How to Register a Company Online in 2026

Once you know how to register a company online, the registry part is quick and cheap. Companies House registers a UK company for £100 and usually approves it within 24 hours. Hong Kong normally issues a certificate for an online application within an hour, and EU law sets a limit of 5 to 10 working days for an online formation.

The filing is rarely what slows you down. In the UK every director must now verify their identity before the company can be registered. Some registries only accept a filing from a licensed professional or a qualified e-signature, such as a Cyprus lawyer or a BVI registered agent. The bank account also sits outside every registry.

This is where we come in. We register the company online for you, including the parts a founder cannot do alone: the identity checks, the licensed signatures, the filing and the bank account through our partners. One team, one clear price from €350, and a company formed within about a week.

The quickest fully online registration is a UK company, which we form from €350 with the £100 Companies House fee included.

Why Register a Company Online

Online company registration is cheaper, faster and easier to track than filing on paper. Most registries now take electronic filings and reward them with lower fees and faster decisions. You also receive digital documents you can use straight away, often within a day.

Lower Fees for Online Company Registration

Registries charge less for an electronic filing. Companies House charges £100 to incorporate online and £124 by post, in its fee list updated 25 September 2026. Hong Kong charges HK$1,545 for an electronic application and HK$1,720 on paper. Ireland's CRO lists the A1 form only as an electronic filing, at €50, and the Malta Business Registry publishes its company registration fees for BAROS filings from €100.

Faster Registration at the Registry

A UK company filed online is usually registered within 24 hours, while the same filing by post takes 8 to 10 days. In Hong Kong an electronic application normally gets its certificate within 1 hour, against 4 working days on paper. A missing signature or an unverified director stops the clock in every country, so the work before the filing matters most.

Digital Company Documents

An online registration ends with digital documents. The Malta Business Registry sells digitally certified copies of the certificate and the memorandum and articles for €15 through BAROS. In the EU, Directive (EU) 2025/25 adds an EU Company Certificate that every member state must accept, and removes legalisation for certified register extracts used between member states, from 31 July 2028.

Fully Online Company Registration by Country

You can register a company online end to end in the UK, Ireland and Hong Kong. In each one the filing, the fee and the certificate run through the registry's own portal. What differs is how you prove your identity and which local officers the company needs.

Companies House Online Filing in the UK

The UK runs the most complete online route. Each director first verifies through GOV.UK One Login, which is free and accepts a biometric passport from any country, and receives a personal code. You then file with Companies House, pay £100 by card and enter each code. A UK company needs at least one director aged 16 or over, and directors can live abroad. Our guide on how to register a UK company online covers each step.

Ireland's CORE Online Registry

Ireland's Companies Registration Office (CRO) takes new companies through CORE. The A1 form costs €50, and a name reservation costs €25 for 28 days, credited against the incorporation fee. Fé Phráinn, the CRO's route for presenters with a CRO-approved standard constitution, aims to issue the certificate within 5 working days, and the ordinary online scheme aims for 10. See how to register a company in Ireland online.

Online Incorporation in Hong Kong

Hong Kong's Companies Registry takes online incorporation through its e-Services Portal. A private company limited by shares costs HK$1,545 plus the business registration fee and levy, and the certificate normally arrives within 1 hour. The catch is local: a company secretary who is a person must ordinarily live in Hong Kong. Our page on Hong Kong company registration covers the process.

Read more: UK company registration and formation and setting up a company as a non-resident.

Where Online Company Formation Stops

Online company formation stops in three places: the identity check, a licensed professional the law requires, and the bank account. None of them means you have to travel. Each is a step someone qualified completes, and we arrange all three.

Identity Checks Before You File

In the UK, identity verification became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025, and new directors must verify before they can incorporate a company. EU registries check identity too, but the EU rule only promises online access to EU citizens with a recognised electronic ID. A founder with a passport from outside the EU often cannot log in at all, so a licensed professional files instead.

A Cyprus Lawyer Must Sign the Documents

Cyprus has an online filing system, but a founder cannot use it alone. Only lawyers licensed by the Cyprus Bar Association may prepare and sign the memorandum, the articles and the HE1 declaration, according to Invest Cyprus, and the lawyer swears the HE1 at court. Name approval costs €10 per name, or €30 fast tracked, and registration costs €165, plus €100 to speed it up. We work with licensed Cyprus lawyers, so this step sits inside our process. See the Cyprus company formation requirements.

