How to set up a limited company in the UK (step-by-step)

Setting up a limited company sounds like paperwork and lawyers. It isn’t. You can register online with Companies House in under an hour, and most people do it themselves.

Here’s exactly how, and more importantly what happens afterwards, because registering is the easy part and nobody warns you about the rest.

Checked against GOV.UK and Companies House on 20 July 2026. Sources at the end.

Before you start: is a limited company right for you?

A limited company is a separate legal person from you. Your personal finances are generally protected if the business runs into trouble, and it can be more tax-efficient once you’re earning a decent profit. The trade-off is more admin: annual accounts, a confirmation statement, Corporation Tax, and public filings.

If you’re testing an idea or earning a little on the side, being a sole trader is simpler and free. We compare the two properly in sole trader vs limited company.

One thing worth reading that comparison for: dividend tax rates rose in April 2026, which narrowed the gap between the two structures. A lot of “incorporate above £30k” advice was written before that change.

Decide this before you file: where the company lives

Your registered office address goes on a public register, searchable by anyone, forever.

If you register at your home, your home address is public. This is one of the most common regrets among new directors, and it’s much easier to deal with before you file than after.

Options:

A registered office service, typically £30 to £60 a year. The simplest fix.
Your accountant’s address. Many offer this as part of their service.
An office you actually rent, if you have one.

Note that directors also have a separate “service address” on the register, and that’s public too. Both can be something other than home.

Also new: directors and people with significant control have to verify their identity with Companies House. That became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025, so build it into your timings.

What you’ll need

A company name that isn’t already taken. Check the Companies House register first.
A registered office address in the UK (see above)
At least one director, which is you
At least one shareholder, usually also you
Details of anyone with significant control, usually the same person
A SIC code, a standard code describing what your business does
Identity verification for directors and people with significant control

On the name

It has to be unique and not too similar to an existing company. Some words are restricted and need permission: anything implying a connection to government, or regulated terms like “bank”, “royal” or “institute”.

Two checks worth doing at the same time, because there’s no point winning one and losing the others: is the domain free, and is the trading name clear of anyone else’s trade mark? Companies House will happily register a name that somebody else already holds a trade mark on, and that is entirely your problem later.

The steps

Choose and check your name on the Companies House register.
Go to GOV.UK and use the official “Register a limited company” service. Avoid third-party sites charging extra for the same filing.
Enter your details: directors, shareholders, registered office, SIC code, people with significant control.
Choose your share structure. For a one-person company, 1 ordinary share at £1 is normal and entirely sufficient. Don’t overthink it, but do think about it if anyone else is involved, because share splits are far easier to set right at the start than to change later.
Pay the fee and submit.
Wait for approval, often within 24 hours. You’ll get a Certificate of Incorporation with your company number.

That’s it. You’re a company.

What it costs

	Fee
Register online	£100
Register by post	£124
Same-day incorporation	£156
Confirmation statement, online (yearly)	£50
Confirmation statement, paper (yearly)	£110

Those are the Companies House fees as published on 20 July 2026. They’ve changed more than once in recent years, so check before you file.

The day after: the bit people forget

Registering is easy. Running the thing is where it gets real. In your first weeks:

Open a business bank account. Unlike a sole trader, this isn’t optional in practice. The company’s money is legally not yours, and mixing it with personal money creates genuine problems, not just messy bookkeeping. You’ll need your Certificate of Incorporation and usually ID for all directors.

Register for Corporation Tax with HMRC, within 3 months of starting to do business. This is separate from incorporating. Being registered at Companies House doesn’t register you with HMRC for tax.

Work out how you’ll pay yourself, and get advice on it. Salary, dividends, or a combination, each taxed differently. This is worth an accountant’s time in year one, because the sums changed in April 2026 and the answer depends on your numbers.

Start tracking every penny. Your year-end accounts depend on it, and so does knowing whether you’re actually making money.

The four deadlines you now own

This is the real difference from being a sole trader, and it’s the thing people underestimate.

Obligation	When
Annual accounts to Companies House	First set: 21 months after incorporation. After that: 9 months after your accounting year end
Confirmation statement	Yearly, £50 online
Company Tax Return and Corporation Tax	Corporation Tax is due before the return
Your own Self Assessment	31 January, as before

That third row is the one that catches first-year directors. With Self Assessment you file and pay on the same day. With Corporation Tax it’s the other way round: the tax is due before the return that calculates it. Plan for it rather than discovering it.

Corporation Tax is 19% on profits up to £50,000 and 25% above £250,000, with Marginal Relief between the two.

Missing these has consequences beyond a fine. Persistent failure to file can get the company struck off the register.

Things people wish they’d known

A company doesn’t automatically save you tax. It depends on your profit, how much you draw, and what the extra accountancy costs. Run the numbers before assuming.
You can’t just take money out. As a sole trader the money is already yours. In a company, money out is salary or dividends, each with its own tax treatment and record-keeping. Dividends need to come from actual profit and need proper paperwork.
Dormant still means filing. If you incorporate and don’t trade, you still file. Silence isn’t an option.
Closing it down is work too. Striking off a company has its own process and cost. It’s not difficult, but it isn’t nothing, which is a reason not to incorporate speculatively.

That first-week gap is where most new founders come unstuck. They’ve got a company but no system: receipts in a shoebox, invoices in a notes app, no idea what the profit actually is until an accountant tells them nine months later.

That’s exactly what Sedonis is for. Invoices, expenses, profit and P&L in one private place, from your first sale. Free to start, and it means when your accountant asks for the numbers at year end, you just have them.

Next steps

Sole trader vs limited company · if you’re still weighing it up
How to name your business
Business bank accounts
Free one-page business plan
How to start a business in the UK · the full nine-step guide

Checked on 20 July 2026: Companies House fees, annual accounts deadlines, identity verification, Corporation Tax rates. Fees have changed more than once recently. Check before you file.

General information, not financial or legal advice. How you pay yourself from a company is a genuinely technical question with real money attached, and it’s worth an accountant’s time in your first year.