Forming a limited company means registering it with Companies House, the UK's official registrar. Once approved, your company gets a unique company number, becomes a distinct legal entity separate from you personally, and appears on the public Companies House register. You'll need to choose a company name, at least one director, a registered office address, and decide on your shareholding structure, even if you're the only shareholder.
You can do this yourself directly through Companies House for the £50 statutory fee, or use an authorised formation agent who handles the paperwork on your behalf, checks for common rejection reasons before submitting, and typically bundles in extras like a registered office address, digital documents, and sometimes a business bank account referral.
This is one of the most common misconceptions about UK company formation — people assume it takes weeks. In reality, if your application is complete and submitted correctly before Companies House's daily cut-off (typically 3pm on a working day), most applications are approved the same day or by the next working day. Formation agents that specialise in this process tend to have lower rejection rates than DIY submissions, since they check for common issues (name clashes, missing information, formatting problems) before the application goes anywhere near Companies House.
We've looked at the main UK formation agents on price, speed, transparency, and what happens after your company is formed (since ongoing compliance support matters more than the initial registration). Here's who we'd recommend:
Over one million UK companies formed. Authorised Companies House agent with transparent pricing and same-day formation.
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The statutory Companies House fee is £50 for standard same-day online registration. Formation agents charge on top of this for handling the paperwork, registered office address, and additional services, typically ranging from around £15 to £100+ depending on the package.
If you submit correctly before 3pm on a working day through an approved formation agent, most applications are approved by Companies House the same day or next working day. Filing directly yourself can sometimes take longer if there are errors in the submission.
Yes, every UK limited company must have a registered office address that's a physical UK address where official mail can be sent. If you don't want to use your home address (which becomes publicly visible on the Companies House register), most formation agents offer a registered office address service.
It can. Sole traders pay Income Tax and are subject to MTD for Income Tax above the relevant threshold. Limited companies pay Corporation Tax instead, which currently has a separate digital filing framework. This is a structural decision with real consequences beyond MTD, worth reading alongside our sole trader vs limited company comparison before deciding.
Yes, but it involves formally closing the company (striking it off or a members' voluntary liquidation for larger companies), which has its own process and potential tax implications. It's not a simple undo, so it's worth being confident in the decision before incorporating.