Starting a Business in the UK 2026 — Legal Checklist

Company formation

The most common structures are sole trader (simplest, unlimited liability), limited company (separate legal entity, limited liability), and partnership (shared liability). Most businesses serious about growth should register as a limited company at Companies House — it costs £12 online and takes 24 hours.

Once registered, you need a registered office address (can be your home), a Memorandum and Articles of Association (auto-generated at formation for most), and if you have co-founders, a Shareholders' Agreement.

Contracts you need from day one

Client or customer contract

Your terms of business — what you're providing, the price, payment terms, what happens if the client doesn't pay, and limitation of liability. Trading without terms means disputes are governed by default law, which is rarely in your favour.

NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)

Before sharing any confidential information with potential partners, investors, suppliers, or customers, get an NDA signed. Verbal confidentiality agreements are almost impossible to enforce.

Freelancer or contractor agreement

If you engage freelancers, a written contract makes clear they are not employees, sets out deliverables, payment, IP ownership, and confidentiality. Without a written contract, there's no clarity on who owns the work product.

Website legal requirements

• Privacy Policy — required if you collect any personal data (contact forms, email signups, analytics)
• Cookie Policy and compliant cookie banner — required under PECR
• Terms and Conditions — not legally required but essential for limiting your liability
• ICO registration — required for most businesses that process personal data (£40/year for small organisations)
• If selling to consumers: distance selling information, cancellation rights, complaints procedure

Employment — if you hire staff

• Written employment contract — required from day one under ERA 2025
• Employer's Liability Insurance — legally required once you have employees (minimum £5 million cover)
• Enrol eligible employees in a pension scheme (auto-enrolment)
• Register as an employer with HMRC and set up PAYE
• Right to Work checks — must be done before the employee starts

Tax registration

• Self Assessment — register as sole trader or director by 5 October after your first tax year
• VAT — register once turnover exceeds £90,000 in 12 months (or voluntarily earlier)
• Corporation Tax — register within 3 months of starting to trade as a limited company
• Making Tax Digital — VAT-registered businesses must file digitally from April 2026

Intellectual property

Your business name, logo, and brand can be trademarked at the UK Intellectual Property Office. A UK trademark in one class costs £170 online. Without a trademark, someone else can register it and force you to rebrand.

Copyright in original work (written content, designs, software) exists automatically in the UK — no registration needed. But proving you created it first requires evidence — date-stamped files, version history, email threads.

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