UK’s Private Limited Company Formations & Registrations - FAQs

You may want to form a private corporation for the new or existing activities. English, Scottish and/or Northern Irish company formation will protect & limit your liability for the possible debts, damages and obligations of the commerce.

The primary advantage of a North of Ireland, Scottish or English company registration is minimization of shareholder's personal liabilities for debts of the business. It also offers tax advantages, secures the name &  adds credibility to your legal operations.

Anyone can open a firm across the Great Britain. With some limitations (undercharged bankrupts & people under 16 years old cannot be appointed as directors and shareholders), it is suitable for any field activity & any size of the organization: small private to vast multinationals; for-profit enterprises, as well as philanthropic & charitable ideas, self-employed and sole traders. On top of this page you may find incorporation offers for everyone!

Of course, yes! You can convert from a sole trader status to a private legal entity. Companies can be establish for a new activity or converted from your current self-employed nature of trades. You might as well be able to keep your present trading name, if it's not in use by another legal firm.

Choosing to open a company limited by shares may offer tax benefits & as well will allow more efficiency to your affairs if it is making ￡25,000 and over per year. When you are forming a UK LTD, you also have more credibility & are personally liable for the debts of your activity.

If you do not want others to use the name of your organization, opening of a private firm is the best way to keep it protected. Registration of a trademark will add additional piece of mind. Depending on your activities, you can consider local or international trademark protection. Feel free to contact us for more details about new LTD setting-up in the United Kingdom, EU & USA, trademark registration, bookkeeping & accounting services.

We are charging ￡64.99 for starting a new company, & our charge includes the government legal fee. We are charging a bit different amount of money for other types of entity start-up. We charge ￡72.00 to form of an LLP & ￡79.49 to establish a company limited by guarantee, etc. The minimal costs to register a private company for non-UK residents are ￡145.

The process of a UK company registration is much faster & very straightforward if done with us. Our order form is easy to use, packages are tailored for different needs, & all provide complete set of legal documents; our support is here to assist and direct you throughout the whole procedure. We offer on-line company formation, & our services are simple & truthful. We provide the registered office addresses in different locations in London, Scotland, Northern Ireland, we supply the domiciled address & SAIL location for different types of legal enterprises. We can also provide you a unique registered address just for your company, & no other business entities will be associated with that address.

Once your order received, we will check all the details submitted, making sure that the summary provided is correct, we will then submit the application to the Registrar via our own companies formation software. Once the order received by the Government Registrar, they will process the information & establish your company or a partnership by issuing it with the incorporated number.

With us, if you apply for a guaranteed same-day company incorporation service, the time frame can be as little as １ to 3 hours. The standard period can vary & depending on a workload of the Companies House, the new firm start-up process can stretch up to eight working hours or even more before your order approved & the business number for your firm issued. Any order forms for the guaranteed same day formation service should be submit to us before 13:00 to ensure the new corporate body incorporated with the same working day.

The prices for our basic UK private company formation packages start from just ￡64.99 + VAT & that is including the government filing fee. Optional services are available upon request. Our charges to establish a company limited by shares in England, Wales, or Scotland are the same, except of the price for the provision of the domiciled addresses in Scotland & in Northern Ireland. If you have your own location in the county, & have rights to use it as your business address, we will not charge an additional fee for the new enterprise setting-up.

Once your association has been registered, our specialists will contact you via email, & send all relevant e-copies of legal papers immediately. The corporate venture will be ready to commence trading immediately.

Coddan is here to help, feel free to contact us for any further assistance you may require, or should have any further questions regarding your new entity creation. Our team of professional consultants is available Monday-Friday from 9:30 am till 6:00 pm.

There are no restrictions on the nationality and residency of the directors/shareholders of the corporations, we can help our non-UK based clients to register a company or a partnership across the Great Britain. Corporate stockholders allowed, however directors must be private civilians. Anybody who is 16 years and older can open a firm in England, Wales, Scotland and in Northern Ireland, and can act at a director. However, if you have been disqualified or declared a bankrupt, you will not be allowed to serve as a director of the venture.

One natural person is needed to opening of a UK LTD. Corporate directors are not allowed and only national person can be appointed for the position of the director. Corporate shareholders allowed and their names listed for public records. Same person can act as director and shareholder. British corporations can have as many directors and stockholders as its required for the organization.