Malta Filings Need a Qualified E-Signature

Malta allows company formation online through BAROS, the Malta Business Registry's portal. To file, you need authorised user status, a login with a Maltese e-ID or an eIDAS credential from an EU member state, and documents signed with a qualified electronic signature. The registry issues its own signature after an identity check that includes a video interview. Without those logins, a Malta filing goes through a licensed Malta firm, and we handle it for you. Here is how to register a business in Malta.

BVI Filings Go Through a Registered Agent

The BVI registry is fully electronic, and its VIRRGIN system is built for registered agents. Under the Financial Services Commission's guidance, only the person who will be the company's first registered agent may apply to incorporate. We work with a licensed registered agent, so the filing goes in as soon as your KYC file is complete. Our BVI company registration guide explains the agent's role.

Local Officers Some Registries Require

Some routes need a local person. Singapore's Bizfile works with Singpass for individuals and Corppass for corporate service providers, and ACRA asks for a locally resident secretary and a director who is ordinarily resident in Singapore, as our Singapore company registration guide explains. Ireland needs an EEA-resident director, a €25,000 bond or a certificate of a real and continuous link with economic activity there. We tell you upfront whether a local officer is needed and what it costs.

EU Rules on Online Company Formation

EU law requires every member state to let founders form a company online, within 5 or 10 working days. Directive (EU) 2019/1151 set the rule, which member states had to put in place by 1 August 2021. It comes with clear time limits and a few narrow exceptions.

The Five and Ten Working Day Limits

Article 13g(7) sets the clock. Where a company is formed only by individuals who use the state's template, registration must finish within 5 working days, and in every other case within 10. Both run from the later of two dates: when every formality is complete, or when the fees and any share capital are paid. A registry that misses the limit must tell the applicant why.

When a Registry Can Ask You to Attend

Under Articles 13b(4) and 13g(8), a member state can ask an applicant to attend only case by case, where it suspects identity fraud or a problem with legal capacity or authority to act. Every other step must stay online. A state also cannot make an online formation wait for a licence unless oversight of a regulated activity needs it, and share capital must be payable online to a bank operating in the EU.

Why a Lawyer or Agent Still Files

Member states may give a role to a notary or any other person mandated under national law, which is why Cyprus keeps its lawyer requirement. And recital 10 says states only have to open online formation to EU citizens, through their recognised electronic IDs. Founders from outside the EU depend on what each country accepts, so a licensed professional usually files for them.

What Directive (EU) 2025/25 Changes

Directive (EU) 2025/25 entered into force on 30 January 2025. Member states must adopt it by 31 July 2027 and apply it from 31 July 2028. It adds a digital EU power of attorney and stops a registry asking a company that forms a subsidiary in another member state for documents its home register already holds.

Read more: EU company formation for non-residents and the best country to register a company in Europe.

How to Register a Company Online

To register a company online, choose the jurisdiction, check the name, verify every director, sign the constitution, file with the fee, collect the certificate, then register for tax and open the account. The order is the same everywhere. What changes is who may carry out each step.

Choose the Jurisdiction and Company Type

Start with your customers, your residence and where the company can bank, then pick the company type, usually a private company limited by shares. Our guide on how to set up a company covers that choice.

Check and Reserve the Name

Every registry checks the name against its index. Ireland charges €25 to reserve one for 28 days, and Cyprus and Malta charge €10. On 7 October 2026 the CRO was processing name reservations filed that same day.

Verify Every Director and Owner

UK directors verify through GOV.UK One Login or an Authorised Corporate Service Provider. Elsewhere the check is a certified passport, proof of address and source of funds.

Sign the Constitution and File Online

The memorandum and articles are signed electronically where the registry allows it, then filed through the portal with the fee. Malta needs a qualified e-signature, and Cyprus a licensed lawyer.

Receive the Certificate and Open the Account

The registry issues the certificate, and the company keeps registers of members, directors and beneficial owners. We start the bank file before the certificate arrives.

Almost every step is online now. The ones that are not, a licensed signature or a certified copy, are steps a professional completes for you rather than trips you make.

Read more: how to incorporate a company and company formation vs incorporation.

