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Pages: 4 pages
Issued: March 2010
Author: Process Knowhow
Email us at
service@processknowhow.com if you require further information
Free to download - please add to your cart to download the full version of the document. The following are extracts:
What is Companies House (CH)?
All limited companies in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) are registered at Companies House, an Executive Agency of the government Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). There are more than 2 million limited companies registered in the UK, and more than 300,000 new companies are incorporated each year. Companies House is headed by the person holding the position of the Registrar of Companies.
Many countries, but not all, have equivalents to Companies House although they might be referred to by different names. A list of these equivalents can be found on the Companies House website at www.companieshouse.gov.uk / www.companieshouse.co.uk.
Filing documents with CH
Filing documents entails submitting them to CH either
- online after registering for an web filing account with CH
- by post,
- by courier, or
- by delivering in person by hand at the Companies House building
Documents sent by ordinary post risk being delayed or lost in transit. Important or original documents should be sent special delivery or couriered if they can not be filed online.
CH will check the documents they receive and either reject and return them or accept them. Documents that are accepted are scanned and published on the public register with CH retaining the originals.
CH specifies the format for documents and provides on its website a range of standard forms to use. Documents generally should be black & white (no grey shading or pictures) and matt finish to allow scanning and should clearly identify the name and number of the company to which they relate.
Downloading documents from CH
Documents for any company can be downloaded from the CH website by anyone. From the CH home page, select the “Search company information”, choose the required company then use the ‘Order information on this company’ link. The link lists out the filing history for the company from which documents can be selected. Most documents can be downloaded for £1 each which can be paid for by credit card. CH provides a subscription services for high volume users.
Web filing accounts
Online filing can save time and effort with filing. A personal web filing online account is needed for which registration is made via the CH website. Setting up an account is free and takes a few minutes. A user logs into their personal account then selects any UK company for which to make a filing. Each company has a secure password that is required to make an online filing for the company. The password is usually kept confidential by the directors or company secretary. Email alerts can be set up to confirm when filings are submitted and when CH accepts them.
CH permits companies to join or leave the PROOF scheme. For companies electing to join PROOF, many common filings can only be made online and attempts to file hard copies are rejected. This helps prevents fraudulent hard copy filings e.g. to appoint bogus directors.
Creating a company
Companies are created by filing the correct set of incorporation documents with CH although internet businesses that specialise in forming companies deal with the filing electronically. This greatly simplifies, speeds up and reduces the cost of the process compared to completing and filing hard copy documents. The cost for incorporating a new company using an internet business typically starts from around £25 per company.
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Dissolving a company
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Common day to day CH filings made regularly by plcs and limited companies
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Document | When filed | Cost of filing |
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Company directors
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Annual Returns
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Late filing of documents
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Other filings and records
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