Company Formation Help
- Should my business be a Limited company or a
non-incorporated business?
- How long will it take to form my company?
- How do the documents get sent to me?
- Can you guarantee the day my company will be incorporated?
- Choosing a name for your company
- How many people are needed to start a Limited company?
- Who can be a company director and Company Secretary?
- Can directors and shareholders be any nationality or be
outside the UK?
- What is a Registered Office?
- What is the status of my application?
- What should I do if my application has been rejected?
- How do I change any information in my application?
- I have not received an email with the Certificate of
Incorporation or other documents
- How do I login to my account?
- I've forgotten my login details
- I know my login details but I still can't login
- Companies House name check does not show my new company
listed
- Original Certificate of Incorporation
- My bank wants original documents
- How can I change the company name after incorporation?
- How long does it take for a company change of name after
incorporation?
- What is the address and telephone for Companies House the
Registrar of Companies?
- Can I cancel my application and can fees be refunded?
- I'm using your London Registered Office address service -
how do I contact it?
- How can I change the Registered Office address after
incorporation?
- How can I change a Director or Company Secretary after
incorporation?
- What should I do with the Share Certificate?
- How do I convert a Limited company to a PLC?
- Should my business be a Limited company or a
non-incorporated business?
The owners of a Limited company can pay themselves dividends from the profits, which is
more tax efficient than income drawn as a salary. This option is not open to a
non-incorporated business. A Limited company can be perceived as having a more official
business status. If a Limited company fails, the assets of the owners are more protected
through limited liability. A Limited company has the responsibility to file documents and
accounts with the official companies registry, Companies House. A non-incorporated
business does not have this responsibility. A Limited company may require annual audited
accounts to be prepared for Companies House, whereas a non-incorporated business does not,
however a non-incorporated business may still require the services of an accountant in
order to prepare accounts for personal tax purposes. We cannot provide any further
specific advise on these matters and you should consult a qualified accountant and
solicitor with any questions relevant to your specific circumstances and objectives.
- How long will it take to form a company?
Once you have paid for and submitted your application, it is automatically
transmitted to Companies House. The time taken will then depend upon the number of
applications Companies House are handling on that day. Typically 4-5 working hours is
normal. Please note that working hours are normal office hours and if your application is
submitted in the afternoon it may be the next working day before it is completed. The most
common reason for delay is when you have failed to use the Companies House
name check before choosing the name of your company and the company name is not
available.
- How do the documents get sent to me?
This will depend on which service you have ordered. Please go to the page on this website
where you would start your formation process or login, and you will see a list of the
services offered and details of how the documents will be sent. Documents are emailed to
the email address you give when setting up the account, and posted documents go to the
address you provide for your new company.
- Can you guarantee the day my company will be
incorporated?
Your application to form a Limited company will be processed automatically as soon as you
have made your online payment. After that our system instantly transmits the full
application electronically to Companies House. Companies House then process the request,
and in most cases the company will be incorporated in around 4 working hours. No company
formation service can make guarantees on behalf of Companies House, but there is no reason
to anticipate any significant delay providing you have completed all the information on
your application correctly. The most common reason for a delay is Companies House
rejecting an application because the company name chosen is already in use by another
company. If you check that the name you want to use is available before you submit your
application, you will remove the most common reason for company formations being delayed.
Please see the FAQ about choosing a name for your company.
- Choosing a name for your company
You can choose a company name that is not already being used by another live company. The
name cannot breach Companies House guidelines and cannot be sensitive or likely to cause
offence. If you choose a company name which is very close to a name already on the
register with a live company, then you may find yourself being forced to change the name
of your company. An existing company can appeal within the first 12 months of your
incorporation, if they feel that your company name is too similar to their company name
and could cause confusion or infringe on their business. Please click here if you want to
check if a name is already being used by a live company at Companies House
name check.
- How many people are needed to start a Limited
company?
A minimum of 1 person is required to form a Limited company. It is no longer required for
a Limited company to have a Company Secretary and this position is optional.
