How to register a company in the UK

Registering a UK limited company is genuinely one of the fastest, cheapest pieces of admin you'll do as a founder, once you know what's actually required. Most of the confusion people run into isn't about the process itself, it's about the extra decisions bundled around it: which route to use, whether to pay for extras, and what happens the moment it's done.

The quick answer: you can register directly with Companies House yourself in about ten minutes for a small filing fee, or get it done for free by opening a business account with a provider that bundles formation in, such as Tide, ANNA, Revolut or Wise. Both routes end up on the exact same public register with identical legal status.

What you need before you start

Have these ready and the actual registration takes minutes, not hours.

A company name. It needs to be available (not identical or too similar to an existing company) and can't include certain restricted or sensitive words without special permission. Check availability before you start, using our free name checker on the homepage takes seconds and avoids the single most common cause of a rejected application.

A registered office address. This is where official correspondence gets sent, and it's published permanently on the public Companies House register. You can use your home address, or a registered office service if you'd rather keep that private, worth deciding before you file rather than after.

At least one director. The person (or people) legally responsible for running the company and meeting its statutory duties. There's no requirement for a director to be a UK resident, though a UK registered office address is still required regardless of where the directors live.

At least one shareholder. Can be the same person as the director, this is the normal setup for a solo-founder company. You'll need to decide on the total number of shares and their nominal value at this stage, even if it's a simple single-share structure.

Details of people with significant control (PSC). Anyone who owns more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, or otherwise exercises significant influence over the company, needs to be declared. For a simple one or two person company this is usually straightforward.

A SIC code. A standard code describing what your business actually does. There's a searchable list, and most businesses find a reasonably close match without much difficulty.

Before you register, is a limited company even the right call?

Registering is quick and cheap enough that it's tempting to just do it without stopping to check whether it's actually the right structure for where you are right now. At modest profit, a sole trader setup is often simpler and cheaper overall once you account for the accountancy cost of running a limited company. If your work carries real financial risk, or your profit is comfortably into higher rate tax territory, incorporating is usually worth it. Read our complete sole trader vs limited company guide if you haven't settled this yet, it's worth five minutes before you spend ten minutes registering something you might not need.

Deciding your share structure before you file

Even a simple, one-person company needs a share structure defined at registration: how many shares exist in total, and their nominal value (the face value assigned to each share, not necessarily what the company is actually worth). Most solo founders keep this deliberately simple, a single share of a nominal £1, held entirely by themselves. If you're bringing in a co-founder or planning to raise investment later, it's worth thinking a step ahead here, since restructuring shares after the fact is possible but adds legal cost and complexity you can avoid by planning for it upfront.

Registering directly with Companies House

This is the most straightforward paid route: file online yourself, pay the standard filing fee (check the current amount on GOV.UK, since it is reviewed periodically), and in most cases you'll see your company appear on the register within a day, often within a few hours. No middleman, no bundled extras, no business account attached, just the registration itself.

This suits you well if you already have a business bank account sorted, or you'd rather choose one entirely on its own merits rather than picking one because it happens to bundle free formation.

Registering free through a bank

Tide, ANNA, Revolut Business and Wise will all cover your Companies House filing fee and register the company for you, as part of opening a business account with them. They do this because winning you as a long-term banking customer is worth considerably more to them than the small fee they're covering, it's a genuine trade, not a hidden cost that appears elsewhere.

The trade-off is that you're choosing your bank account at the same moment you're registering the company, which means that decision gets made faster than it might otherwise deserve. If you already know which of these providers suits you, this is the fastest, cheapest route available, by a wide margin. If you're not sure yet, it's worth quickly comparing them on their account features rather than choosing purely because formation is free, since several offer the identical deal, see our best business bank accounts guide and the direct Tide vs Revolut vs ANNA formation comparison.

Using a formation agent

A formation agent isn't a different, more official way to register a company, it's a service that files the same paperwork with Companies House on your behalf, sometimes bundling in extras like a registered office address, template company documents, or (in the case of bank-linked agents) a business account. Some charge a fee for this, others, usually banks, offer it entirely free specifically to win you as an account customer.

There is no legal difference in outcome between filing yourself and using an agent. Both routes result in exactly the same entry on exactly the same public register, with identical legal status. Use an agent if the bundled extras (a registered office address in particular) genuinely save you time or money. Don't assume it makes your company "more official" in any way, it doesn't.

