Incorporating a company.

To incorporate a limited company you will need to file the following three documents with Companies House:

Form IN01

This will contain the intended situation of the Registered Office, (this will be either in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales), the details of the consenting Secretary and Director(s), details of the subscribers and, in the case of a company limited by shares, details of the share capital.

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..

View list of online forms

The Memorandum and Articles of Association are not provided by Companies House, but can be purchased from a Legal Stationer. You will find these organisations listed in Yellow Pages.

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 our WebCHeck service.

You should check your name on both, the "Current and Recently Dissolved" register and the "Proposed Names" register.

Software Filing FAQs

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

Intellectual Property Explained (PDF 3,027k)
(Including information on patents, trade marks, copyright and designs.)