Many customers are often scared to start their own business, fearing that the incorporation process will be both long and require a large number of documents. Luckily for entrepreneurs, this is not the case!
Indeed, to form a company there are only three main documents/details which are essential.
Personal Details
The first thing you are required to give when forming your company is your personal details. In the case of directors and company secretary, the following details need to be provided:
Full name
Date of birth
Residential address
Service address
Profession/occupation
Country of residence
Nationality
Number of shares you wish to have (and their associated value)
In the case of a shareholder, the following details need to be provided:
Full name
Residential Address
NOTE – If however a shareholder holds 25% or more in the company then he/she needs to provide the same details as a Director or Company Secretary.
UK Registered Office and Service Address
The second detail we require when incorporating your business is the company’s Registered Office Address and Service Address.
The Registered office address is the official address of a company. It serves as the company’s contact address where statutory and legal documents are sent.
Every company must have a registered office in the UK, even if it carries its business from abroad.The service address is the official address for the individuals of the company (i.e. Directors, Company Secretary and PSC).
Each of these individuals must provide a service address as all their statutory mail will be sent there.
More information about registered office and service addresses can be found on one of our other articles here.
Proof of ID and Address
One final part of the process will be to provide the various identity documents (commonly known as AML).AML stands for Anti-Money Laundering.
As a firm of a regulatory body, we are required to check all individuals ID and address to comply with the AML regulations act of 2007.
This means that you have to provide a proof of ID and a proof of Address for every director and any shareholder with 20% or more shares.Examples of proofs of ID are:
A passport
A driving licence
An ID card
The proof of Address can come in the form of:
A utility bill dated within 3 months
A bank statement dated within 3 months
A current council tax demand letter or statement
A driving licence (cannot be used as both Proof of ID and Address).
Once you’ve given these essential details and documents, this is then checked again internally before being submitted to Companies House.
If you would like more information or have any questions about the incorporation process, then please do not hesitate to contact one of our formation specialists at 020 8429 9245 or email us at [email protected].