Community interest company
A limited company, by shares or by guarantee, set up for community benefit. It has a compulsory asset lock and is regulated by the CIC Regulator.
- Entiva fee to form
- $569
- Government fees to form
- £167
- Run plan
- $49 a month
- Steps to form
- 12
- Ongoing filings
- 11
- Ways to close
- 5
Who it suits, and what defines it.
Governed by the Companies Act 2006 and the CIC Regulations 2005.
Who it suits
- Organisations set up for community benefit.
- Companies that accept a compulsory asset lock and a dividend cap.
Key facts
- Liability
- Limited by shares or by guarantee
- Asset lock
- Compulsory
- Dividend cap
- 35% of profits, unless an asset-locked body holds shares
- Regulator
- The CIC Regulator
- Annual report
- CIC34, filed with the accounts
- Directors
- At least one individual aged 16 or over
- Registered in
- England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland
- Law
- Companies Act 2006 and the CIC Regulations 2005
What the law requires.
7 rules, each in plain words.
Approval from the CIC Regulator
The Regulator must approve the application to form a CIC (form CIC36), which includes the community interest statement.
A statutory asset lock and a dividend cap
If shares are not held by an asset-locked body, total dividends are capped at 35% of profits.
An annual CIC34 community interest report
It is filed together with the accounts.
A name ending 'Community Interest Company' or 'CIC'
The Welsh form of the ending is also allowed.
The same company duties as any other company
That covers the registered office, registered email and identity verification.
A registered office at an appropriate address
Since 4 March 2024 it cannot be a PO box and must be in the part of the UK where the company is registered.
Identity verification for every director
Since 18 November 2025 each new director verifies their identity and gives their Companies House personal code.
How Entiva forms it.
12 steps. Entiva prepares and files each one, and collects every signature the law needs.
The steps
12 steps- 1Check the name is available
The name must end 'Community Interest Company' or 'CIC', or the Welsh form.
- 2Verify each director's identity
Directors are verified before incorporation.
- 3Choose the articles of association
CIC articles carry the asset lock, and dividend and interest caps for a CIC with shares.
- 4Incorporate the CIC at Companies House
The CIC Regulator reviews the community interest test. Government fee: £115 online, £139 on paper.
- 5Set up the register of members
- 6Notify where the company records are keptOnly if needed
Optional. Only if records are kept at a single alternative inspection location (SAIL).
- 7Set up the accounting records
- 8Register for Corporation Tax
- 9Register as an employer for PAYEOnly if needed
Only if the company employs staff.
- 10Register for VAT
Needed once taxable turnover passes £90,000. Voluntary before that.
- 11Pay the data protection fee
Paid to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) before processing personal data, unless exempt.
- 12Set up handling of statutory postOnly if needed
Optional. Sets how post at the registered office or service address is handled.
Documents
8- CIC36 application, including the community interest statement
- CIC articles of association with the statutory clauses
- Memorandum of association (prescribed form)
- Statement of proposed officers with consent to act
- Statement of initial significant control
- Statement of compliance (Companies Act 2006, section 13)
- Lawful-purpose and no-disqualification statements
- Certificate of incorporation
Who takes part
6- Every director verifies their identity with Companies House
- A company acting as director or secretary is checked, with the people who own it
- A company secretary is optional and has their identity checked
- Each person with significant control gives a personal code within 14 days
- Shareholders with 25% or less and no other control are recorded and screened
- Anyone owning or controlling over 25% gives ID and proof of address
What has to be filed, and when.
Entiva tracks every deadline from the day it is formed, and files before each one.
Every year, and as things happen
11 filings- File the confirmation statement
Within 14 days after the end of each 12-month review period
- File the annual accounts
9 months after the accounting year end. First accounts: 21 months after incorporation
- File the CIC34 community interest report
With the annual accounts. The report fee is £15
- File the Company Tax Return
12 months after the end of the accounting period
- Pay Corporation Tax
9 months and 1 day after the accounting period ends
- Verify existing people with significant control
In each existing PSC's birth-month or confirmation-date window, until about 18 Nov 2026
- Pay the data protection fee
Every 12 months, on the renewal date the ICO sets
- File the workplace pension declaration
Within 5 months of duties starting, and within 5 months of each re-enrolment
- Report and publish the gender pay gap
By 4 April each year, with 250 or more employees
- Keep the accounting records
At least 3 years for the Companies Act. HMRC requires 6 years
- File dormant company accounts
While dormant: 9 months after the accounting year end
The changes Entiva handles.