Absolutely! Anyone living abroad can fill-up an LTD in the United Kingdom. It is not necessary to reside or to come here to open an organization with the limited liability. Apart of the legal address, the management and administration office of the entity can also base overseas. Located at central London Baker Street, Coddan' head office can help non-UK customers with private companies formation across the Great Britain, we can form a company with registered address, assist with bank accounts and legalization of documents by notary public and Apostille stamp. We also offer legislation of documents by the Chamber of Commerce, Foreign Embassy and Consulate. If you are non-UK based customer, you can order an Apostille or Consulate legalization service by filling one of our UK company formation applications for overseas residents.

You do not require appoint UK based director, neither yourself should be based in the UK for the process of a limited company formation. Personal visit is not required for the new entity put-up process. A director and shareholder of the enterprise can be resident of any country in the world. Overseas students studying in the Great Britain has the restrictions to start and conduct the business here.

In the case, you provide your own director and shareholder for the new British, Scottish or Irish private limited company start-ups; you will require providing their full names, nationalities, dates of birth, and their residential addresses. If a corporate stockholder to be appointing, the name and the location of the enterprise, as well as the name of the legal representative will need to be provided. If you do not wish to disclose their home addresses, you can apply and get the UK based address for your officers by filing our application form.

The facts about director, shareholder, a secretary (if appointed), and the person of significant control will be accessible from the open to public records of the government website. The date of birth will appear in a month and year format only. If not opted for the service address, the personal address will also be visible from open public records. With us, you can apply for the service address for behalf of your entity' officers. We can provide you an address in the Great Britain, which can be used by your company officers.

There are no restrictions on the number of organizations where the person can be appointed for the position of the director/secretary/shareholder. This applies for private, public and non-for profit companies. You can form as many entities as you need for your legal business activities.

Absolutely, you may open a several companies or as many as you is required for the purpose of your activities. The same applies for private corporations, non-for-profit entities, LLPs and limited partnerships. There are no restrictions on the number of the appointments (but it may affect of your credit check scores).

Although there is no legal requirement for your enterprise to have a seal, there may be circumstances when a legal stamp is required. Although many contracts require only a director signature, possibly witnessed, some require the authority of the attachment of the seal to the document.

Generally, any contract which must be evidenced by a deed will require the attachment of the legal seal (or, because Companies Act allows LTDs to dispense with the use of their seal, by being signed "as a Deed" by two directors or a director and the secretary, or, by a director and a witness).

This service guarantees that your British, Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish firm will be established on the same day that your order and payment are received. In order for you to use this service, you must place your order before １:30 pm (London time) on a working day, and your order must not contain any errors or omissions.

Same-day companies incorporation service based on Companies House's normal working hours. We cannot be responsible for delays caused due to the rejection of the application by the Registrar for any reason whatsoever.

The UK LTD formation application is extremely simple, and should not take more than a few minutes to complete. If you need any assistance in filling out the application, please call us, send your questions via the FB messenger, or by an e-mail, do not hesitate to ask to get the video conversation with one of our advisers. We would like to advise you to read all relevant notes during the completion of the incorporation application, not to ignore them.

Choosing the name for your venture is the most difficult process. Once you settled on few options, you can use our name verification link to check whether it is available or it is being utilized by another organization. If the corporate name is free, it can be used for a limited company registration.

Unfortunately, if the name already exists on the index, the Companies House will not allow setting up of another legal entity with the same or too similar name. Make sure that you check the name for its availability before applying for a new limited company put-up.

For a new limited company formation, you would require to nominate at least one director and one member (shareholder/stockholder. If minimum appointment requirements not met, the new entity submission will not be permit. Please bear in mind that same person can be appointed for the position of director/shareholder of an enterprise. Sole director/shareholder entity can be registered very easily.

At the time of the LTD start up, the shareholders must subscribe to a minimum of one share each. Each issued share represents the current percentage of the ownership and control of the firm, and entitlement for the participation in the distribution of the trading profit of the enterprise at the end of the financial year. You can register a company in the UK with only one share issued, and the price can be just ￡１ pound for that share.