Documents and Identity Checks for Online Registration

Online registration needs the same core file everywhere: a passport and proof of address for each director and owner, the constitution, a registered office and the ownership details. What changes is how the documents are proved: an online identity check, a certified copy or a qualified e-signature.

What the Registry Asks For

Expect to give the company name, the registered office, the share structure, the directors and secretary, and the people who own or control the company. Cyprus also asks for beneficial owner documents with the filing. Our list of what documents you need to set up a company covers each one.

Certified Copies and Apostilles

Where nobody can check you online, a lawyer or notary certifies the copies. Papers from another country may need an apostille under the Hague Apostille Convention, and papers not in English a certified translation.

Electronic Signatures Registries Accept

Malta's BAROS needs a qualified electronic signature under the EU eIDAS rules on every uploaded document. In the UK, the personal code from identity verification ties the filing to a verified person instead.

Identity Checks for Directors Abroad

Directors do not need to live in the UK to verify, and an Authorised Corporate Service Provider can also verify them. The checks travel online, which is what lets you set up a company remotely.

Online Company Registration Fees and Processing Times

Online company registration fees run from €50 in Ireland to £100 in the UK and US$550 in the BVI, and online incorporation takes from about 1 hour to around 2 weeks at the registry. The time depends on who files and whether every director is verified.

What separates these registries is who may file. The UK and Hong Kong let you register your company online yourself once you are verified. Cyprus, Malta and the BVI route the filing through a licensed professional.

Ireland's Processing Times Against the EU Limits

The CRO publishes its queue every working day. On 7 October 2026 it was processing ordinary online filings from 24 September, about 9 working days earlier, and Fé Phráinn filings from 30 September, about 5 working days earlier. On 20 August the ordinary queue had reached 12 working days. Our Ireland company registration process guide has the full timeline, and how long it takes to set up a company covers every stage after the registry.

Business Banking After You Register Online

The business account is the one step no registry portal covers. A traditional bank can take several weeks to review a new company. With a file prepared alongside the registration, our partners usually open the account in about 4 days to a week.

Why the Account Takes Longer Than the Company

A registry checks that the filing is complete. A bank checks who you are, where the money comes from and what the company will do, and a new company has no trading history to show.

Local Banks for a New Company

Local banks are expensive, slow and quick to refuse a new company owned from abroad. Many want to meet the directors, ask for a minimum balance or charge high fees and exchange margins, and a refusal rarely comes with a reason.

A Faster Account Through Our Partners

This is the route most newly registered companies should take first. Our regulated payment partners take new companies as normal business. We build the file they ask for and make the introduction. An EMI account compared with a business bank account covers what a new company needs.

Our regulated banking partners open accounts for newly registered companies in about 4 days to a week.

Local Banks vs Our Partners

The partner route keeps a newly registered company moving at the same pace as its registration. Add a local bank later, when the company has accounts to show.

Read more: how to open a business bank account online and company formation with a bank account.

Best Jurisdictions to Register a Company Online

The best jurisdictions to register a company online are the UK, Ireland, Malta and the BVI. All four run fully electronic registries, and we form companies in each within about a week. They differ on tax, on who files and on the local rules.

The UK is the cheapest and fastest to file, and the only one with no local officer or licensed filer to arrange. Ireland and Malta give you an EU company, with Ireland's director rule and Malta's signature rule as the trade-off. The BVI is the quickest offshore option, and a licensed agent always files.

UK Online Company Registration

The UK suits consultants and online businesses with clients in several countries. We form a UK company from €350 with the £100 Companies House fee included, and the registry usually approves an online filing within 24 hours. The catch is identity verification for every director and person with significant control, and a 25% rate on profits above £250,000. See the UK company registration requirements.

Ireland Company Registration Online

Ireland suits EU trading companies that sell across the single market and want a 12.5% rate on trading income. We form an Irish company from €1,899 in about a week, and the CRO aims for 5 or 10 working days depending on the route. The catch is the director rule: at least one director must live in the EEA, or the company needs a €25,000 bond that runs for at least two years. Read the non-resident director rules for Irish companies.

Malta Online Company Registration

Malta suits gaming, fintech and trading companies that need an EU base. The headline rate is 35%, but shareholders can claim back most of the tax on trading profits, which brings the effective rate to about 5%. We form a Malta company from €1,299, and Malta Enterprise puts registry time at 2 to 14 days. The catch is the qualified e-signature, a company secretary and a yearly audit or review. See our guide to Malta company formation.

