From 1 October 2008, new rules under the Companies (Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2008 unified and replaced various regulations from different areas of law.
Request for information
When any person you deal with in the course of business, requests in writing any of the following, you must respond within five days:
the address of your registered office or any other place where that person can inspect company records
the type of company records you keep at these locations
Identity of directors
If the name of any of a company's directors appears in a letter - other than in the text or as a signatory, you must then include the names of all directors in that letter.
Display of signage
You must display the company's registered name at its registered office and inspection places, and any other location at which you carry on business. The sign must be in a prominent position so that a visitor can read it easily. A company may be exempt from this requirement if:
it has never traded - that is, they have been dormant since incorporation
the location is primarily a domestic location
Shared premises and electronic signage
Where a business property is shared by six or more companies and an electronic notice board is used, each company is required to display its registered name only for at least 15 continuous seconds at least once every three minutes.
Business correspondence
You must display your company name on business letters, notices, official publications, and websites.
You must also display your company's registered number and the address of its registered office on your electronic and paper documents, including emails, invoices, receipts, order forms and websites. You do not have to do so, on every page of your website, but must place this information so that it can be easily found and read.
VAT numbers and details
VAT numbers and VAT details do not have to be supplied under the Companies Act 2006. You may want to check the point with HM Revenue & Customs.
Non-compliance
Enforcement is carried out by Companies House and local Trading Standards officers.
If you do not comply you and your company commit and offence and could be subject to a fine. The current fine is up to £1,000.
Summary
On any business letters, order forms or websites, you must display the following:
registered company name
place of registration (for example, Scotland, or England and Wales)
registered number
address of registered office
if exempt from having "limited" as part of name, disclose it is a limited company
if a private community interest company, disclose this fact
if an investment company, disclose this fact
if there is reference to share capital, this must be a reference to paid-up share capital
You must further display your registered name on:
notices & official publications
bills of exchange
promissory notes
endorsements
cheques
orders for money, goods or services
bills of parcels
invoices & demands for payment
receipts
letters of credit
applications for licences to carry on a trade or activity
all other forms of business correspondence or documentation
signs at premises
Further information
Next, you may want to read about choosing a suitable business name or the legal documents you might need to start your business.