The practicalities of company formation with more than one person

A limited company can be formed with just one person taking on all the necessary roles in the company. But if you are starting a company with more than one person, you may wonder how the company formation process works from a practical point of view.

For example, does everyone involved need to be in the same room or sign the application form personally? The answer is no, they do not. Assuming you can’t all complete the process together, you have two options to choose from. We explain these below. 

The information in this blog post is relevant if you are using 1st Formations to register your company, not if you’re forming directly with Companies House.

Option 1: One person overseeing the company formation

This is the ideal scenario. The person dealing with the company formation – the account holder –  will need to know everything about the new company and how it’s going to be structured, including the:

• Official company name
• Registered office address
• At least one SIC code (Standard Industrial Classification code) to describe and classify the company’s business activities
• Appointment information for every director, company secretary, shareholder, and person with significant control (PSC) 
• Share capital 

The account holder will require the following information for every director and company secretary (the ‘officers’) in the company:

• Title and full name
• Date of birth (must be at least 16 years old)
• Nationality
• Occupation
• Residential address
• Service address

They must also provide the following details of each shareholder (who may or may not be officers of the company):

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Residential address 
• Service address
• Nationality
• If the shareholder is also a person with significant control, their ‘nature of control’ in the company (e.g. the person holds more than 50% but not more than 75% of shares)

Additionally, the account holder will need to know three security details for each officer and shareholder:

• The first three letters of their mother’s maiden name
• The first three letters of their father’s forename
• The first three letters of their town of birth

These details will act as the person’s unique online signature.

If you have any questions while entering this information on our online company formation form, we are here to help. However, we can only talk to the designated account holder. 

To clarify, the account holder is the person who provides their name under the ‘Billing Details’ heading just before making a payment.

Option 2: Multiple people using a shared login

Alternatively, everyone involved in forming the new company can take turns logging in to our system and completing the sections relating to them.

Once again, it’s important to highlight that we can only discuss the company formation with the named account holder. This rule applies before and after company formation.

ID requirements for company formation 

We are legally required to verify the ID and address of our company formation customers and certain shareholders. We will contact you with more information as and when necessary.

• What is a registered office address?
• Directors, shareholders, PSCs, and company secretaries – an overview
• How many shares should I issue when forming a company?

However, 90% of our customers don’t need to do anything. We will perform a digital check of your ID and address using the information you provide on your company order form.

Ready to form a company?

We offer several online company formation packages, with prices starting from just £2.99 (excluding £100 Companies House fee). These are perfect for setting up a company alone or with others.

Hopefully, this blog post answers any questions you have about the practicalities of forming a company with multiple people. If there’s anything else you’d like to know, please leave a comment and we’ll be happy to help.

You can also contact our London-based team directly if you need help setting up your company or have questions about our other services, such as our Registered Office Address or Hassle-Free Compliance Service.