When you form a limited company, you need a memorandum of association and articles of association. While there’s a default set of simple articles for new companies, you may wish to submit tailored articles to Companies House as part of the incorporation process.
Read on to learn more about what memorandum of association in the UK means, and download a free template to help make the process as painless as possible.
Memorandum of association template - free Word download
Choose to download your template now, or get it directly from Farillio’s site where you’ll also get access to their full suite of customisable legal templates.
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Memorandum and articles of association – explained
There are two parts to the documentation you need to submit when setting up a limited company: memorandum of association and articles of association. Both are included in the template you can download from Farillio above.
A memorandum of association is a legal statement, which all the initial shareholders have to sign, stating that you agree to form the company. Even if you are the sole shareholder, a memorandum of association still needs to be submitted to Companies House.
Articles of association are the rules by which the shareholders, directors, and the company secretary (if applicable) agree to run the company.
Submitting this documentation is only one part of the incorporation process. If you want to learn about the other areas, check out our guide to setting up a limited company.
What’s included in the memorandum and articles of association template?
The first part of the document is the memorandum of association and simply requires the names and signatures of all the shareholders.
The second part of the document, the articles of association template, is a lot longer, and is split into five parts:
- interpretation and limitation of liability
- directors’ powers and responsibilities
- shares and distributions
- decision making by shareholders
- administrative arrangements
The template uses very general terminology in each of these sections so it can be used as is. Alternatively, if you’d like to add in more specific duties or stipulations, these will need to be agreed upon by all parties signing the document.
How to use this template
The articles and memorandum of association template includes some words in italics which will need to be replaced by you, such as the name of the shareholders and of the company.
Once everyone involved in the incorporation process has agreed to the terms laid out in the document you'll all need to sign it before it can be submitted to Companies House.
Why use this template from Farillio?
Small businesses have their own, specific legal requirements, but they are unlikely to have their own in-house legal counsel.
That’s why Farillio offers tailored, customisable templates that you can use to build the documentation you need.
Here are some more free templates that could help your business:
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