How long it takes

Filing online, whether directly or through a bank-bundled formation service, most straightforward applications are approved within 24 hours, often within just a few hours. Paper applications take considerably longer, typically a week or two, and there's rarely a good reason to choose paper over online unless your specific situation genuinely requires it.

What actually slows an application down is almost always one of two things: a company name too similar to an existing one, or incomplete or inconsistent director, shareholder or PSC details. Both are easy to avoid by checking your name first and having your details ready and accurate before you file.

The real cost, beyond the filing fee

The registration itself can be entirely free if you go the bank-bundled route, or a small fixed fee if you register directly. That's rarely where the real cost of running a limited company sits. Budget honestly for what typically follows in the first year: an accountant (commonly a few hundred to over a thousand pounds annually depending on complexity), a registered office service if you want one, and potentially insurance depending on what your business actually does. None of this needs to be paid upfront at registration, but it's worth knowing it's coming rather than being surprised by it three months in.

What happens after registration

Registering the company is the start line, not the finish line. You'll need to register for Corporation Tax with HMRC within the required window, open a business bank account if it wasn't bundled into formation, set up basic bookkeeping, and understand your filing calendar, both your first confirmation statement and annual accounts deadlines are set from your incorporation date. We've written the complete answer to what happens after you register, and a fuller first-30-days walkthrough in our UK startup checklist.

What Companies House actually checks

It helps to understand what's happening behind the scenes once you submit an application. Companies House runs an automated check against the existing register for name conflicts and restricted words, then a manual review for anything flagged, incomplete PSC declarations, unusual SIC codes, or inconsistent director details across the form. Straightforward applications with no flags clear the automated check and appear on the register quickly. Anything flagged goes to a human reviewer, which is what accounts for the occasional application that takes longer than the usual same-day turnaround. Companies House isn't assessing whether your business idea is good, only whether the paperwork is complete, consistent, and doesn't conflict with an existing registration.

Common rejection reasons

Name conflicts. The single most common cause of a rejected or delayed application, a name that's identical or too similar to an existing company, or one that implies a connection to government or a regulated activity without the right permission. Check availability before you file.

Incomplete PSC information. Missing or inconsistent details about people with significant control cause delays. Have this sorted before you start the form, not partway through.

Restricted words without permission. Certain words (implying royal patronage, or specific regulated sectors like banking or insurance) need prior approval before they can appear in a company name. If your intended name includes anything unusual, check the restricted word list first.

Mismatched director details. Small inconsistencies, a slightly different spelling of a name or address across different sections of the form, can trigger a manual review and slow things down. Take the extra minute to make sure everything matches exactly.

Who is a director, and who is a shareholder

These two roles get confused constantly by first-time founders, often because the same person holds both. A director runs the company day to day and carries legal duties under the Companies Act. A shareholder owns part of the company through shares and has rights over dividends and major decisions, with no obligation to manage anything. We've written the full direct answer if you want the distinction spelled out clearly before you fill in the form.

FAQs

Can I register a company for free? Yes. Tide, ANNA, Revolut Business and Wise all cover the Companies House filing fee when you open a business account with them. See our full answer on the cheapest way to register.

How long does registration take? Most online applications, whether direct or bank-bundled, are approved within 24 hours, often within a few hours. See our full answer on registration timing.

Do I need a registered office address? Yes, every UK limited company must have one, and it's published on the public register. You can use your home address or a registered office service if you'd rather keep that private. Read the full explanation.

Can I register from outside the UK? Yes, there's no requirement for directors or shareholders to be UK residents, though the company must still have a UK registered office address.

What's a SIC code? A standard code describing what your business does, chosen from a searchable list during registration. Most businesses find a reasonably close match without much difficulty, and it can be updated later if your activities change.

Can I register more than one company myself? Yes, there's no limit on how many companies one person can be a director or shareholder of, whether they're entirely separate businesses or related ventures.

Do I need a solicitor to register a company? No, registration itself doesn't require legal representation, the process is designed to be completed by an individual founder directly, whether online or through a formation agent. A solicitor becomes more relevant for complex share structures, shareholder agreements, or bringing in outside investment.

What if my chosen company name is rejected? You'll be told the specific reason, almost always a name conflict or a restricted word requiring permission, and you can simply amend and resubmit. This doesn't take long once you know what triggered the rejection, checking availability with our free name checker before you file avoids this entirely.