- Who can be a company director and Company
Secretary?
There is no minimum age limit in the Companies Act for a director to be appointed in
England and Wales. However, he or she must be able to consent to their own appointment. In
Scotland the director must be over 16. You do not have to be a British national or
resident in the United Kingdom. The main restrictions which would prevent someone becoming
a director are disqualification by a Court from acting as a company director except where
the person has been granted specific permission to act for a particular company by a
Court. A person who is currently a Bankrupt cannot be a director, again except with
permission of a Court. A Company Secretary is no longer required for a Limited company.
Appointing a Company Secretary is now optional. The Company Secretary does not need any
special qualifications and can be anyone who is able and willing to accept official
correspondence addressed to them at the Registered Office address and deal with it as
appropriate.
- Can directors and shareholders be any nationality
or be outside the UK?
Yes, directors and shareholders do not have to be British or living in the United Kingdom.
- What is a Registered Office?
Every company within England & Wales requires a Registered Office in either of these
countries. A limited company in Scotland or Northern Ireland must have a Registered office
in these respective countries. You can use your home address as a Registered Office but
you should check any tax implications with an accountant in case the Inland Revenue may
deem your home to have contributed to the business and could therefore apply a capital
gains charge.
- What is the status of my application?
When you start your application you are asked to enter an email address and a password. To
check the status of your application please use them by clicking here to Login.
ACTIVE
You are still entering information and completing the the application process.
PAID
You have entered all the information and have paid. Your application will automatically be
submitted to Companies House and the status will shortly change to PENDING.
PENDING
Your application has been submitted to Companies House and is now being processed by them.
Companies House operate during normal UK working hours.
PARKED
Companies House have rejected your application because the name you have chosen has not
been accepted or other information you have entered is incomplete. The most common reason
for rejection is when you have failed to use the Companies House
name check before choosing the name of your company and the company name is not
available. You should use the name check facility and choose another name. If your
application is PARKED we will have emailed you to tell you the problem. You should login
to your account and amend your application and then email us back to ask us to resubmit
your application when you have done so.
COMPLETED
Your company has been formed and you have been emailed your Certificate of Incorporation.
If you have ordered other services these will now be processed and will be sent to you by
post in around 5-7 working days.
- What should I do if my application has been
rejected?
If your application is PARKED we will have emailed you to tell you the problem.
If the name you have chosen for your company has been rejected you should choose another
name and use the Companies House
name check to make sure it is available.
1. You should login to your account and amend your application.
2. You must then Contact Us to tell us you have
made the changes and wish to resubmit your application.
- How do I change any information in my application?
You can only make changes to your application if the status of your application shows as
ACTIVE or PARKED. Please see the question about application status for more information
about this. If the application status shows as PAID or PENDING the process has already
started and information cannot be changed. To check the status of your application and if
possible amend any information in your application you need to Login to your account. If you receive an email telling you that your
application has been rejected and asking you to make changes your application will show as
PARKED and you can Login to your account to make the changes necessary.
- I have not received an email with the Certificate
of Incorporation or other documents
At the start of your application we ask you to enter an email address and a password. Our
system automatically emails the email address you used to create your login account. To
confirm which email address you entered, try logging in to your account. Also check your
Junk email folders as emails are sometimes sent to spam folders. You may need to ask your
email system administrators to check that the email has not been filtered out before
reaching your email Inbox. If you cannot trace the email please email us here to Contact Us to ask us to send your documents again.
Please allow us a few hours to arrange this.
- How do I login to my account?
At the start of your application we ask you to enter an email address and a password.
Click here to use them to Login.
- I've forgotten my login details
Please click here to Contact Us to ask us to
email you your login details.
- I know my login details but I still can't login
If you have already submitted your application to form a company you cannot login and
change any information as Companies House will already be processing your application. We
cannot stop this process once you have submitted. If your application is successful your
incorporation documents will be emailed in a few hours. If your application is rejected,
then you will be emailed and you will be able to login to your account again to make any
changes required.
