Company formation in the UK

What a formation provider does in the UK

A provider files the incorporation for you and supplies the pieces a founder abroad usually lacks. The core service is the same everywhere; the add-ons vary.

• Identity verification: every director and person with significant control needs a Companies House personal code. A provider that is an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) can verify your identity on your behalf, as an alternative to GOV.UK One Login.
• Filing: preparing the application, the articles of association and the statement of capital, and submitting them to Companies House.
• Registered office: a UK address for official post. An accountant’s or solicitor’s address can be used with their permission, provided it meets the appropriate-address rules.
• Service address: a correspondence address for directors, which is publicly available, so many founders prefer a professional one to their home.
• HMRC set-up: Corporation Tax, and where needed VAT and PAYE registrations.
• Introductions: some providers help prepare a bank account application or refer you to specialists.

The provider doesn’t decide whether your company is accepted. Companies House does, and its rules are the same however you file.

Do you need a provider for company formation in the UK?

Not always. A UK-resident founder with one shareholder, a home address they’re happy to publish and no plans for VAT can file directly online. For a founder abroad, the balance usually tips the other way, for three reasons.

First, identity verification. A provider that is an ACSP can handle the checks without you dealing with the online route yourself. Second, the address. The company needs a physical address in the UK where post reaches someone acting for it, and a Royal Mail PO Box is no longer accepted. Third, the follow-up: HMRC registrations and the first filing deadlines are easier to meet when the same firm that formed the company also keeps its books.

Going without a provider makes sense if you already have a UK address, your identity checks are done, and an accountant is lined up for the first year.

What a provider will need from you

Expect a short questionnaire and a document request before anything is filed. A provider that skips the checks is a warning sign, because an ACSP has anti-money laundering duties of its own.

• For each director and shareholder: full name, date of birth, nationality, residential address and occupation.
• Identity documents: the provider will tell you which it accepts, for its own client checks and for identity verification.
• Company details: the name you want, a second choice, the main activity (for the SIC code) and the share structure.
• Ownership chain: if a foreign company will own the UK company, the individuals who control it. Anyone with more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, or other significant control, must be declared.
• An email address: the company’s registered email address, which someone must read.

Send everything in one batch. A single missing document can hold up the whole application.

How a formation with a provider runs

The order is similar with any provider, and knowing it helps you spot where a project is stuck.

1. Engagement: you agree the scope and the fee, and sign the provider’s terms.
2. Client checks: the provider runs its anti-money laundering checks on you and on anyone else behind the company.
3. Identity verification: each director and PSC gets a personal code, through the provider if it’s an ACSP or through GOV.UK One Login.
4. Drafting: the provider prepares the application, the articles and the share structure, and sends them to you to approve.
5. Filing: the application goes to Companies House. Online filings are usually processed within 24 hours.
6. Handover: you receive the certificate of incorporation and the company documents, and the provider confirms the registered office arrangements.
7. HMRC: the company receives its Unique Taxpayer Reference, and Corporation Tax, VAT and PAYE are set up as needed.

The early steps depend on how quickly you return documents and complete your identity checks. Ask the provider who your contact is for each step, and in which language they’ll write to you.

Questions to ask before you sign

• Are you registered with Companies House as an ACSP, and which body supervises you for anti-money laundering?
• Is the registered office your own address, and how is post handled and forwarded?
• Who files the confirmation statement and the first accounts, and is that in the price?
• What happens to the address services if I move my accounts to another firm later?

Licences and registrations to check

A firm’s description of itself proves little. Check these registrations instead.

Companies House ACSP status

An ACSP is an agent, such as an accountant or solicitor, who files on behalf of others, and it must be supervised for anti-money laundering purposes to register. You can look a provider up on the public list of ACSPs, keeping in mind that not every ACSP chooses to appear on it. If the firm isn’t on the list, ask for its registration details.

Anti-money laundering supervision

Ask which body supervises the firm for anti-money laundering, and check the answer with that body. An ACSP can’t register with Companies House without this supervision, so a vague answer is a reason to look elsewhere.

Professional body membership

If the provider will also do your accounts or tax, check its membership of a professional body, such as ICAEW, ACCA or CIOT. Firms list these memberships on their profiles, and you can confirm them with the body itself.

What a formation quote should include

Ask for the quote in writing, and check that it separates these lines:

Item	What to check
Companies House fee	£100 online; anything above that is the provider’s charge
Provider’s formation fee	What it covers: name check, articles, filing, share certificates
Identity verification	Whether it’s included, and for how many people
Registered office	Annual fee, mail handling, scanning or forwarding charges
Directors’ service address	Same questions as the registered office
HMRC registrations	Corporation Tax, VAT and PAYE, included or extra
First-year compliance	Confirmation statement, accounts and Company Tax Return, or a separate engagement
Renewal terms	What the address services cost from year two

The Companies House fee schedule also lists the confirmation statement at £50 online, so you can see which part of any compliance package is the government fee.

A low formation fee can leave out the address services that a non-resident can’t do without. Compare the total for the first year, not the formation fee alone.

Services after incorporation

Formation is a one-off; the work that follows is yearly. The deadlines start at incorporation: first accounts are due 21 months after registration, and the Company Tax Return 12 months after the end of the accounting period. That’s why many founders choose a provider that also offers:

• Accounting for the annual accounts and bookkeeping.
• Tax compliance for Corporation Tax returns.
• VAT registration and returns, where the company passes the threshold or sells into the UK from abroad.
• Payroll if the company pays salaries, including to its director.
• Corporate secretarial work such as confirmation statements, share transfers and changes of directors.
• Virtual office services for the registered office and mail.
• Bank account assistance for preparing an application to a UK bank.

Among the 235 firms on Accountanty that offer company formation in the UK, 233 also list accounting, 225 list VAT and 225 list payroll, while 157 offer corporate secretarial services, 85 a virtual office and 62 bank account assistance.

Red flags when choosing a provider

• No identity checks: a firm that will file without knowing who you are is not meeting its own obligations.
• No ACSP registration and no clear answer about it: ask before you pay.
• Address services sold as optional to a non-resident: you’ll need a UK registered office whatever the package says.
• Promises about approval times: Companies House sets the timing, usually within 24 hours online.
• Promises about tax results: a formation provider files a company; it can’t promise an outcome on tax.

How to compare providers on Accountanty

Accountanty lists 235 firms that offer company formation in the UK: 221 accounting firms and 14 corporate service providers. Most are small practices (186), with 46 medium-sized firms and 3 large networks. Of these, 69 say they work with foreign clients, and some teams speak Polish, Romanian, Urdu or Mandarin alongside English.

You can browse by city: 92 firms offering company formation are listed in London, 64 in Birmingham, 44 in Manchester and 20 in Edinburgh. For firms that focus on clients from abroad, see accountants for foreign clients in the UK.

If you’d rather describe your plans once, send a free quote request through Accountanty. It reviews the request and forwards it to suitable firms.

Verdict on company formation in the UK

If you live abroad, use a provider, and pick one that is a registered ACSP, supervised for anti-money laundering, and willing to put a full first-year price in writing. The £100 Companies House fee is the same for everyone, so judge providers on what they add: identity verification, a compliant UK registered office, and accounts and tax support after incorporation. Choose the firm you’d trust with the yearly filings, not only the one that files fastest, and company formation in the UK becomes the first step of a working relationship rather than a one-off purchase.