How to register a company in the UK

Published 19 August 2026 · updated 9 September 2026 · 7 min read

Registering a company takes minutes and commits you for years. Most of what goes wrong later is decided in the first ten minutes, by someone clicking through a form without knowing which fields are reversible.

Here is what Companies House actually needs, and what each answer does to you afterwards.

1. A name that clears three separate tests

The name must use permitted characters, end with a permitted ending, and not be the "same as" a name already on the register once punctuation, spacing, common words and the ending are stripped out. Separately, sensitive words need written non-objection from a named body. And separately again, none of this gives you trade mark rights.

Run it through our company name check first — it applies the statutory rules and then searches the register itself.

2. A jurisdiction you cannot change later

England & Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland. It fixes the company number prefix, the registry holding the file, and where the registered office must be. A company cannot be moved between jurisdictions afterwards. Choose where the company will actually be administered.

3. A registered office that will be published

This address goes on the public register, on your website and on your invoices. It must be an appropriate address where post can be delivered and receipt acknowledged — a PO box alone will not do. Use your home and it stays in the historic record even after you change it. That is why a registered office service exists.

4. At least one director

A natural person aged 16 or over, not disqualified, not an undischarged bankrupt. There is no residency requirement — a director can live anywhere. Each director gives a service address, which is published, and a residential address, which Companies House holds privately. Without a separate service address, the residential one is published.

5. At least one shareholder

Often the same person as the director. Being a director and being a shareholder are different things: one runs the company, the other owns it. Confusing them is the root of most shareholder disputes we see.

6. A statement of capital you will regret if you rush it

How many shares, of what class, at what nominal value. One £1 ordinary share is legal and extremely common. It is also awkward: you cannot give someone 10% without issuing more shares or splitting the one you have. A hundred £0.01 shares costs the same £1 and divides cleanly.

7. People with significant control

Anyone with more than 25% of shares or voting rights, or who otherwise controls the company. The PSC register is public, and filing it incorrectly is a criminal offence rather than an administrative slip. If a holding company or a trust sits above you, the chain has to be worked through properly.

8. Articles of association

The rules the company runs by. The model articles are the default and are adequate for a single-shareholder company. The moment there are two shareholders, they are not: model articles say nothing useful about deadlock, about someone leaving, or about what happens when a shareholder stops working in the business.

What it costs

Companies House charges a statutory fee of £100 to incorporate digitally, £124 by paper, and £156 for the same-day digital service. That money goes to Companies House. An agent's own fee sits on top of it — ours is on the pricing page, with the two amounts shown separately.

What happens next

Corporation tax registration with HMRC within three months of starting to trade. Identity verification for directors and people with significant control. A confirmation statement every year. Accounts every year, even if dormant. A bank account, which for a non-resident is the hardest part of the whole exercise.

If none of that needs help, register directly with Companies House and keep the money. An agent earns its fee on the parts that are easy to get wrong.