A UK limited company is its own legal person. You become a director and (usually) a shareholder. It's the right structure if you want personal liability protection, plan to pay yourself dividends, or want to bring on investors. The registration itself is straightforward — but the decisions you bake in at incorporation are surprisingly hard to undo, so take the extra 30 minutes to read this before you click submit.
Direct answer
Done online in under an hour, costs £50, and gives you limited liability from day one. Here's the full process — including the seven decisions most founders make wrong on the form. Use the key facts, step list and official source links on this page to confirm the decision before you spend money or register anything.
- Cost
- £50 (online)
- Time
- Approved same day
- Min directors
- 1
- Min shareholders
- 1
Checklist
Quick checklist
- Run a name availability check
- Pick your registered office address
- List directors and PSCs
- Choose SIC codes
- Register at gov.uk/limited-company-formation (£50)
- Open a business bank account
- Register for Corporation Tax within 3 months
- Diarise accounts and confirmation statement deadlines
Section 01
Decide before you click 'register'
- Company name — must be unique, not 'too similar' to an existing one, and not contain sensitive words without permission.
- Registered office address — public on the register; many founders use an accountant's or service provider's address for privacy.
- Directors — at least one over 16. Their service address goes on the public register.
- Shareholders — usually the same as directors at the start. 100 ordinary shares of £1 is the standard default.
- PSC (People with Significant Control) — anyone holding >25% shares or voting rights must be declared.
- SIC codes — up to four; pick the most accurate trade codes from the Companies House list.
- Articles of association — most founders use model articles (free, fine for almost everyone).
Section 02
The registration — step by step
- 01
Check the name
Use Companies House name availability checker. Reject anything 'too similar' (Companies House's list includes plurals, punctuation variants, and common abbreviations).
- 02
Go to gov.uk/limited-company-formation
The official route is £50 online. Avoid £15 'formation agent' offers that lock you into ongoing services; the gov.uk service is faster and cheaper for most people.
- 03
Create or sign in to your Companies House account
Separate from your Government Gateway — you'll need both.
- 04
Enter company details
Name, registered office, SIC codes, directors, shareholders, share capital (£1 × 100 is the common default), PSC information.
- 05
Adopt model articles
Unless your accountant has told you otherwise, pick model articles. Custom articles slow incorporation by 5–10 days.
- 06
Pay £50 and submit
Most applications are approved within 24 hours; many within 4.
- 07
Receive your certificate of incorporation
Emailed as a PDF. Your company exists from the moment of incorporation, even if you do nothing else.
Section 03
What you must do in the first 90 days
- Register for Corporation Tax with HMRC within 3 months of trading.
- Open a business bank account in the company name.
- Set up bookkeeping software — Xero, QuickBooks or FreeAgent (free with Mettle / Tide / NatWest).
- If turnover will exceed £90,000 in a rolling 12 months — register for VAT.
- If hiring — register as an employer for PAYE.
- Note your accounting reference date (usually month-end of your incorporation anniversary).
Section 04
Recurring obligations
- Annual accounts to Companies House (9 months after year-end).
- Corporation Tax return (CT600) to HMRC (12 months after year-end; payment due in 9 months).
- Confirmation statement (CS01) — £34/year, lists who controls the company.
- Update Companies House within 14 days of changes (directors, addresses, share issues).
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Common questions