By
August 30, 2026
What Must a UK Company Do After Incorporation?
After incorporation, a UK limited company must establish its company records, separate its finances, register for the appropriate taxes and prepare for its Companies House and HMRC filing deadlines.
Receiving a certificate of incorporation does not complete every requirement. The company’s directors remain responsible for ensuring that the business is properly organised and compliant, even if an accountant or formation agent assists them.
The following checklist covers the main steps a new company should take.
The directors should begin by reviewing the company’s Companies House record and incorporation documents.
Check that the following information is correct:
Incorrect information should be corrected as soon as possible using the appropriate Companies House procedure.
The certificate of incorporation confirms that the company legally exists.
It shows:
Banks, payment providers, suppliers and overseas authorities may request a copy.
The certificate should be stored securely with the company’s other permanent records.
Companies House normally sends an authentication code to the company’s registered office.
This code is used to file company information online and should be treated like a sensitive password.
The company should:
Possession of the code may allow someone to submit filings for the company, so it should not be shared casually.
Directors and people with significant control must comply with applicable Companies House identity-verification rules.
After verification, each individual receives a personal code. A person who is both a director and a PSC may need to provide their code separately for each role.
The company should check:
Failure to complete identity verification can prevent filings or appointments and may lead to enforcement action.
A limited company must keep records about its ownership, decisions and finances.
Important company records may include:
Records may be kept electronically if they remain accurate, secure and available when required.
A company limited by shares should prepare share certificates for its shareholders.
A certificate normally shows:
The share certificates should agree with the statement of capital and register of members.
The register of members is an important legal record of the company’s shareholders.
It should show:
The company must keep this register at its registered office or another permitted inspection location.
The registered office must remain an appropriate physical address where documents sent to the company are expected to reach someone acting on its behalf.
The company must also maintain an appropriate registered email address for communications from Companies House. The email address is not normally displayed publicly.
The directors should ensure that:
Missing official correspondence does not normally remove a company’s obligation to respond or file on time.
A limited company is legally separate from its shareholders and directors. Its money must therefore be kept separate from their personal money.
The company should use an account in its registered name for:
Directors should not use company funds for personal spending without correctly recording the payment as salary, dividend, expense reimbursement, loan or another lawful transaction.
An account provider may request:
Non-UK resident directors may face additional checks, depending on the provider’s eligibility rules.
Accounting records should be maintained from the company’s first transaction.
The system should record:
Supporting documents may include invoices, receipts, contracts, bank statements, expense claims and stock records.
Company accounting records normally need to be retained for at least six years from the end of the relevant financial year, and sometimes longer.
Companies House assigns the company an accounting reference date. The company’s annual accounts are normally prepared up to that date.
The directors should check:
The company can apply to change its accounting reference date, subject to applicable restrictions.
A company that becomes active for Corporation Tax must tell HMRC.
Business activity can include:
The company must generally notify HMRC within three months of becoming active and add Corporation Tax services to its business tax account.
HMRC guidance explains when a company must report that it has become active for Corporation Tax.
HMRC normally sends the company’s Unique Taxpayer Reference to its registered office.
The UTR is used for Corporation Tax administration and should be stored securely.
If it does not arrive, the company should check that its registered office is correct and request the UTR through the appropriate HMRC service.
A private company normally has separate deadlines for preparing accounts, paying Corporation Tax and filing its Company Tax Return.
Common deadlines include:
The dates may differ for long first accounting periods, public companies or companies with unusual accounting arrangements.
The government provides a deadline guide for private limited-company accounts and tax returns.
Every company must file a confirmation statement at least once every 12 months, even if no company information has changed.
The statement confirms or updates information such as:
The first review period normally ends 12 months after incorporation. The company then has 14 days to file.
Companies House confirms that a confirmation statement must be filed at least once every 12 months.
A confirmation statement is not the same as annual accounts or a Company Tax Return.
A company must register for VAT if its taxable turnover exceeds the applicable registration threshold or if it expects to exceed the threshold within the relevant forward-looking period.
Voluntary registration may be available before the threshold is reached.
Before registering voluntarily, consider:
The VAT position can be more complicated for e-commerce, property, financial services and international businesses.
The company may need to register for PAYE if it will pay salaries to directors or employees.
This should generally be completed before the first payday.
The company may then need to:
A director is not automatically required to receive a salary. The appropriate payment method should be decided based on the company’s circumstances.
A company employing eligible workers may have automatic-enrolment pension duties.
These can include:
The duties can apply even when the company employs only one or a small number of people, although exemptions or different rules may apply in certain director-only situations.
The company should assess its risks and obtain appropriate insurance.
Possible policies include:
Employers’ liability insurance is generally compulsory where the company employs staff, subject to limited exemptions.
Contractors, landlords, regulators and professional bodies may also require specific cover.
Incorporation does not automatically authorise the company to carry out every business activity.
The company may need a licence, registration or regulatory approval if it operates in areas such as:
The directors should confirm the requirements before beginning regulated activities.
A company processing personal data must comply with applicable data-protection law.
Depending on its activities, it may need to:
A company processing personal information must generally pay the applicable data-protection fee unless an exemption applies. The government provides a service for checking and paying this fee.
The company must display its registered name and other required details on certain business documents and online materials.
Business letters, order forms and websites should generally show:
Official guidance explains the information that must appear on company stationery and websites.
Invoices should also contain the information required by company, tax and VAT rules.
Before trading, consider whether the company needs:
Contracts should be made in the company’s name rather than the director’s personal name.
If a founder created intellectual property before incorporation, it may need to be formally transferred or licensed to the company.
Registering a company name does not automatically provide complete trade-mark protection.
The company should consider:
The domain name, company name and trade mark are separate rights.
The company must notify Companies House when certain information changes.
Changes that may require filing include:
Different changes have different deadlines. The directors should not wait for the next confirmation statement where an event-driven filing is required.
A company that has not started business may be dormant for Corporation Tax.
The directors may need to tell HMRC that the company is dormant. However, dormant companies must still comply with Companies House requirements.
A dormant company will normally still need to:
Dormant status does not mean the company can ignore Companies House correspondence.
After incorporation, the directors should confirm that they have:
After incorporation, a UK company must organise its statutory records, separate its finances, monitor its registered office and register for the taxes that apply to its activities.
It must also maintain accounting records, file annual accounts and confirmation statements, submit Company Tax Returns and report relevant changes to Companies House.
Completing these steps early helps prevent missed deadlines, banking problems, tax penalties and inaccurate public records. Directors may use professional advisers, but they remain legally responsible for the company’s compliance.
This article provides general information and does not constitute legal, tax or financial advice.
