Public limited company
A company that may offer shares to the public. It must meet the authorised minimum share capital and obtain a trading certificate before it does business.
- Entiva fee to form
- $259
- Government fees to form
- £152
- Run plan
- $49 a month
- Steps to form
- 13
- Ongoing filings
- 12
- Ways to close
- 5
Who it suits, and what defines it.
Governed by the Companies Act 2006.
Who it suits
- Companies that want to offer shares to the public.
- Companies ready for a qualified secretary, an AGM and accounts within 6 months.
Key facts
- Liability
- Limited by shares
- Share capital
- At least £50,000 allotted
- Directors
- At least 2, including one individual
- Company secretary
- Required and qualified
- AGM
- Held every year
- Audit
- Required
- Trading certificate
- Needed before the company trades
- Law
- Companies Act 2006
What the law requires.
8 rules, each in plain words.
At least £50,000 of allotted share capital
Each share must be paid up to at least a quarter of its nominal value plus the whole of any premium.
A trading certificate before doing business
The company applies on form SH50 and cannot trade or use its borrowing powers without it.
A qualified company secretary
The directors take reasonable steps to make sure the secretary meets section 273 of the Companies Act 2006.
An AGM within 6 months of the year end
The annual general meeting is held within 6 months of the day after the accounting reference date.
Accounts within 6 months of the year end
First accounts are due 18 months from incorporation, or 3 months from the accounting reference date if later.
A name ending 'public limited company' or 'PLC'
At least 2 directors
At least one must be an individual aged 16 or over, and every individual director verifies their identity.
A statutory audit
Audit is mandatory for a public limited company.
How Entiva forms it.
13 steps. Entiva prepares and files each one, and collects every signature the law needs.
The steps
13 steps- 1Check the name is available
The name must end 'public limited company' or 'PLC'. Welsh equivalents are allowed.
- 2Verify each director's identity
At least 2 directors, at least one an individual. All are verified.
- 3Choose the articles of association
Public-company articles.
- 4Appoint a qualified secretary
A mandatory secretary who meets section 273.
- 5Incorporate the company at Companies House
The statement of capital shows at least £50,000 allotted. Government fee: £100, or £156 same-day.
- 6Set up the register of members
The register of interests in shares follows later.
- 7Apply for the trading certificate
Form SH50 with a statutory declaration. The company cannot trade or borrow without the certificate.
- 8Set up the accounting records
Records are kept for 6 years in a public company.
- 9Register for Corporation Tax
- 10Register as an employer for PAYEOnly if needed
Only if the company employs staff.
- 11Register for VAT
Needed once taxable turnover passes £90,000. Voluntary before that.
- 12Appoint an auditor
Audit is mandatory for a public limited company.
- 13Pay the data protection fee
Paid to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) before processing personal data, unless exempt.
Documents
8- Memorandum of association (prescribed form)
- Articles of association
- Statement of capital and initial shareholdings
- Statement of proposed officers with consent to act
- Evidence of the secretary's qualification (section 273)
- Statement of compliance (Companies Act 2006, section 13)
- SH50 application for a trading certificate
- Certificate of incorporation
Who takes part
6- Every director verifies their identity with Companies House
- A qualified secretary is required, and their identity is checked
- A company acting as director or secretary is checked, with the people who own it
- Each person with significant control gives a personal code within 14 days
- A director signs the trading certificate application
- The secretary also signs the trading certificate application
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
12 filings- Hold the annual general meeting
Within 6 months of the day after the accounting year end
- File the audited annual accounts
6 months after the accounting year end
- File the confirmation statement
Within 14 days after the end of each 12-month review period
- Appoint or re-appoint the auditor
At the general meeting where the accounts are laid
- 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
- Record who holds an interest in the shares
Within 3 days of each reply to a section 793 notice
- Keep the accounting records
6 years for a public company (the Companies Act rule). HMRC also requires 6 years
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
- Appoint a qualified secretary
- Change the registered office
- Issue new shares
- Transfer shares between holders
- Amend the articles of association
- Change the company name
- Call a meeting after a serious loss of capital
- Re-register as a private company
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. This is rare for a public company.
- 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, where the directors make a declaration of solvency.
- 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
Merger or division
Under a Part 27 scheme of the Companies Act 2006.
- 1
Merge or divide the public company
- 2
The transferor company is dissolved without being wound up
What Entiva does for you.
From the first filing to the last.
Public limited company
- Prepares the incorporation documents, including the statement of capital, and files them.Formation
- Appoints a qualified secretary after checking the section 273 qualification.People
- Prepares and posts the SH50 application for the trading certificate.Formation
- Calls the AGM and sends the notice with the accounts to members and the auditor.Governance
- Files the audited accounts after the auditor's report and board approval.Ongoing
- Files the confirmation statement within 14 days of each review period.Ongoing
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
$259one-off
- Government fees
- £152
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
- Company secretary
- Hold the annual general meeting
- File the audited annual accounts
- File the confirmation statement
- Appoint or re-appoint the auditor
- File the Company Tax Return
- 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
- Re-register as a private company
Each extra is quoted before it starts, and nothing is done until you approve it.
Forming it
Entiva's formation fee is $259, one-off. Government fees are passed through at cost.
£100 software, £156 same-day, £124 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.
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.
0.5% of consideration rounded up to the nearest GBP 5 where it exceeds GBP 1,000; otherwise nil.
£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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