Who can be a company director in the UK?

Just about anyone can register a UK company and take on the role of a company director. This is allowed as long as you have not been officially banned from doing so. You can get a ban by being bankrupt or having legal proceedings taken against you.Before you can form a company and become a director, there are certain requirements that have to be met for legal reasons:

• You must be 16 years of age or older. However, it may be difficult for anyone under the age of 18 to form a company due to banking restrictions not allowing you to open a business account until the age of 18.
• You will need at least one real (human) person to be a company director. You can have more than one director at the formations stage and you can also have a limited company listed as a director, however, you do need at least one real person to be a director for this to happen.
• You already have, or can provide, a valid UK address to register your company to.

What has changed is the need for a company secretary. When you form a company, there is no longer a requirement to have a company secretary on board, see Section 270 The Companies Act 2006, but it is perfectly acceptable to appoint one if you wish to do so.