Model articles for private companies in UK limited by shares

Usually, the first time most people come across the need for Articles of Association is when a company is incorporated. This is because it is a Companies House requirement to supply a copy of the Articles of Association as part of the company registration process. To avoid the enormous filing burden of what would be a very repetitive document Companies House produced a set of Model Articles for private companies limited by shares. (There are also Model Articles for public limited companies and companies limited by guarantee, but we’re not looking at those types of company in this article.) These Model Articles are, if you like, a default option and are the type used with the majority of all formations.

In addition to being drafted to be of general application to most users, perhaps a reason why many people are happy to use the Model Articles when forming a new company is that they can very easily be changed post formation if required. We have separately written bespoke articles of association that can be ordered online,