Certificate of Incumbency

What's included

• Review of your Companies House record and statutory registersThe legal records every company must keep: members (shareholders), directors, people with significant control and more. We set them up for you.
• Certificate listing company name, number, date of incorporation and registered officeYour company's official address on the public register, where Companies House and HMRC send letters. Ours keeps your home address private; we scan and email your official mail.
• Current directors and company secretary, with appointment dates
• Shareholders and their shareholdings
• Persons with significant control, if requested
• Signature by us as company secretary or corporate service provider
• PDF copy by email and signed original by post
• Option to add notarisation and an apostille
• Email and phone support

What a Certificate of Incumbency is

A Certificate of Incumbency is a formal statement of who holds the key positions in a company at a given date. It usually lists:

• company name, number, date of incorporation and registered office;
• the current directors and company secretary;
• the shareholders and the number and class of shares they hold;
• sometimes the persons with significant control.

The document is common in many countries, especially in offshore and civil-law jurisdictions, so foreign banks and lawyers often ask UK companies for one.

Who issues it in the UK

Companies House does not issue certificates of incumbency. In the UK, the certificate is prepared from the company's own registers and signed by the company secretary, a director, or a corporate service provider such as Form My Company.

If the receiving organisation only needs official confirmation that the company exists and is up to date, a Certificate of Good Standing from Companies House may be enough. Many banks ask for both.

How it works

1. Tell us your company details and where the certificate will be used.
2. We check your Companies House record and your statutory registers.
3. If anything does not match — for example a share transfer that was never recorded — we tell you before we sign.
4. We prepare and sign the certificate and email you a PDF to check.
5. We post the signed original, or send it on to be notarised and apostilled.

What you need to provide

• Company name and number
• Your up-to-date register of members (shareholders), or confirmation that the Companies House record is correct
• The country and organisation that will receive the certificate, and any wording they require

If we are not already your company secretary, we also complete identity checks on the directors.

Using it abroad

Because the certificate is signed by the company or its service provider, most foreign organisations want it notarised and then apostilled. The notary checks the certificate against the company records, and the FCDO then confirms the notary's signature. We can arrange both.

Common mistakes

• Registers that do not match Companies House. Fix them first, or the certificate will be wrong.
• Ordering a certificate of incumbency when the bank actually asked for a certificate of good standing. Check the request.
• Forgetting that it shows the position on one date only. If directors or shareholders change, you will need a new one.

Frequently asked questions

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