The standard share capital upon a new LTD registration is usually at least ￡１.00, but can be far greater to take account of the number of stockholders and their individual control of the businesses. If you choose the standard share capital option, we shall proceed on the basis that there is only one class of ordinary shares of ￡１.00 and they are to be fully paid up.

An enterprise can be opened with the share capital that is greater than the amount it needs as initial working capital. When applying for the alternative share capital at the time of your business establishment, please make sure that the value per share is not less than ￡１.00. If you wish to have a value per share less than ￡１.00 (for example １0p. or １p.) a paper forms submission will be required and additional charge will apply.

With the standard company registration option, you can issue only one type of shares. However, during the completing the application, you can request to create and issue different types of shares upon a new private LTD start-up in the Great Britain.

Coddan' drafted special memorandum and articles of association, which can be used not only in the UK; our version of the memorandum and articles of association will be very useful and accepted in other overseas countries. We do not use the standard model of the memorandum and articles as most of others registered agents. Our version of the memorandum and articles of association is very widely drawn, and is suitable for most types of legal activities.

If you want to have specifically drafted objects and clauses included in the memorandum and articles of association of your entity, simply send them to us, and we will include them into your constitutional documents. If you request a non-standard memorandum and articles of association, the registration of your firm will be delay by between 24 and 48 hours. Please do not request a guaranteed same day company start-up if you also require a non-standard memorandum and articles of association.

We can fill-in your organization using your own memorandum and articles of association. All you need is to complete application order, and then e-mail us your own version of the memorandum and articles of association that you want to open your entity with. The added administration will slow the creation of your firm, so please do not request the guaranteed same-day start-up if you are supplying your own memorandum and articles of association.

Due to recent changes in legislation, it is mandatory for a company to provide the data about the person of significant control and level of control at registration. Dormant companies do not need to file report about the person with the significant control. To read more about the nature of non-trading companies. If you do not wish to establish a "dormant" company, please get in touch with us by phone or email. Dormant LLPs and private companies do not need to file records about the person with the significant control.

Instantaneously. From the moment that you receive confirmation that your enterprise set-up has been approving, you will get the certificate with your enterprise number. It frequently takes about １-4 hours. Your Certificate of Incorporation is will be printed on Companies House approved paper document.

Instantly. You may begin trading from the moment when your English, Scottish, Walsh, and Northern Irish enterprise assigned the registered number by the Companies House. The complete new enterprise registration process takes between １ to 24 hours - depending on the type of your application and workload of the Registry.

No, this will not be necessary. The Registrar of Companies will notify the HMRC about your British, Scottish and Irish company start-ups. The tax office will in turn send you the letter with your unique tax reference number (UTR) and other summary explains your duties as a director.

Each year on the anniversary of your limited company's formation, you require to submit annual return (now called a confirmation statement). Within 9 month after the end of your financial year, the annual accounts and tax return will be due for filing as well. If you need an assistance with the filing of confirmation statement, preparation and submission of the annual accounts, please call or e-mail us.

One of the most taxing aspects of running a company is filing your confirmation statement. From your annual confirmation statement filings to the company accounts, it can be intimidating and time-intensive for any business owner. Coddan as well-known company formation expert has the skill and insight to guide you through this process, providing specialist support so you can focus on the day to day running of your business. For ￡50 we will prepare and submit your yearly confirmation statement with the CH (please note that the Companies Registrar will not send you the reminders to file it).

Once an application for the submission has reached Companies House, it cannot be withdrawn or recalled. If you decided to stop the corporation start-up process before questionnaire is submitted to the Government, you can cancel it. However, if the enterprise was established, but no longer needed, an application for a voluntary struck off will need to be made. Additional ￡200 charges applies to dissolve your company.

Within a week or two from your LTD company's creation, the HMRC will send you a welcome letter, which will contain your Unique Tax Reference (UTR). The letter will explain your new obligations and further steps required to complete submission of your entity for the corporation duties.

All registered businesses must apply for the corporation duties once it has started trading. The corporation tax submission needs to be done through the HMRC, and all limited entities are legally required to be applied for the corporate tax within three months of trading. Once created, the enterprise will be required to file its tax returns and pay the corporation obligation due on profits generated.

