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Transfer shares in a limited company

Moving existing shares from one holder to another — stock transfer form, board approval, register of members and the next confirmation statement.

A share transfer is not filed at Companies House when it happens — which is why so many are done badly and only discovered later. The evidence that it happened is the stock transfer form, the board minute approving it, and the register of members. Those documents are the proof of ownership, not the public register.

When it is due

Immediately on completion, in the company's own registers. Companies House sees it on the next confirmation statement.

What we do

  • Stock transfer form prepared
  • The articles checked for pre-emption rights and any transfer restrictions
  • Board resolution approving the transfer
  • The register of members updated, and new certificates issued
  • Guidance on whether stamp duty applies, and on the consideration threshold
  • The change reported on the next confirmation statement

What happens if it is not done

An undocumented transfer means the register of members still shows the old holder, who legally still owns the shares. Buyers and lenders find this during due diligence, and fixing it years later can require the co-operation of someone who has since fallen out with you.

Questions

Is stamp duty payable?
It can be, depending on the consideration paid. Where duty is due, the form is stamped by HMRC before the company registers the transfer.
Does Companies House need telling straight away?
No — transfers are reported on the next confirmation statement. The company's own register must be updated at the time.
Can the other shareholders block it?
Often yes. Many articles include pre-emption rights or a directors' power to refuse a transfer. Check before agreeing a sale.

Related

  • Confirmation statement — The annual filing that confirms the information Companies House holds about your company is correct. Due every year whether or not anything has changed.
  • Identity verification — Directors and people with significant control must have a verified identity. We verify you as an authorised corporate service provider.
  • Director appointments and resignations — Filing an appointment, a resignation or a change of a director's details at Companies House, with the statutory registers updated to match.
  • Change of company name — Changing a registered company name by resolution, with the new certificate issued by Companies House.
  • Issue of shares — Allotting new shares — to bring in an investor, reward a joiner, or restructure who owns what — with the return of allotment filed at Companies House.
  • Dormant company accounts — Accounts for a company that has had no significant accounting transactions in the financial year.

Transfer of shares

£75 + VAT

No Companies House fee applies to this filing.
Ask us to handle it

Every fee is on the pricing page. Statutory fees are passed on at cost.

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Enquire

Transfer of shares

Tell us the company number and what needs doing. If it is already late, say so — that changes the order things have to happen in, not whether we will help.

Transfer of shares enquiry

Tell us what you are trying to do and we will reply with what is involved. No obligation, and we will say so plainly if what you need is not something we do.

Permanent once registered — it cannot be moved later.
We use what you send to reply to you, and we keep it for as long as we need to. See the privacy notice.

Start with the name.

Run it through the checker — statutory rules first, then the Companies House register — and we will tell you plainly what stands in the way. Nothing to pay to find out.

Check a company name