# IN01: registering a private or public company on paper

- **Canonical URL:** https://formspedia.com/uk/in01/
- **Last updated:** 2026-11-08
- **Country & Language:** United Kingdom (`en-GB`)
- **Form:** IN01
- **Revision:** 08/26 Version 13.0
- **Issuing Agency:** Companies House
- **Tax Area:** Registration, representation and benefits
- **Who Must File:** Subscribers forming a private or public company in the UK
- **Filing Method:** Paper form posted to Companies House with the fee
- **Filing Fee:** £124 by post; £100 through the online service
- **Legal Basis / Statute:** Companies Act 2006, section 9
- **Official Form PDF:** https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a9aa36b01bbff0bf8f97e26/IN01_v13.0-FINAL.pdf

IN01 is the paper application that brings a private or public company into existence at Companies House. It is made under section 9 of the Companies Act 2006, runs to 39 pages in version 13.0 (dated 08/26), and costs £124 to file by post. The online service linked from the same GOV.UK page is labelled for private companies limited by shares that adopt model articles, and costs £100.

### When IN01 is the right form, and when it is not

The front page names two cases that need something else. A limited liability partnership is registered on [LL IN01](/uk/ll-in01/). And if any individual person with significant control has applied, or is applying, for protection from having their details shown on the public register, Companies House asks you to email secure@companieshouse.gov.uk for a separate form instead of putting that person on IN01.

A foreign company setting up a UK establishment does not incorporate at all; it registers the establishment on [OS IN01](/uk/os-in01/). Everyone else forming a UK company, whether limited by shares, limited by guarantee or unlimited, can use IN01. GOV.UK records two recent rounds of changes to the form: new measures under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act on 4 March 2024, and mandatory identity verification on 18 November 2025.

### What to have ready before you print the form

- A memorandum of association. The GOV.UK guidance calls it a simple document with the company name, the subscribers and the date, and offers one template for a [company with share capital](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/give-notice-of-subscribers-company-with-share-capital) and another for a [company without share capital](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/give-notice-of-subscribers-company-not-having-share-capital). A missing or undated memorandum is the first rejection reason on that guidance page.

- A copy of the articles if you are amending the model articles or using bespoke ones.

- A Companies House personal code for every individual director. Each one has to verify their identity first, through GOV.UK One Login (free) or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider.

- The reply from a government department or specified body, if the proposed name contains a sensitive or restricted word.

- Nationalities and countries written exactly as they appear on the [Companies House list](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationalities), which is the only wording accepted.

Print the PDF at full size on white A4 paper. Optional continuation pages for extra officers, subscribers and PSCs come as a ZIP file on the same GOV.UK page.

### Part 1: company details, sections A1 to A10

Part 1 is four pages. The registered email page is marked as not shown on the public record; everything else in Part 1 is public once the company is registered.

| Section | What goes in | Points to watch |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A1 | Proposed company name in full, including the ending. | Duplicates are refused. Search name availability before you fill it in. |
| A2 | Tick if the name contains sensitive or restricted words. | Attach a copy of the response you received from the department or body. |
| A3 | Tick to claim exemption from ending the name with "Limited" or "Cyfyngedig". | Open only to private companies limited by guarantee that meet further conditions, or to private charities. |
| A4 | One of five company types. | Public limited by shares, private limited by shares, private limited by guarantee, or private unlimited with or without share capital. |
| A5 | Up to four SIC 2007 codes, or a short description of the business. | A description is enough if you cannot settle on a code. |
| A6 | Where the registered office is situated. | England and Wales, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Tick one. |
| A7 | Registered office address. | It must lie in the jurisdiction ticked in A6 and be an "appropriate address". |
| A8 | Articles: model articles in full, model articles with amendments, or bespoke articles. | One option and one box only. A CIC must choose bespoke articles and attach them. |
| A9 | Tick if the articles are restricted. | Restricted means the articles contain provision for entrenchment. |
| A10 | One registered email address. | Emails from the registrar must be expected to reach someone acting for the company. |

The name and the type in A4 have to agree. The guidance gives the example that a private company limited by shares cannot carry a "PLC" ending, and a plc cannot end in "Limited". Leaving the ending off A1 altogether is a separate rejection reason.

