Settle the material decisions first
Describe the actual operation, proposed owners, management, funding and premises. Review foreign-business and sector restrictions and any intended promotion or other permission route. Resolve genuine ownership and signatory arrangements before drafting documents.
Select the entity form with advice on liability, governance, tax and continuing costs. Do not copy an old guide’s owner-count, fee or capital figure into a current file without checking the actual DBD and route requirements. Name reservation is a step in the process, not permission to trade.
Prepare and review the file
Use DBD’s current reservation and digital registration services and the checklist for the chosen form. Check names, identification, address evidence, objectives, ownership, directors, authority, capital details, signatures and supporting documents as applicable. Resolve discrepancies before submission and retain the final filed version.
If an adviser submits the application, agree the scope and authorisation and keep access to approvals and official records. Do not sign blank forms or accept an ownership arrangement you do not understand. A receipt or submission reference is not the same as completed registration.
Complete the operational setup
After registration, verify the recorded details and authorised signatories, then arrange the applicable tax, accounting, banking, licence and employment tasks. Set the corporate-record and annual-compliance process at the start rather than waiting for the first year end.
Check each operational permission and the founders’ or employees’ right to perform the actual work before launch. Store registration, ownership, authority, tax and licence evidence together and review changes when the business, address, owners or management change.
Useful next steps
Company registration guide
Follow the detailed registration workflow.
Company registration guide: operator information
Limited company
Review governance and ownership decisions.
Limited company: operator information
Setting up
Connect registration to practical establishment.
Setting up: operator information
Company compliance
Plan corporate records and continuing duties.
Company compliance: operator information
Licence checklist
Identify permissions beyond registration.
Licence checklist: operator information
Accounting and finance
Assign records, returns and year-end work.