United Kingdom

Starting a Business in

United Kingdom

Listed below is a detailed summary of the bureaucratic and legal hurdles an entrepreneur must overcome in order to incorporate and register a new firm, along with their associated time and set-up costs.  It examines the procedures, time and cost involved in launching a commercial or industrial firm with up to 50 employees and start-up capital of 10 times the economy's per-capita gross national income (GNI).

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standardized Company

  • Legal Form: Private Limited Company (Ltd)
  • City: London

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Check name for uniqueness at the company names index database on the web

This can be done at http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/b2366611298171d46dc7fbf07eee4e08/wcframe?name=accessCompanyInfo
1 day no charge
2 Prepare memorandum and articles of association; fill out and sign Form IN01 (application for registration).

Forms are also available free of charge from the Companies House website: www.companieshouse.gov,uk. The company limited by shares that has adopted model articles without modification does not need to deliver a copy for registration. Form IN01 must be signed by all the subscribers. n addition to the memorandum and articles of association an application to register a company must contain the following information included on the form IN01 which should be lodged with the relevant Registrar of Companies (i.e. for England and Wales (or Wales), Scotland or Northern Ireland):
(i) statement of compliance with all requirements of the Companies Act 2006;
(ii) application for registration of the company covering:
- proposed name (see section 3.6 for more detailed information on choosing a company name);
- country of registration office (e.g. England and Wales (or Wales), Scotland or Northern Ireland);
- whether the liability of the members is to be limited and if so whether by shares or guarantee; and
- whether public or private;
(iii) if the application is delivered by agents acting on behalf of the subscribers, the agent's name and address, as was the case under the Companies Act 1985. In addition, in the event that the application is delivered by an agent for the subscribers, they must also confirm that the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to the registration have been complied with;
(iv) in the case of a company with a share capital the application must also include a statement of the capital and initial shareholdings, including the name and address of the subscriber. A service address may be used by the subscriber. This is a new requirement introduced by the Companies Act 2006;
(v) a statement of the proposed officers, being the first director and company secretary (unless in the case of a private company there is no company secretary); and
(vi) a statement of the intended registered office address.
1 day GBP 135 (approximately GBP 100 for solicitor services + GBP 35 for statutory book)
3 File incorporation documents with the Registrar of Companies at Companies House

Fees for filing incorporation documents vary. The standard registration fee is GBP 14 for software and GBP 40 for paper. Same-day incorporation fees are GBP 30 for software and GBP 100 for paper.
1 day GBP 30
4 Contact HMRC and register for VAT

HMRC will contact the company to register it for corporate tax (tax on company profits).
1 day no charge
* 5 Contact HMRC and register for PAYE

The company must separately contact the Inland Revenue to set up a contribution scheme for national insurance and pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) tax, which deducts income tax from employee wages or salary). The company will be issued with an activation PIN within around a week and will need to activate this within 28 days (or else request a new PIN).
8 days (simultaneous with previous procedure) no charge
6 Sign up for employer’s liability insurance

The Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 requires that proof of insurance be posted at the workplace. Since 1 October 2008 it is possible to display this information electronically, although a company that wishes to do this will need to ensure that its employees know how and where to find the certificate and have reasonable access to it.
1 day no charge
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
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