For A7, the form's own test of an appropriate address has two parts: post delivered there by hand or by post would be expected to come to the attention of someone acting for the company, and it must be possible to obtain an acknowledgement of delivery there. A Scottish company needs a Scottish address; a company registered in England and Wales needs one in England or Wales. GOV.UK points out on the download page that a home address used as the registered office becomes public.

### Part 2: secretaries and directors

A private company must appoint at least one director who is an individual, and a secretary is optional. A public company needs at least two directors, one of them an individual, and at least one secretary. Each officer goes in a different section depending on whether it is a person or a corporate body.

| Officer | Sections | Main entries |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Individual secretary | B1, B2 | Name, former names used in business in the last 20 years, service address. |
| Corporate secretary | C1 to C4 | Name, principal office address, then C3 (UK limited company number) or C4 (legal form, governing law, register). |
| Individual director | D1 to D6 | Name, nationality, country or state of residence, month and year of birth, service address, full date of birth, usual residential address, identity verification. |
| Corporate director | E1 to E4 | Same structure as the corporate secretary pages. |

The service address in B2 or D2 is the one shown publicly, and you can write "The company's registered office" there. D4, the director's usual residential address, sits on a page marked as not shown on the public record. It cannot be a PO Box, DX or LP number, and "Same as service address" is not allowed if D2 says "The company's registered office". D3 asks for the full date of birth.

D6 is where the director's identity verification is confirmed: a tick to say the person has verified under section 1110A of the Companies Act 2006, and their 11-character Companies House personal code. D5 asks whether the name on the form matches the verified name. If not, the options are a legally changed name, a preferred name, a translation or different naming convention, or prefer not to say, and Companies House may contact you about the difference. The base form has room for two individual directors; a third goes on the director continuation page.

A director who has applied for, or holds, a section 243 exemption (keeping the residential address from credit reference agencies) ticks the box in D4. The whole IN01 then goes to The Registrar of Companies, PO Box 4082, Cardiff, CF14 3WE, together with the exemption application if it is being made at the same time.

Corporate principal office addresses must be physical delivery addresses. A PO box number is accepted only inside a full address, and DX numbers are not accepted.

### Parts 3 and 4: share capital or guarantee

Part 3 opens with a yes/no question about share capital. Answer no and you go straight to the statement of guarantee in Part 4.

F1, the statement of capital, needs one currency table per currency. For each class of share give the number of shares, the aggregate nominal value and the total amount to be unpaid (nominal value plus any premium). Fill in the totals line too, including shares on continuation pages, and list totals in different currencies separately, for example £100 + €100. An empty totals field is one of the eight rejection reasons in the guidance.

F2 is the prescribed particulars for each class shown in F1, one table per class: voting rights, dividend rights, capital rights including on a winding up, and whether the shares are redeemable. F3 lists the subscribers in alphabetical order with their class of share, number of shares, currency, nominal value and the amounts paid and unpaid on each share. Their addresses here are public but do not have to be home addresses.

A company limited by guarantee completes G1 instead. Each subscriber gives surname, forenames, address and the amount guaranteed, in any valid currency, and a class of member only where there will be more than one class. By being named in G1, each subscriber confirms they will contribute up to that amount if the company is wound up while they are a member or within one year after they stop being one.

### Part 5: people with significant control

Tick H1 if, on incorporation, someone will count as a person with significant control or a registrable relevant legal entity (RLE). Tick H2 if the company knows or has reason to believe there will be none.

An individual PSC goes in I1 to I9. The nature of control in I7 uses three bands for shares and for voting rights: more than 25% but not more than 50%, more than 50% but less than 75%, and 75% or more. There are also boxes for the right to appoint or remove a majority of the board and, only where none of those apply, significant influence or control. I8 and I9 cover control exercised through a firm that is not a legal person or through a trust.

The PSC identity verification boxes in I5 and I6 are to be completed only if the PSC has already verified and shared their personal code with you. The GOV.UK identity guidance says each PSC has a 14-day period in which to provide the code, which can also be done through the separate "Provide identity verification details for a PSC" service.

A PSC with a section 790ZF exemption application or grant ticks the box in I4, and the form then goes to the same PO Box 4082 address used for section 243. Corporate PSCs use J1 to J5 (RLE details, legal form and governing law, nature of control). Section K covers an "other registrable person": a corporation sole, a government or government department, an international organisation of two or more countries, or a local authority.

