What Details Do I Need To Form My Limited Company?

You will need the following information at hand to complete your create your limited company:

1. Registered Office Address

This address will be used to receive statutory correspondence from government agencies and departments such as Companies House and HM Revenue & Customs. Your registered office is required to be in England & Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland but you can trade from anywhere in the world. Your registered address cannot be a PO Box. 

The initial location of your Registered Office is very important as this will be the country that you register your company in. A Registered Office address must remain in the same UK country/jurisdiction where the company was registered (e.g. England and Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland, please see this article for more information). So, if you register in Northern Ireland, your Registered Office must remain in Northern Ireland. 

Remember, this address will be publicly available on Companies House, so you may choose to opt for using a registered office address service, to keep your own home address private. 

2. Your Director Details (Minimum 1 Director required)

Your director can be a person or a company. However, if your director is a company you must have two directors as you will be required to have at least one ‘person’ director. 

Required director details:

• First name
• Last name
• Date of Birth (Must be 16 years or older)
• Nationality (You do not have to be a UK national)
• Occupation
• Country of Residence
• Residential Address (This is not displayed on public record)
• Service Address (This will be publicly displayed, this can be the same as the registered office address)
• 3 Security Questions (these act as an online signature)
  • First three letters of Town of birth
  • Last three digits of Telephone number
  • First three letters of Eye colour

Required corporate (company) director details:

If you want to appoint a company as a director, you will need to supply the following:

• Company Name
• Full Name (of the Company Director)
• Company’s Address
• EEA or Non-EEA (whether the company is registered in the European Union or not)
• Country Registered
• Registration Number

If the company is non-EEA you will also need to provide the following:

• Governing Law (?)
• Legal Form (?)

3. Shareholder Details (Minimum 1 – can be the director)

A minimum of one shareholder is required and you can be both director and shareholder of a Limited company. You will need to supply the name and address of each initial shareholder in the company (known as a subscriber). You can also appoint corporate shareholders if the company about to be formed is owned by another company.

Required shareholder details:

• First name
• Last name
• Residential Address
• Share Currency (GBP, EUR, USD)
• Number of Shares
• Value Per Share
• 3 Security Questions (these act as an online signature)
  • First three letters of Town of birth
  • Last three digits of Telephone number
  • First three letters of Eye colour

Required corporate (company) shareholder details: 

If you want to appoint a company as a shareholder, you’ll need the following details:

• Company Name
• Full Name (of the Company Director)
• Company’s Address
• Share Currency (GBP, EUR, USD)
• Share Class (Ordinary, Preference, Redeemable)
• Number of Shares
• Value Per Share
• 3 Security Questions (these act as an online signature. Use the Company Director for the questions)
  • First three letters of Town of birth
  • Last three digits of Telephone number
  • First three letters of Mother’s Maiden Name

4. People with Significant Control (PSC)

A PSC in your company is someone, or a company, which meets the following conditions: 

• People who have 25% or more of the shares
• People who have 25% or more of the voting rights
• The right to appoint or remove the majority of board directors. 

There are a few more ways to qualify a PSC, but the ones above are the most common factors. All UK Limited Companies will need to provide Companies House with a record of people who control their company. You can have more than one PSC, and often times your first PSC is you- the company’s director. 

5. Standard Industrial Classification Code (SIC Code).

You will need to inform Companies House of your business’ main area of trading. A SIC Code is a 5 digit code, which you will select from an official list of SIC codes. You can choose up to four codes if your business function is particularly complex or hard to categorise.

6. Secretary Details (Not Compulsory)

It is no longer required to have a secretary, however, you may still choose to appoint one. If you choose to do so, you’ll need to provide the following information:

• First name
• Last name
• Address
• 3 Security Questions (these act as an online signature)
  • First three letters of Town of birth
  • Last three digits of Telephone number
  • First three letters of Eye colour

Why not use this blog as a checklist and ensure you have all the necessary details.