Useful guides to help you form a new company

Forming a limited company through our portal takes around 10 minutes. Companies House approves applications within 3 to 24 hours on working days.

Claim Your Company Name

Use the company name search tool at the top of the page to check availability. Your company name must be unique and must end with 'Limited' or 'Ltd'.

Three rules apply:

• The name cannot be identical or too similar to an existing registered company
• Certain words, such as 'Royal,' 'Bank,' or 'Institute,' require special permission from Companies House
• Your company name appears on all public records, so choose one that represents your business clearly

If the name you want is taken, try a slight variation, then choose your package.

Choose Your Package

All packages include the £100 Companies House incorporation fee and cover the legal minimum required to register a private limited company. The difference between them is the level of privacy, documentation, and ongoing support included. Digital gives you digital copies of all your company documents, access to banking partners, and identity verification. Choose it if you already have a registered office address and do not need printed documents.

All packages include the £100 Companies House incorporation fee and cover the legal minimum required to register a private limited company. The difference between them is the level of privacy, documentation, and ongoing support included.

• Digital gives you digital copies of all your company documents, access to banking partners, and identity verification. Choose it if you already have a registered office address and do not need printed documents.
• Digital & Print includes printed share certificates and a printed Certificate of Incorporation, posted by Royal Mail to a UK address. Some banks ask for a printed certificate when you open a business account.
• Privacy covers a registered office address and a director's service address at 128 City Road, London EC1. Both keep your home address off the public Companies House register.
• Fully Inclusive includes a 12-month company filing service covering up to 10 Companies House changes per year, and access to meeting rooms at the City Road office.
• Entrepreneurs' Choice comes with 12 months of call answering on a Central London 0203 number, answered by a professional team.
• International Non-Resident is built for overseas founders. It replaces the standard address and banking setup with mail forwarding, banking introductions suited to non-UK residents, and remote identity verification.

Protect Your Address

Every UK limited company must have a registered office address in the UK. During checkout, you’ll find the option to use your own address or add one of our address services.

To keep your home address off the public register entirely, you need both the registered office address and the director's service address. One without the other still leaves your personal address visible on the Companies House register.

Apply, Pay, and Leave the Rest to Us

Once you have selected your package and any address services, confirm your company name is available using the name checker, then proceed to checkout. Pay by credit or debit card through our secure payment page.

After payment, you receive a confirmation email with login details to the Your Company Formations company registration portal.

Enter these company details in the portal:

• Company name and SIC code
• Director details: full name, date of birth, nationality, residential address, and occupation
• Shareholder details: full name, address, and number of shares held
• Registered office and service address preferences

Submitting your details triggers two final steps: identity verification and our pre-submission review:

1. Identity verification. Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA), all directors and Persons with Significant Control (PSCs) must verify their identity before we submit their incorporation application to Companies House. Anyone holding more than 25% of the company's shares is a PSC.

   As an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP), we handle verification on your behalf. You receive a secure email invitation to upload your identity document through our verification partner. The check takes a few minutes.

2. Pre-submission review. Your Company Formations team reviews your application for accuracy before filing it with Companies House. We check your company name, director details, and share structure to catch any errors before they cause delays or rejections.

While Companies House processes your application, we send you offers from our partner banks for you to choose the account that works best for you, including options with cashback rewards.

Your Documents Are on Their Way

Once Companies House approves your application, we email your company documents straight away.

• Certificate of Incorporation
• Memorandum and Articles of Association
• Share certificates for each shareholder
• Company register
• WebFiling Authentication Code for managing your company directly with Companies House

If you choose a print package, we dispatch bound physical documents by first-class post within 24 hours of approval.

Ready to Trade

Once Companies House completes your company formation, take the following steps

1. Set Up Business banking.

   After we send your Certificate of Incorporation, we send a formal bank introduction to the partner you chose during your application. The bank contacts you directly to complete the account opening. Selected accounts include cashback rewards of up to £155.

2. Register for Corporation tax.

   HMRC sends your company a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) within two to three weeks of incorporation. Register for corporation tax within three months of starting to trade.

3. Register for VAT.

   If your taxable turnover exceeds the VAT registration threshold, register for VAT with HMRC separately.