- Companies House name check does not show my new
company
If your date of incorporation is today, it will not be until the next working day
that your new company will show on the online name search. Companies House update their
public records overnight.
- Original Certificate of Incorporation
The majority of all new company incorporations are now done online using E-Filing.
Unfortunately some bank staff do not yet understand the process properly. With the new
E-Filing Companies House do not issue a hard copy Certificate of
Incorporation, instead the new method is to issue an encrypted PDF Certificate of
Incorporation. This PDF is emailed to you after your company is formed. This PDF document is
the original certificate. If you need to have a hard copy Companies House state that the
PDF certificate should be printed on to 160gram Ivory card paper. This card can be
purchased from most good stationery stores. You can print the Certificate yourself using a
normal desk top printer connected to your PC.
- My bank wants original documents
We do not provide 288 forms. If you are asked for 228 forms please advise your
bank as follows. Form 288A is to appoint a new director/secretary, 288B is for resignation
of previous director/secretary, and 288C is to change particulars of a director/secretary.
These forms are effectively redundant for an electronic incorporation. These forms would
only be used if you were to buy a company off the shelf and then needed to change the
company officers. But with our service you are incorporating a totally new company, and
you have appointed the directors/secretary at the time of incorporation so no changes
using any 288 forms are needed. For information about the Certificate of Incorporation
please refer to the question about the Certificate of Incorporation.
- How can I change the company name after
incorporation?
The company must pass a special resolution in a meeting or your shareholders to agree a
written resolution that the name of the company be changed to the new name. You then need
to apply to Companies House for a Certificate of Name Change using Companies House Form NC19. The completed form should
be returned to Companies House with the fee shown on the form. If all is in order,
Companies House will then process the resolution and issue a Certificate of Incorporation
on Change of Name. The name of the company is not changed until the new certificate is
issued.
- How long does it take for a company change of name
after incorporation?
The change of name is usually processed by Companies House within 5 working days. You can
check the current name of any company here Companies House
name check.
- What is the address and telephone for Companies
House the Registrar of Companies?
The address for the official registry of companies is as follows:
Companies House
Crown Way
Maindy
Cardiff
CF14 3UZ
The telephone number is: +44 (0)870 333 3636
- Can I cancel my application and can fees be
refunded?
Unfortunately not. Once you have paid your application is automatically
submitted. The only possibility of cancelling your application to form a company once you
have submitted it, is if Companies House finds a problem with your application and rejects
it. You can then decide whether you wish to resubmit the application or not. However we
cannot refund fees as we have already made the application regardless of whether or not
Companies House rejects it. Please see our Terms of
Use for more information on this point.
- I'm using your London Registered Office address
service - how do I contact it?
We offer the choice to use a prestigious London address as your Registered
Office. If you choose this option, after you form your company they will email you to ask
where you would like your mail forwarded to. If you have any questions you can contact the
office directly on telephone number +44 (0)207 887 4566. This office does not handle
company formations so please do not telephone this number with enquiries about your
company formation, they will not be able to help.
- How can I change the Registered Office address
after incorporation?
You complete Companies House Form 287.
The completed form should be returned to Companies House. The Registered Office address
will normally be changed at Companies House within 5 working days.
- How can I change a Director or Company Secretary
after incorporation?
You complete Companies House Form 288A for appointment and 288B for resignation of a director or secretary. The completed
form should be returned to Companies House. The Registered Office address will normally be
changed at Companies House within 5 working days.
- What should I do with the Share Certificate?
Do not send the Share Certificate to us or to Companies House. A Share Certificate should
be signed by the Company Secretary if the company has one, and a Director. Enter the
amount paid per share for any money actually paid to the company for shares by the
shareholders. The Share Certificate can then be given to the person that paid the money
and owns the shares. In many companies the Directors are also the shareholders.
- How do I convert a Limited company to a PLC?
We cannot assist with this process as we only handle formations. In order to change from a
Limited company to a PLC you should consult an accountant who can explain the requirements
and discuss the implications for your company.
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