Setting up a Limited Company
Incorporating a company is straightforward but you must complete several steps before the Registrar of Companies (at Companies House) will issue a Certificate of Incorporation.
To register a company, you need to submit Form IN01 together with your Memorandum of Association, Articles of Association and a fee, currently £20 by post and £15 online. You should allow eight to ten working days for registration to be completed, though Companies House does offer a same-day incorporation service for a fee of £50 by post and £30 online.
Form IN01
This is the 'Application to Register a Company'. It includes the address of the registered office, the names and addresses of the subscribers, a statement of share capital and the names and addresses of the directors and company secretary (if you appoint one). Form IN01 can be downloaded from Companies House
Memorandum of Association
This contains the names and signatures of the subscribers that wish to form the company and, in the case of a company limited by shares, a commitment by the subscribers to take at least one share each,
Articles of Association
This gives details of the company's internal management affairs, the running of the company and it's liability.
You can download a pro-forma memorandum for a company limited by shares or guarantee from our forms online page.
Once these three documents have been completed, you should return them to Companies House together with the relevant filing fee.
The standard registration fee is £20. We will incorporate the company in eight to ten working days after we receive the documents. If you need to form the company quickly, we offer a Same Day Incorporation service, the registration fee for which is £50.00 and must be correctly received before 15.00 hrs.
The envelope must be addressed to the 'New Companies Section' and the envelope should be marked in bold print SAME DAY INCORPORATION to ensure it is dealt with promptly.
Before supplying any paperwork to Companies House for registration, you should check to ensure the name is available for use. You can do this by either calling the Contact Centre on +44 (0)303 1234 500, or by using their WebCHeck service.
You should check your name on both, the "Current and Recently Dissolved" register and the "Proposed Names" register.
The following guidance is provided to help you understand how to register a company and the legal requirements that you must adhere to.
Guidance Booklet on Incorporation and Names - GP1