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Companies House: IN01 - Application to Register a Company

Alix
Alix
  • Updated

Athennian now offers direct integration with Companies House, allowing you to file incorporations straight from the platform via our API. This automation streamlines your filing process, ensuring quick and accurate submissions to the UK registry.

This article will guide you through the necessary setup and the step-by-step process for filing a new company incorporation to Companies House using Athennian.

Video Instructions

Before You Begin: Essential Setup in Athennian

To ensure a successful incorporation filing, several key pieces of information must be accurately set up within your Athennian account and the specific entity you wish to incorporate.

User Profile Settings

  1. Companies House Credentials (required):
    • Navigate to your profile (top right icon) > Settings > Account > Profile
    • Enter your provided Companies House PresenterID and Companies House Authentication Value
      • Note: You can't file without these credentials

Entity Details Setup

Before initiating the filing, ensure the following details are complete and accurate for the new entity:

  1. Juridisction:
    • In the entity's General > Details section, verify that the Jurisdiction: Country is set as United Kingdom and the Jurisdiction: Region as the applicable UK region
  2. Company Authentication Code:
    • In the entity's General > Compliance section, enter the required Company Authentication Code field
      • Note: As this is a new incorporation, you won't have the Entity Registration Number or Companies Registry ID yet. However, the Company Authentication Code is crucial for Companies House to identify your submission.
  3. SIC Codes:
    • In the entity's General > Details section, scroll down to the UK SIC Codes area
    • Add at least one (and a maximum of four) relevant UK SIC codes for the entity's business activities
      • Tip: You can search for and select the appropriate codes from the available options

People & Principal Details Setup

All individuals associated with the incorporation must have complete and accurate profiles:

  • For each person profile in the People section, ensure that they have the relevant information filled out:
    • Contact tab 
      • Birth Town: Must be added in the PII (Personally Identifiable Information) section
      • Mother's Name: Must be specified in the PII section
      • Father's Name: Must be specified in the PII section 
    • Addresses tab
      • Service Addresses: Must have at least one service address (e.g., mailing or residential address) added to their profile
  1. Director:
    • In the Principals section, ensure at least one person is appointed as a Director to the entity
    • Within each director's person profile, the Occupation must be specified
    • Verify that correct addresses are added to their profiles
  2. Secretary:
    • In the Principals section, ensure at least one person is appointed as a Secretary to the entity
    • When adding a new person as a secretary, assign the Officer role and Secretary subtype role
    • Verify that correct addresses are added to their profiles
  3. Shareholders:
    • The entity must have issued shares or stock to shareholders
    • To check Shareholder details:
      • Go to the entity's Securities > Ownership section
      • Open the individual shareholder's profile linked from their holding
      • Verify that their Tax Residency, required Addresses (mailing and residential/service) are all present and accurate
  4. Company as a Principal (if applicable):
    • If one of the principals (e.g., a director) is a company, that company's record must have a designated Contact person
    • The contact person's profile within Athennian must also include their Birth Town, Mother's Name, and Father's Name, along with other necessary PII
  5. Agent Affiliation (if applicable):
    • If a Statement of Compliance for the IN01 form is delivered by an agent, ensure an agent is affiliated with the entity in the Relationships > Affiliations section
    • The agent's individual profile must also have their Birth Town, Mother's Name, and Father's Name added to the PII section
  6. Contact Affiliation with Email:
    • The entity must have at least one Contact affiliation with an email address assigned in the Relationships > Affiliations section. This can be a billing contact, alternate contact, etc
    • Verify the email address is present in the contact's profile (required)

Create the Formation Task

Once all the prerequisite data is accurately entered, you can proceed with creating the incorporation filing task:

  1. Navigate to the Tasks section of the entity
  2. Click + New
  3. In the 1. Details section, select Formation as the Type. This will open the 2. Formation details section
  4. Enter the Task Name in the Memo field and the Due Date (required)
  5. Assign the task to the appropriate Assignee

Fill Out the Formation Details (Companies House Form)

The 2. Formation section within the task is where you'll complete the equivalent of the Companies House incorporation form (IN01). The system pulls data from your Athennian entity and allows you to specify additional details.

  1. Enter the Resolution Date and other relevant dates
  2. Select the Filing Location as UK

Complete applicable sections of the IN01 for. Missing information will be automatically populated from existing application data. 

