The Company Merchant Limited

Setting Up A Limited Company

A business has to be registered at Companies House before it can begin trading as a Limited Company.

This company set up process is called Incorporation.

The following information will need to be sent to Companies House in order for you to set up a Limited Company.

Your Chosen Limited Company Name

Please be aware that you will be unable to chose a name that is either 'Identical' or 'Similar' to a name that already exists on the register of companies.  Companies House will reject your submission if it is deemed that a limited company with the same or similar name is already registered.

Should your limited company name include a 'Sensitive' word, ie Board, Duke, Dentist, Doctor, International, Group etc then you will either need to provide supporting documentation from one of the appropriate governing bodies, ie a letter of non objection stating that you are allowed to use the word or alternatively re name your limited company to omit the sensitive word.

The 'Type' of Limited Company you are forming

You will need to decide the type of limited company you want to set up

• Private Company - Limited By Shares
• Private Company - Limited By Guarantee
• Private Company - LImited Liability Partnerships

What Limited Company Formation Package you require

When you set up a limited company it is important to chose the correct company formation package.  We offer many packages ranging from an electronic only package up to the top of the range Platinum Package.  All of our company formation packages will carryout the company set up process but the larger the package you opt for the more items are included (eg VAT Registration, Business Bank Account etc).  Depending on your requirements you can compare our Limited Company Formation Packages here.

Details of your Limited Company's Registered Office Address

Before you set up your limited company it is important that you have a registered office address.  The likes of Companies House and Revenue and Customs will only send correspondence to a registered office address.  When chosing your address please remember it must be in either England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.  Unfortunately a PO Box address is not allowed to be a registered office address although you are allowed to trade from a PO Box address.

Full details of your chosen Director(s), Company Secretary and/or Shareholders

When setting up a limited company you must have the details of every individual (or company) that are going to act as a director, secretary and/or shareholder (or called member in Limited By Guarantee or Limited Liability Partnership Companies) in your new limited company.

Details will include:-

• Name
• Nationality
• Date Of Birth
• Occupation
• Residential Address (Please note this is NOT displayed on public record it is for Companies House internal use)
• Service Address (Please note this IS displayed on public record) Most directors will have the service address the same as their home address if they do not wish to use a mail forwarding service.

Answers to the 3 Electronic Signature Questions

As there is no physical paperwork to sign when setting up a limited company electronically, Companies House ask you to provide three pieces of information which can be used to identify you should you need to contact them.  These are more commonly known as security/personal questions.

You can chose from the following seven questions:-

• First 3 letters of the name of the town of birth
• First 3 letters of the mothers maiden name
• First 3 letters of the eye colour
• First 3 letters of fathers first forename
• Last 3 digits of telephone number
• Last 3 digits of National Insurance number
• Last 3 digits of Passport number

Details of whether the Director of your limited company is a director of any other limited company(s)

You are also required to include details of any limited companies the said individual has resigned from in the previous five years.

If the director has previous directorships you will be required to provide the company registration number and limited company name.

Details of the Memorandum & Articles of Association

If you are setting up a limited by shares company then the Memorandum and Articles of Association are usually standard documents if you are a normal trading company, but they may need to be modified if you are forming a charity or club which is not for profit.

Share Allocation Details

The director and/or shareholder of your limited company will need to be allocated shares.  You will need to determine how may shares each person will have and also the price of the shares.  The standard price for each share is £1 but you can set the price per share to whatever you want it to be.

Confirmation that all details are correct

After providing all of the above details about your limited company, your incorporation is now ready to be submitted to Companies House.  To incorporate a limited company usually takes around four hours depending on Companies House current workload.

The earlier in the day your incorporation is submitted the better chance you have of your Limited Company being formed that same day.