### Parts 6 to 9: the statements and who authenticates

L1 confirms that every director and secretary named has consented to act. M1 is ticked only when individual PSCs appear in I1 to I7, and confirms each of them knows their details are being supplied. N1 is the lawful purpose statement, which the subscribers tick to confirm they wish to form the company for lawful purposes.

Part 9 asks whether an agent is delivering the application for all the subscribers. If not, every subscriber to the memorandum authenticates the statement of compliance in P1 with a printed name. If so, the agent gives their name and address in P2. No signature is needed in either case, and whatever is entered here appears on the public record.

### Reasons Companies House returns a paper IN01

The [GOV.UK page "How to complete form IN01"](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/register-a-private-or-public-company-in01/guidance-on-completing-paper-form-register-a-private-or-public-company-in01) lists eight rejection reasons. It still uses older section numbers in two places: it calls the articles section A7 and the prescribed particulars F4, which are A8 and F2 on version 13.0.

- The memorandum of association is missing, or has no date.

- The name ending is missing, or does not match the company type chosen in A4.

- The name is the same as one already on the register.

- More than one box is ticked in the articles section.

- Nationality or country of residence is not taken from the standard list.

- The totals in the statement of capital are blank.

- Prescribed particulars are missing or invalid.

- The class of share is missing from the prescribed particulars.

The checklist on page 39 adds a few more: physical addresses only, a registered email address given, the right appointment sections used, every attachment enclosed, the correct fee, and identity verification details for the directors. If the name is the same as an existing one in the way the Company, LLP and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015 permit, attach the consent.

### Fee, payment and where to post IN01

The paper fee is £124, according to the IN01 page on GOV.UK, which records a fee update on 1 February 2026. Cheques and postal orders are made payable to "Companies House". The online service costs £100, is paid by debit or credit card and usually registers the company within 24 hours, according to GOV.UK.

| Situation | Postal address |
| --- | --- |
| Standard application, any UK jurisdiction | Companies House, Crown Way, Cardiff, CF14 3UZ (DX 33050 Cardiff) |
| A director with a section 243 exemption, or a PSC with a section 790ZF exemption, applied for or granted | The Registrar of Companies, PO Box 4082, Cardiff, CF14 3WE |

Companies House's post guidance says documents for companies in Scotland and Northern Ireland also go to Cardiff. A stamped addressed envelope with a copy of your covering letter gets you an acknowledgement of receipt, which does not mean the company has been registered. Identity documents must not be posted.

The certificate of incorporation is sent to the presenter's address on page 39 unless you tick the registered office or the agent's address. The form labels the agent's address as section N2; on version 13.0 that address is entered in P2. Presenter details are optional and become public if given. The form says everything on it appears on the public record apart from usual residential addresses, the registered email address and identity verification details.

### Related forms

- [LL IN01](/uk/ll-in01/), for registering a limited liability partnership.

- [OS IN01](/uk/os-in01/), for a UK establishment of an overseas company.

- [AP01](/uk/ap01/), for appointing a director after the company is incorporated.

### Questions about IN01

#### Can a company limited by guarantee be registered online?

The IN01 page on GOV.UK links its £100 online service as being for a private company limited by shares with model articles. A guarantee company completes Part 4 of the paper IN01 and pays £124.

#### Do PSCs need a personal code before IN01 is sent?

Individual directors do: the form says they must have verified their identity. For PSCs, I5 and I6 are filled in only if the person has already verified and shared the code; otherwise the code is provided later through the PSC identity service within their 14-day period.

#### Is the director's day of birth published?

Only the month and year go on the public record; D3 asks for the full date. The note on that page makes an exception only where the subscribers have elected to hold the information on the public register.

### Sources

- Companies House, IN01 Application to register a company, 08/26 Version 13.0 ([PDF on GOV.UK](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a9aa36b01bbff0bf8f97e26/IN01_v13.0-FINAL.pdf))

- GOV.UK, [Register a private or public company (IN01)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/register-a-private-or-public-company-in01), last updated 4 September 2026

- GOV.UK, [How to complete form IN01](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/register-a-private-or-public-company-in01/guidance-on-completing-paper-form-register-a-private-or-public-company-in01), updated 4 September 2026

- GOV.UK, [Verifying your identity for Companies House](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/verifying-your-identity-for-companies-house), last updated 1 June 2026

- GOV.UK, [Set up a private limited company: register your company](https://www.gov.uk/limited-company-formation/register-your-company)

- GOV.UK, [Companies House office access and sending documents by post](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house/about/access-and-opening)