Part 1 - Company Details

  1. A2 - Company Name Restrictions: If applicable, specify any company name restrictions
    • Sensitive oe Restrictive Words or Expressions: Check the box if the proposed company name contains sensitive words
    • Company Type - Section 4: Set the company type
    • Situation of registration office - Section 6: Set the appropriate situation for the registered office
  2. A8 - Articles of association: Assign the relevant articles of association
  3. A9 - Restricted company articles: Set any applicable restrictions
  4. A10 - Registered Email Address: Enter the registered email address for the company

Part 2 - Proposed Officers

  1. Directors: Select at least one director from the Principals section. You can add or remove individuals as needed for the filing
  2. Officer (Company Secretary): Ensure at least one officer (Company Secretary) is selected

Part 3 - Statement of Capital

  1. Prescribed Particulars: This section will pre-populate based on the share clauses and issued shares set up in your entity's ownership section
  2. Review and, if necessary, copy and paste any nuanced prescribed particulars specific to your company's share classes

Part 4 - Statement of Guarantee (if applicable)

  1. If the entity has guarantors, select the relevant individuals from the list
  2. Enter the Amount Guaranteed (e.g., "1000" as an example). If no guarantors, leave blank

Part 5 - Persons with Significant Control (PSC)

This section requires key information about individuals with significant control over the company (directors, officers, and principals).

Important - Multiple PSCs: If you have more than one PSC, ensure you fill out the nature of control details for each individual. Click + Add to select them and complete the information in each expandable modal.

  1. Section 790ZF Exemption: Check the box if applicable
    • If an individual is exempt, you won't be able to file electronically and will need to submit a paper form to Companies House
    • If not exempt, continue to fill out the remaining information
  2. Section 5: Nature of Control for an Individual: Select the nature of control for each individual
    • Ownership of Shares: Specify the percentage of shares owned (e.g., "75% or more")
    • Ownership of Voting Rights: Specify the percentage of voting rights (if applicable)
    • Ownership of Right to Appoint/Remove Directors: Tick if applicable 
    • Significant Influence or Control: Only tick if none of that above apply
  3. Section 6: Nature of Control by a Firm over which the Individual has Significant Control: If relevant, complete this section
  4. Section 7: Nature of Control by a Trust over which the Individual has Significant Control: If relevant, complete this section

Part 6 - Election to Keep Information on Public Register (if applicable)

  1. Fill in this information if it is applicable to your company's election

Part 9 - Lawful Purpose Statement

  1. Check the box to confirm that the subscribers wish to form the company for lawful purposes. This is mandatory for filing

Part 10 - Statement of Compliance (Authorizer)

  1. Authorizer: Select either P1 (compliance delivered by subscribers) or P2 (compliance delivered by an agent), depending on your scenario

Supporting Documents

  1. You can upload custom prescribed particulars or other key amendment documents if needed by pulling from your Athennian documents. Only PDF documents are allowed, up to a maximum of four.

Review and File

Once all sections of the Formation task are completed:

  1. Click Save on the Formation task
  2. An IN-01 Incorporation blue button will appear at the bottom of the task. Click it
  3. The system will perform a validation check. If there are any errors (e.g., missing mandatory fields), an error message will display. Address any errors and click Save again
  4. Once all information is satisfactory, the system will present an overview of each section, allowing you to review all the data that will be sent to Companies House
  5. Thoroughly review all details to ensure accuracy
  6. Once you're satisfied, click File. This action will send the incorporation directly to Companies House and create a pending filing record in Athennian

Post-Filing and Success Certificate

  1. Filing Status: After clicking File, the status of your incorporation will update to Pending
  2. E-File Section: You can monitor the status of your filing in the E-File section of your Athennian Settings, under Orders. The status will automatically update as Companies House processes the submission
  3. Success Certificate: Once Companies House has reviewed and approved your filing, they will issue a Success Certificate document
    • This certificate will automatically appear in the Documents section of the entity and within the Supporting Documents of the Formation task
    • You can then file this success certificate into the entity's minute book
  4. The updated status and the success certificate in Athennian will confirm that your company is now in good standing with the Companies House registry

This direct filing capability automates a significant part of the incorporation process, ensuring data accuracy and providing immense value to your team.