The unique tax reference number, also known as the UTR number is issued by the HMRC automatically to all businesses, once, the Secretary of State confirms its incorporation. The UTR is used to identify your entity at the HMRC when filing tax returns or registering for their on-line services. The UTR is issued within two weeks of forming a new enterprise, and is sent to the domiciled office address of the entity.

Construction industry scheme, also known as the CIS scheme designed for businesses and sole traders who work for a contractor, whereby under the scheme the contractors are required to deduct 20% of your payment and pass it on to the HMRC. You can apply for the scheme through the HMRC using your corporate name, national insurance number and the UTR number.

Our free bank referral option designed only for UK customers, and this opportunity is not available for international consumers. If you are not UK resident, do not do business in the Great Britain, - you have zero chance to open an account here. Local banks do not open accounts for enterprises, LLPs and LPs, which owned and managed by non-British residents. For overseas clients we can offer banking accounts introduction with the various electronic payment institutions.

Many people know that they can register a new company with Companies House directly, but not many know about the potential disadvantages they face when working with the government business registrar. The main problem is that you set-up a new limited company with model articles, which does not suite small and mid-size businesses.

When you establish a new corporation limited by shares, you will get only the certificate of incorporation and model articles, but you cannot obtain any further legal required documentation. All directors need to be aware that they are obligated to keep at least nine different registers, including a book of the persons with significant control. Acting as business start-up expert for years, we want to assure you, that with us, you will get tailor-made articles of association, all registers that are required by law and the shares certificates, which are also required as per the Companies Act.

Did you know that the model articles do not obtain any information about who is/are the shareholder/s? The model articles do not have any information about the share capital, how many shares entity issued, how and between whom the shares were distributed. When you would like to open a corporate account, the bank needs to know your structure, how will you be able to confirm who are the shareholders, and confirm any details of the capital structure, if such information does not exist within your model articles? In addition, with the model articles, you cannot open a company with alternative share capital and you can register your organization with only one type of shares, so it is worth looking into tailor-made options such as ours to avoid such situations in the near future.

Decades ago, most people incorporated their entities by using solicitors or accountants who gave proper advice before set-up a new company. How many people are reading the constitutional documents these days? Now, anyone can establish a new firm on-line and they do not think it necessary to take advice from anybody, and this creates many problematic issues. Everyone knows that they can establish a sole director company, but how many know that based on the model articles your company limited by shares must have two directors for the quorum? If two directors are required, that illuminates the possibility to run a business as a sole director.

There many entities, which are running, by sole directors, who are managing their firms alone, without the former legally required secretaries. Such directors are now executing documents, signing contracts, etc. However, the question rose of how many people are aware that two different signatories are in fact required when executing documents on a company's behalf? All-important director's decisions must be adopted during the directors meeting, and for the quorum, you must have two directors. If the director has direct or indirect interests in any particular transaction, then the director is unable to vote during the meeting.

Many people are choosing to form a private company limited by shares, because this structure gives them the limited liability protection. This is true, shareholders liabilities are limited, but the directors can be personally liable for their actions. Directors must act in accordance with the corporate governance, which describe the duties, responsibilities and obligations. In legal terms, the director and shareholder are two separate bodies, if you are acting as the sole director and sole shareholder, your duties and liabilities are different for each body. Can you get such advice about this matter from the Companies House phone line? Unfortunately, not.

The short answer is no. The certificate of incorporation is like the birth certificate and the articles are the constitution of your entity. Your stockholders must receive the certificates of shares, and nine different registers must be kept at your registered address, including your financial records, such as annual accounts, VAT returns and the copies of your invoices at all times. You cannot obtain these required legal documents from Companies House, but you can get them by using one of our packages.

Yes, based on the model articles, two signatures are always required - from two directors, a director and a secretary or a director and the witness. Your organization can adopt the common seal by a special director's resolution to avoid the necessity of having to sign documents by two people from your side. Sole directors can attest his or her signature by a common seal.

Many people know that the appointment of a secretary is not required and only one person can register a new company. You know that you do not need a secretary, but are you aware that in his or her absence, secretarial responsibility laid on the director? Do you know that the company must keep all notices of meetings, members' resolutions and minutes of all proceedings? Do you, as a director alone, have enough knowledge base about corporate law? The key role of a secretary is in the identification of governance issues, and the application of governance rules and principles in practice. Comparison of the governance role of the secretary and the role of the company lawyer.