The formation of a private limited company requires several documents to comply with rules prescribed by the Companies Act 2006 (and others). To meet the requirements for registering your company you will need:

• A ‘memorandum of association’:
  • This is a basic but legal statement signed by all the initial shareholders agreeing to the formation of the company.
• ‘Articles of association’:
  • These set out the written rules relating to the running of the company. The directors, shareholders, and company secretary must all agree to the terms laid out in the ‘model articles’.

Note: New companies can use a default set of simplified articles. But, it may be appropriate to submit tailored articles to Companies House instead as part of your company incorporation process.

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Memorandum of Association Template

Companies House produce a form to give notice of subscribers (company with share capital). You can use the pro-forma as a memorandum of association template when forming a company with share capital.

You can choose to use the memorandum of association template PDF version. Even so, you would not be able to update the company memorandum once it gets registered.

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Articles of Association UK

Companies House produce model articles of association for limited companies to use as templates. Check out the different types of model articles of association that a limited company can have. The list includes older versions of Table A from previous company legislation.

Standard articles that most limited companies use are also known as ‘model articles’. Even though you can write your own articles of association contents, you cannot register a company online if you do.

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Community Interest Companies (CIC)

You would still need a business structure if you are setting up a social enterprise. But, you would not be able to use limited company model articles to set up a community interest company (CIC).

Note: The Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies produces model constitutions. In fact, they are bespoke model constitutions for use when forming or converting to a community interest company.

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