The certificate of good standing certifies that your UK company has been in continuous, unbroken existence since its incorporation. Concurrently, there is no action is currently being taken to strike it off Companies House register.
Generally, it is very easy for your company to achieve good standing status. All you need to do is to make sure you submit your company accounts and confirmation statements with Companies House on time.
In addition, your company must meet minimum company officer appointments requirements. For example, a Public Limited Company (PLC) must have at least two directors and a company secretary with one person director. Whereas for a private limited company, you must have at least one person director.
Companies House will not issue your certificate of good standing if your company’s filings are not up to date. For example, your company account is overdue at the time you request your certificate, Companies House would not issue it until your company account is filed.
When do you require a certificate of good standing?
Normally, if your company are banking overseas, your foreign bank would require you to provide a certified and apostilled certificate of good standing issued by Companies House every year.
In this circumstance, you must obtain your certificate from Companies House first. Thereafter, you arrange your certificate to be stamped by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). You must send in the original certificate not the photocopy of it.
Additional facts on your certificate
You can request to include additional certified facts on your certificate. These include:
- directors’ names, and details such as date of birth or nationality
- secretaries’ names
- registered office address
- the company’s objects
- good standing statement
If you have any questions on how to obtain your certificate of good standing, feel free to contact our London accountants.
