Everything you need to know about your UK business. Free.

What to prepare before you start

To move smoothly through the application, have these to hand:

• A valid photo ID — passport, UK driving licence or biometric residence permit (BRP);
• Your UK address history for the last 3 years;
• 2–3 company name ideas, in case your first choice is taken;
• Your phone with you — identity verification is done with a video selfie.

Go to the Tide company registration page

Open the offer through our partner link and click “Register a company”. You will see the reduced price displayed on the page.

Check the company name is available

Type your chosen name into the search box. Tide instantly checks the Companies House register to see if the name is free.

• The name must be unique — it cannot be identical or very similar to an existing company;
• It usually ends in “Ltd” or “Limited”;
• Certain words (“Royal”, “Bank”, “British” etc.) need special approval — avoid them.

Enter your director details

Next comes a short form with your personal details. You will be the director and, usually, the sole shareholder of the company (you can add other shareholders later).

• Full name, date of birth, nationality;
• Home address (not shown publicly if you use a separate correspondence address);
• Occupation — you can simply write, e.g., “Director”.

Choose your SIC code — what the company does

The SIC code (Standard Industrial Classification) describes your company’s activity. You pick from a list — you can select up to 4 codes.

Common examples in our community:

• 41202 — construction of domestic buildings;
• 49410 — freight transport by road;
• 81210 — general cleaning of buildings;
• 96020 — hairdressing and other beauty treatment;
• 62012 — business and domestic software development.

Verify your identity (mandatory)

Since November 2025, all new directors must verify their identity. Through Tide, you do this directly from your phone:

• Photograph your ID document (passport / driving licence / BRP);
• Record a short video selfie for confirmation;
• Verification usually takes a few minutes.

Pay the reduced fee and submit the application

Double-check all your details, pay the fee by card and submit. Tide files it electronically with Companies House. Through the current offer you then receive a £20 bonus that covers the fee you paid — see conditions on the Tide page.*

Receive confirmation — your company officially exists

Usually within 24–48 working hours you receive by email:

• Certificate of Incorporation — your company’s registration certificate;
• Company number — your company’s unique number;
• Your Tide business account activated and ready to use.

Congratulations — you are officially a UK entrepreneur! 🎉

Why you need a separate account

Three simple reasons:

• Clear records. When business money is mixed with household money, at year end you can't tell a work expense from a personal purchase. A separate account fixes that from day one.
• If you have a company (Ltd), it's required. The company is a separate legal entity — its money isn't your money. It must have its own account.
• You look professional. When a client pays into the business account rather than your personal one, it inspires a different level of trust.

What MTD is and who it affects

MTD stands for "Making Tax Digital". It's a major change from HMRC: instead of filing one return a year, you'll need to keep your records digitally and send updates to HMRC every three months.

Who's in scope, and from when — if you're self-employed (a "sole trader") or have rental income:

• From 6 April 2026 — if you take in more than £50,000 a year;
• From April 2027 — if you take in more than £30,000 a year;
• From April 2028 — the threshold drops to £20,000 (planned).

Why MTD almost forces you to have a business account

To be accurate: no law says "you must have a business bank account". But here's what MTD requires in practice:

• all income and expenses kept digitally, not on paper or in a notebook;
• updates sent to HMRC every three months, through HMRC-recognised software;
• a final declaration at the end of the year.

Now try doing that from a personal account, where a client payment sits next to your supermarket shop and your car finance. You'd be separating it manually, transaction by transaction, four times a year. With a business bank account, every movement is already business-only — and the software can pull it in automatically.

The bottom line: a business account isn't a legal obligation in itself, but it's the practical way to meet one that genuinely is.

Why Tide makes MTD simple

Here's the good part: at Tide, the MTD features are already built into the free business bank account and are recognised by HMRC. In practice:

• your account transactions become your digital records — nothing to copy by hand;
• expenses are categorised automatically, and you photograph receipts in the app;
• quarterly updates and the final declaration are filed to HMRC straight from the Tide app;
• you see running estimates of the tax you'll owe, so the bill doesn't catch you out.

In other words, you don't need to buy separate accounting software and connect it to your bank — the bank and the software are the same thing.

How to open the account, step by step

You'll need: photo ID (passport, UK driving licence or residence permit), your phone and a few minutes. If you have a company, you'll also need its Companies House number.

• Step 1. Go through the link below and start the application. It asks for your email and phone number, confirmed by code.
• Step 2. Choose the type: "Limited company" if you have a registered company, or "Sole trader" if you work for yourself. Choose correctly — the next steps depend on it.
• Step 3. Fill in the details. With a company, Tide pulls them from the Companies House register and you confirm. As a sole trader, you enter your name, address and what you do.
• Step 4. Prove your identity: photograph your ID and record a short video selfie in the app. Tip — good light, no glare on the document.
• Step 5. Done. You get your account details (sort code and account number) and can request a physical card. From here you can take client payments and switch on the MTD features.