Notice to clients: Companies House has a backlog of orders and, as of 19th November at 9 a.m., is still processing orders received on 18th November.
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Register your company quickly and easily for as little as £49.99

To Start, check your company name with Companies House

We are rated Excellent in our service on Trustpilot Start Trustpilot

Trustpilot review We are rated 4.7 out of 5.0

Fully Authorised

We are approved Companies House Agents

Clear Pricing

We have a clear pricing structure with no hidden charges

London Address

Registered office & Sole Traders Address Service

Track Record

Our team has been forming companies since 2011

Select the right package to register your limited company

If this is your first purchase from us, you can take advantage of our discounted offer of £49.99 for the starter pack. If you have used our service before, select the "existing client" tab.

For New Clients
For Existing Clients
Starter
£49.99
One time only

Ideal for contractors, single owner managed companies, dormant companies and name protection.

Printed
£58.99+VAT

Suitable for companies that are owned and managed by more than one person.

Privacy
£59.99+VAT
Best Buy - see why

This is the best option if you are running your business from home or travel a lot. Post is scanned Free & stored securely in your Smart Doc account.

Business +
£99.99+VAT

Everything, you need to start a business, including a prestigious address and confirmation statement.

International
£88.99+VAT

Suitable for our overseas customers, UK address.

Compare All Packages

Looking for a different company structure? We have you covered

Limited Liability Partnerships

Flexible working and profit sharing arrangements together with limited liability protection make LLPs an increasingly popular choice for business partnerships. An LLP can be registered at Companies House within one working day and usually within 6 hours.

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Companies Limited by Guarantee

Guarantee companies are typically used by social enterprises for non-commercial activities. User groups, trade associations, social clubs, co-operatives and charities tend to use companies limited by guarantee. Subscribers are given limited liability.

READ MORE

Public Limited Company (PLC)

Public Limited Companies (PLCs) are the best form of limited company if you intend to involve many shareholders. The minimum amount of nominal capital you will have to issue is £50,000, of which £12500 will need to be "paid-up" before the company can start trading.

READ MORE

Our 4 step online company registration process

Select Your Company Name

Select Package

Enter Your Company Details

Make Payment

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a limited company?

A limited company is a legal structure recognised in law as being independent of its owner or owners. It has to be registered at Companies House to exist. It can have one or many owners and has to conduct its business in accordance with the rules set out in the Companies Acts. The main benefit for traders or people in business is that it protects their personal assets by limiting their liability to the amount they have invested in the company via their shareholdings. A limited company can be dormant, or it can be trading and conducting business. A limited company has the legal capacity to enter into contracts in its own right.

How long does it take to form a company?

Like most formation agents, we use a third-party software system that links our orders directly to Companies House. Once your order is placed, it is automatically forwarded to Companies House. The time taken is entirely dependent on Companies House’s workload. Companies House will normally complete your application within 1 working day. In unusual circumstances, Companies House systems can be interrupted and take more than a day to resolve, but this is very rare.

Do I need to specify what my business is or the objectives of the company?

There is no requirement to specify the objectives of your company or the nature of your trade in the articles of association (constitution) of the company. But you will be asked to provide a SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) code when you make your application. A drop-down list of all the available classifications is available at the appropriate juncture in the application. You only need to select one code, and it should be the code that is the most accurate. It is very rare to find an exact SIC match, so use the best match you can find in the drop-down list.

What are the charges?

You can form a company for as little as £49.99 if you are a first-time buyer and have not placed an order with us before. There is a selection of packages that are more expensive and there are extra services you can buy. We charge for all the extras, but they are entirely optional, and you are not obliged to buy them. All our prices are clearly stated.
If you are not a first-time buyer and wish to form an additional company, you will be asked to pay our standard price for the basic package of £52.99+VAT.

How many people do I need to form a company?

You need a shareholder and a director. The shareholder and the director can be the same person; so a company can be formed with just 1 person. Shareholders are the owners of the company while the directors are the people responsible for managing a company. The director must be at least 16 years of age.

What documents are required to create a company?

You do not need any documents to form a company, and the entire process is online. Our systems generate and submit forms IN01 and the Memorandum and articles of association on your behalf when you complete your order.

What company name can I use?

Subject to specific rules, you can use any company name, provided it does not already exist or resembles another company name on the Companies House Register. Our name search box is linked to Companies House and will advise you if your proposed name is available. For more information about company names, go to our names link.

What happens after I have placed my order?

Once your order is placed, you will receive an automated email acknowledgment of the order. In the meantime, Companies House will process your application. Once the company is formed, you will be notified by email and you will also receive PDF copies of your certificate of incorporation, share certificates and Memorandum and articles of association. Please check your email filters to ensure that you are notified when the email arrives. You will also have a portal that you can access to make changes to your company as and when you require. Your web authentication code is saved in the portal so that your changes can be automatically updated at Companies House.

When can I start trading?

You can start trading as soon as your company has been formed. Our system automatically sends you a PDF of your certificate of incorporation. Once you have the certificate, you know your company exists. The instant your company is formed, it has the legal capacity to enter into agreements.

Optional services available with company formation

You can buy these products either as part of a package or as an ‘add-on’ in the ordering process.

Registered Office Address

Our registered office service is an address in the heart of Central London’s (WC1) business and professional district. Any user of the service can also have free address services for all their officers (directors, shareholders, and company secretary) for the first year. Official post will be scanned and uploaded to our secure online.

Scanned Post Service

Unless you have the privacy upgrade, all our address services include free official post scanning with optional upgrades to include all business post. Your scanned post will be kept in our secure Smart Ducument storage system and will be ready for you to access whenever you like. Users of the business post upgrade can also email us other documents for storage.

Business Mail Forwarding

If you prefer to have all your post (official and trade post) sent to you rather than scanned, you can upgrade to our business mail forwarding service. We charge a handling fee of 20p per item of post together with the Royal mail charge for 1st class post. This service is available for regular-sized mail only.

Post Box Service

Our Registered Office Service includes free service addresses for the directors, shareholders and company secretary, thereby allowing anyone involved in the company to maintain their privacy free of charge. The service addresses continue to be free whilst you are using our Registered Office Service.

Are you ready to register your company?

Get Started

International Packages For Non UK Residents

If you are not resident in the UK, don't worry you can still from a UK company.

Register your company in the UK, with our central London registered office address & free directors service address with best possible prices. With our quick and simple online setup process you can form your uk company and start trading

Get Started

We are rated Excellent in our service

Trustpilot 4.8 out of five star rating on Trustpilot

Rated 4.7 out of 5.0 by our customers

Been with Smart Formation for approx. 3.5 years, it was a seamless service. No longer require their service as I have dissolved my business but would definitely use them again and recommend their services to others. (1 March 2024)

Chill with me

Quick, efficient and affordable. Customer service was very attentive and helpful, quick to answer any questions. Thank you! (12 February 2024)

Mrs Arias

It was a very good experience dealing with the Smart Formation team. They help throughout the process very well. (23 January 2024)

Mr. Waqar Zaman

Abbie O’Neill, has been amazing and very efficient setting up my LTD company. Excellent customer service. (30 January 2024)

Scott

Not a first time client . Once again they did it perfectly (7 Jun 2022)

Mr Mirco Riccardo Romito

Rated 5 out of 5 stars