BVI Online Company Formation

The BVI suits holding and investment companies that want 0% tax. We form a BVI company from €1,899 in 2 to 5 working days, and the registry fee is US$550 for a company authorised to issue up to 50,000 shares. The catch is that the registered agent files and keeps your records for life, and the company usually banks outside the BVI. Read our BVI company formation guide.

Which Country to Choose for Online Registration

For most founders, the UK is the best place to register a company online: from €350, usually registered within 24 hours of filing, and simple to run. Choose Ireland when you need an EU trading company and can meet the director rule, Malta when you need an EU base for gaming or fintech, and the BVI for a holding company. If more than one fits, we recommend one in writing after a short call. Our ranking of the best countries to set up a company also weighs tax and banking.

Common Mistakes When Registering a Company Online

Most problems when registering a company online come from the steps around the portal, not the portal itself. These four cost real time and money, and each one is easy to avoid with a complete file and the right filer.

Filing Before Every Director Is Verified

Founders often start a UK filing before every director has a personal code. The online form asks for each code, so the application stalls at the first gap. Some give up and post form IN01 instead, which costs £124 rather than £100 and takes 8 to 10 days rather than about 24 hours. Not verifying on time is also an offence, and the company cannot make filings. Ask every director to verify through GOV.UK One Login first. It is free, works with a biometric passport from any country and only needs doing once.

Ignoring the Local Officer Rules

A fast portal can hide a slow requirement. A founder picks Ireland for its 12.5% trading rate and its €50 online filing, then finds the company needs an EEA-resident director or a €25,000 bond that must run for at least two years. Hong Kong's one hour certificate comes with a resident company secretary, and Singapore needs a locally resident director and secretary. Each is a yearly cost the registry fee does not show, so check the officer rules before you choose. We flag every one in writing before you pay anything.

Assuming the EU Rule Covers Every Founder

Many founders read that EU law guarantees online formation and plan to register a business online themselves. The guarantee is for EU citizens with a recognised electronic ID. A founder with a passport from outside the EU can find that the portal will not even let them log in: Malta's BAROS, for example, accepts a Maltese e-ID or an eIDAS credential from an EU member state. Weeks go into a route that was never open. Plan the licensed route from the start, so a professional with the right login and signature files for you.

Paying for Speed the Registry Already Gives

Express fees are easy to pay and often unnecessary. Companies House usually registers an online filing within 24 hours, so same-day incorporation at £156, available only through filing software, rarely changes much. In Cyprus, €100 speeds up registration and €20 per name speeds up the name check, which pays off only when the rest of the file is ready. Ireland's Fé Phráinn route is faster, but it needs a constitution the CRO has approved in advance, so it is not an upgrade you can buy for one filing. No fast-track fee fixes a missing signature, so complete the file first.

Bottom Line on Online Company Registration

Knowing how to register a company online is mostly knowing where the online path stops. The UK and Hong Kong let you file yourself once your identity is verified. Ireland, Malta, Cyprus and the BVI keep the registry online but add a director rule, a qualified signature, a licensed lawyer or a registered agent.

For most founders a UK company from €350 is the simplest start, with Ireland or Malta for an EU company and the BVI for a holding company. Whichever you choose, we register the company online for you, cover the parts you cannot do alone and prepare the bank file with our partners.

Sources

• GOV.UK, Register your company
• GOV.UK, Companies House fees, updated 25 September 2026
• GOV.UK, Companies House fees from 1 February 2026, 30 October 2025
• GOV.UK, Identity verification rollout, 5 August 2025
• GOV.UK, Verify your identity, updated 30 April 2026
• Companies House, Identity verification, updated 5 August 2026
• GOV.UK, Appoint directors and a company secretary
• GOV.UK, Audit exemptions
• EUR-Lex, Directive (EU) 2019/1151
• EUR-Lex, Directive (EU) 2025/25
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• CRO, EEA resident director, Information Leaflet 17
• Law Society Gazette, Audit exemption change, 16 July 2025
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• ACRA, Submitting your application, updated 24 September 2026
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• PwC Tax Summaries, corporate tax in the UK, Ireland and Malta