Having completed Step 1 of the formation wizard you will see this screen. This is where you add the officer / shareholder / PSC details.

1. To get started, click on the green 'Add first officer /shareholder /PSC' button.

2. Select whether the first Officer / shareholder/ PSC is an Individual or a Corporate.

3. Select whether they will be:

• Director only
• Secretary only
• Shareholder only
• Person with significant control only
• Any combination of the above including, in some cases, all 4.

Note: If there is 1 shareholder who owns 100% of the shares, it will be a requirement for them to be named as a Person with significant control. For further details see Who is a person with significant control?

Then click 'Continue' to add their details.

4. Next, fill in the name of the person which you wish to add. This will automatically search to identify whether a record exists for them in the other companies from your portfolio. If not, a new individual can be created.

For further details on selecting existing records, see How do I select an Existing Person?

Next you will be required to enter their additional information such as their date of birth. If an existing record is selected, it will automatically populate with their information.

Note: You also need to fill in three identification items to authenticate the shareholder subscriber. This acts as an electronic signature. This will be entered only once and will never saved in the system. See below for the identification items you can choose from:

5. Next, enter the addresses that are linked to this officer/shareholder/PSC. When you have finished, click 'Continue.'

The residential address will only show on the public record if it is the same as the registered office address.

When is it permissible for a director to withhold their residential address?

Please note: When entering an address, if it is not found by the postcode lookup, simply enter all details manually. If you are using the "use a previously entered address" look-up tool, this will only display addresses already used on a company you manage within Inform Direct.

Note: The service address will be stored on the public register. If you click 'Same as residential address,' the residential address will appear on the public register (as the Service address)

Note: If you have identified this person as a shareholder, you also need to choose a shareholder contact address. The shareholder contact address provided at incorporation will be available on public record. You can always change what address is stored for this on Inform Direct once the company has been incorporated if you wish. See How do I add or Change the Shareholder Contact Address?

If you have chosen a package that includes a trading address, you will need to enter a contact email address.

6. If you have selected that this is a shareholder, you will now have another screen to confirm the details of their shareholding. then select 'Continue.'

Note: The amount paid per share can not be below £0.01. You can amend the nominal value of the share class in step 1 of the formation process.

Can a subscriber be a joint shareholder?

7. If you have selected that this is a PSC, you will have another screen to confirm their significant control criteria.

What are the control criteria for PSC?

Does the PSC legislation apply to my company?

8. Lastly, you can see the officer/shareholder/PSC that you have added and have the option to add another. When you are finished, select 'People complete.'

9. When selecting People complete, if at this step there is a 100% shareholder, but no PSC listed a warning will appear preventing you from continuing.

See below & our blog for further details: Who is a person with significant control?

10. If a personal code has not been entered for a Director or PSC while adding them to a formation/incorporation, users who have added their authorised corporate service provider (ACSP) number recorded will be presented with the option to send an identity check. This then allows you to request a personal code for them from Companies House before they are appointed as a Director or PSC

Common FAQ's

Can I add a corporate director, corporate shareholder, or a Relevant Legal Entity (RLE) when incorporating a new company?

Yes. When adding an officer, shareholder or PSC at step 2 above, you're not limited to individuals — select the "Corporate" option instead of "Individual" to enter a corporate entity, whether it's acting as a director, subscriber (shareholder), or Relevant Legal Entity.

Can I form the company first and send the identity checks afterwards? It won't let me past the adding people step without an identity check.

No. Companies House will not accept the formation unless each director has a Companies House personal code, so the identity check has to be done before you submit the incorporation. This is why the wizard won't let you pass the people step until a personal code has been entered or an identity check has been sent. If you have not entered a personal code for a director, you will be offered the option to send an identity check at that point. This needs your ACSP number to be recorded under Account details, and your user to have permission to send identity checks. See How to send an identity check request?

Once the check has been passed and Companies House has issued the personal code, enter it against the director and carry on. You can save the part-completed formation and come back to it while you wait: How do I save a part completed formation?

A person with significant control (PSC) has 14 days from incorporation to provide their personal code, but it is best to send their identity check during the formation as well, so everything is done at the same time.

Ready to continue? See The formation wizard - Step 3

And remember, you can always save the details and return. How do I save a part completed formation?

Also known as: can't continue forming a company without an identity check, form the company then verify the directors later, skip the ID check on incorporation, directors need a personal code to incorporate, identity verification required before formation, only one chance to send an ID check.