Start something
Start a company in
Form a limited company: who it needs, its office, its rules, the application — and everything that follows, in order.
Checked for the whole UK, with the one difference between its nations that changes these steps: where the registered office must be. Tax registration and employing are still being researched.
A UK company is registered with Companies House, online, usually within a day.
- 3 Before you apply · 43%
- 1 Applying · 14%
- 2 Straight after · 29%
- 1 Every year, and every change · 14%
- 7 You · 100%
- Register it with Companies House£100
- The confirmation statement£50
What changes if…
Verify your identity onceYouCompanies House
Before registering a company you may need to verify your identity with GOV.UK One Login. You do it once, and receive a personal code to give when you register.
Choose a director — no secretary neededYou
A UK company needs at least one director, aged 16 or over, who need not live in the UK. A private company does not need a secretary; if it has one, the secretary can also be a director — and the directors stay legally responsible either way. Directors’ names and a service address are public.
A registered office in your own nationYou
The registered office must be a physical address in the same nation the company is registered in — a company registered in Scotland needs a Scottish address; England and Wales share one register, and Northern Ireland has its own. No PO Box. It is public, so do not use a home you would rather keep private. The company also gives an email address, which is not published.
Register it with Companies HouseYouCompanies House£100 online — £124 by postUsually within 24 hours online
Online, by card, the company is usually registered within 24 hours. By post it takes eight to ten days.
The confirmation statementYouCompanies House£50 a year
Every year the company confirms its details to Companies House.
What you do not need
- A company secretary, for a private company.
Keep going
- Sole trader or company?What each costs you in tax, what each costs to run, and the one question that usually decides it: will you keep money in the business?Open
- Work for yourselfTrade as yourself, without a company: what you register, and what you are exempt from.Open
- Choose a registered officeThe official address every company must have: where it can be, whose permission it needs, and where it must be shown.Open
- All of it, in orderPlan my start draws every journey you need, for your place, with your costs.Plan my start
Words in this journey:Company secretaryDirectorRegistered officeData controllerLimited company