Each change is prepared, approved, signed and filed.
The most common changes
10 changes- Appoint a director
- Record a director's or secretary's resignation
- Change the community interest objects
- Change the asset-locked body
- Declare a dividend within the cap
- Issue new shares
- Change the registered office
- Change the company name
- Amend the articles of association
- Convert to a charitable incorporated organisation
How it closes.
5 routes. The right one depends on whether it can pay its debts, and who starts it.
Voluntary strike-off
For a company that has not traded in the last 3 months. Its assets must go to the asset-locked body.
- 1
Cancel the VAT registration
- 2
Close the PAYE scheme
- 3
Apply to strike the company off the register
Members' voluntary liquidation
For a solvent company. The surplus goes to the asset-locked body.
- 1
Start the members' voluntary liquidation
- 2
File the liquidator's annual progress report
- 3
Make the final account and dissolve the company
Creditors' voluntary liquidation
For an insolvent company.
- 1
Start the creditors' voluntary liquidation
- 2
Make the final account and dissolve the company
Compulsory liquidation
When the court makes a winding-up order.
- 1
Petition the court to wind up the company
- 2
The court makes a winding-up order and the winding up is concluded
Conversion out of CIC status
Needs the Regulator's approval, and charity or FCA approval where relevant.
- 1
Convert to a charitable incorporated organisation
- 2
Convert to a charitable company
- 3
Convert to a community benefit society
What Entiva does for you.
From the first filing to the last.
Community interest company
- Files the incorporation package with the CIC36 application and CIC articles.Formation
- Verifies each director's identity and obtains their Companies House personal code.People
- Prepares the CIC34 report, collects director approval and files it with the accounts.Ongoing
- Files the confirmation statement within 14 days of each review period.Ongoing
- Files the annual accounts once the board has approved them and a director has signed.Ongoing
- Prepares the resolution and amended articles, and files CC04 and CIC14 to change the objects.Changes
Build it with the API.
Every step on this page is an action in the Entiva API, with its documents, signatures and filing.
What it costs, item by item.
Every Entiva fee and every government fee, from forming it to closing it.
Forming it
$569one-off
- Government fees
- £167
Steps marked only if needed are not counted.
Closing it
From $129
- Entiva fee
- Fixed, quoted first
- Government fees
- At cost
Included in the Run plan
- Registered office in the UK
- File the confirmation statement
- File the annual accounts
- File the CIC34 community interest report
- File the Company Tax Return
- Verify existing people with significant control
- Routine changes
- Every deadline tracked
Extra, at a fixed fee
- Pay the data protection fee
- File the workplace pension declaration
- Report and publish the gender pay gap
- Change the community interest objects
- Change the asset-locked body
- Convert to a charitable incorporated organisation
Each extra is quoted before it starts, and nothing is done until you approve it.
Forming it
Entiva's formation fee is $569, one-off. Government fees are passed through at cost.
£115 online or software, £139 paper.
The registration threshold is £90,000.
Tier 1 £52; tier 2 £78; tier 3 £3,763; £5 off by direct debit.
Excludes steps marked only if needed.
Every year
The Run plan costs $49 a month ($588 a year).
£50 online or software, £110 paper.
CICs pay £15 for the CIC34 report, shown as a separate line in government_fees[].
Late filing penalties: 200 GBP at 1 day, another 200 GBP at 3 months, then 10% of unpaid tax at 6 and 12 months; 1,000 GBP each if late three times in a row.
Tier 1 £52; tier 2 £78; tier 3 £3,763; £5 off by direct debit.
Changes
Routine changes are included in the Run plan.
£20 online or software; £85 for same-day service; £30 on paper.
Closing it
Closing is a fixed-fee project, quoted before it starts.
The Gazette 2026 price list: £96.55 plus VAT per corporate insolvency notice placed by webform, XML or template. A CVL normally needs two notices, about £193.10 plus VAT.
Gazette notice extra: £96.55 plus VAT via webform.
Entiva fees are in US dollars. Government fees are in the currency each authority charges, passed through at cost when the filing is made. Taxes are separate.
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