IN01: registering a company on paper, and when to register online instead

Who needs it

• Anyone registering a company that the online service doesn't cover, such as a public company or a company limited by guarantee.
• Companies that don't want 'limited' in their name, which GOV.UK says must register by post.
• Not a private company limited by shares using model articles. That can use the cheaper and faster online service.

What you need before you start

• A company name that follows the naming rules and isn't the same as an existing one.
• A registered office address that is 'appropriate', in the UK and in the same part of the UK as the company. A company registered in Scotland needs a Scottish address.
• A registered email address. Companies House uses it to contact you and doesn't publish it.
• At least one director aged 16 or over, each with a Companies House personal code from verifying their identity.
• Details of shares and shareholders (the statement of capital) or of guarantors, and of any people with significant control.
• A memorandum of association and either model articles or your own articles.

How to file IN01

1. 1Check whether the online service covers your company. If it does, register there: it costs less and is usually done within 24 hours.
2. 2Have every director verify their identity through GOV.UK One Login or an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, and collect their personal codes.
3. 3Choose a registered office that meets the rules. A Royal Mail PO Box no longer qualifies.
4. 4Download the IN01 and complete it, using Companies House's list of nationalities and countries. Print it full size on white A4.
5. 5Include the memorandum of association and articles, then post it with the fee. Companies House lists current fees on its fees page.
6. 6Once registered, you get a certificate of incorporation showing the company number and date of formation.

Online or paper

Companies House's online service registers a private company limited by shares with model articles. GOV.UK says it usually completes within 24 hours, and the same service can register the company for Corporation Tax and PAYE. Paper applications cost more and take longer to process.

The IN01 is the route for everything else: other company types, public companies, and companies that don't want 'limited' in their name.

What changed under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act

Every director must now verify their identity before the company is registered, and the application includes each director's Companies House personal code. You verify once, for free, through GOV.UK One Login or by asking an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, such as an accountant, to verify you.

The registered office must be 'appropriate': post sent there must reach the company, and a sender must be able to get proof of delivery. Every company must also give a registered email address.

People with significant control

You confirm the company's people with significant control (PSCs) as part of registration. That's usually anyone with more than a quarter of the shares or voting rights. If there are none, you say so.

Common mistakes

• Using a home address as the registered office without realising it becomes public. Use another address, with permission, if you don't want that.
• Using a PO Box. Companies House no longer accepts one as a registered office.
• Sending the form before every director has a personal code.
• Registering a Scottish company with an office address in England, or the other way round. The registered office must be in the same part of the UK.
• Using the paper form for a simple company the online service covers, then waiting longer and paying more.