorporation application, arrange suitable company documents and addresses, carry out separately instructed identity verification or help with company records and later Companies House filings.

Tell us what your firm handles and what you need Coddan to undertake. We consider the proposed company’s purpose, registration jurisdiction, directors, members and actual control arrangements, together with the documents and approvals needed. A straightforward formation can remain affordable; additional preparation and continuing work are agreed according to the instruction.

Clear instructions and authority from your client

We establish who is instructing Coddan, their authority to act and who will approve the documents and information. Your firm supplies the agreed client information and relevant evidence; Coddan completes its applicable customer checks and explains any further information needed. We agree how questions, approvals, documents and filing confirmations will be communicated.

A professional partnership does not remove those checks or the company directors’ statutory responsibilities. Coddan performs the accepted work using its own authorised credentials. We do not lend our ACSP registration or presenter credentials to another firm. Companies House identity verification remains a separate service from formation preparation and general customer checks.

A written agreement for the work your firm instructs

A written service agreement is available for professional partners as well as direct customers. It records the parties, agreed work and responsibilities by reference to the accepted order and charges. Formation, identity verification, address provision and continuing administration can be discussed together, with each service’s inclusion made clear before work begins.

Use our professional-partner enquiry page to explain your firm, the number and types of companies involved, relevant countries and the support you would like to discuss. We can also consider enquiries concerning other UK company types, while the guidance here focuses on CLGs.

Find the Coddan help that fits your organisation

Start with the work you need. Explore the formation, address and continuing support relevant to your organisation. You can also contact our team if you are unsure which service fits.

Choose your formation service or speak with Coddan first

Can I begin with a simple online order?

Yes. If you have decided on an ordinary CLG and its arrangements fit the selected package, online ordering is a convenient start. Compare the existing packages for their documents, addresses and charges. Tell us about unusual purposes or membership rules before submission.

Does 24/7 access mean immediate registration?

No. You can access the formation portal at any hour. Human review takes place during service hours, and submission depends on complete instructions, approval and applicable checks. Companies House decides whether and when to register the company.

Can I use my own address and an existing Personal Code?

Yes, where the address is appropriate for the registered jurisdiction and you have permission to use it. Tell us if relevant individuals already have valid Personal Codes. Coddan’s separate customer checks still apply.

Can we have an agreement and help after formation?

Ask for a written service agreement before the work begins. We can also discuss the company records, correspondence, annual work and continuing support you need, with the services and charges agreed before undertaking additional work.

Ready to proceed? Compare the four formation packages above. If you need help choosing, email info@coddan.co.uk or contact our team. Explain what the organisation will do, who will take part and what you need Coddan to handle.

For wider guidance, explore our main CLG formation page, guarantee-company registration guides and CLG secretarial-services hub.