OPC incorporation

Before you begin

Assess the founder’s eligibility, nominee arrangement and likely future ownership changes. A single owner still needs a workable distinction between personal dealings and company records.

Write down the founder’s planned role, the activity to be carried on and the expected ownership path. Treat nominee information as a specific part of the formation record: confirm that the proposed person understands the arrangement and that the required information is collected through a private channel.

What the engagement covers

The assignment covers structure discussion, nominee and subscriber documentation, incorporation coordination and a tailored first-year action list. A later investment or ownership change may require a separate structural review.

1. Prepare a structure brief covering the founder, nominee, office and proposed activity.
2. Identify eligibility or documentation questions that must be resolved before application preparation.
3. Coordinate the agreed documents and signing sequence, keeping final versions and submission references together.
4. Hand over issued records, outstanding queries and an OPC-specific first-year action list.

Keep the result of an application distinct from its submission acknowledgement. Founder decisions and any factual corrections should remain traceable across the filing record.

Records to prepare

• Founder and nominee details and consent
• identity and address evidence
• proposed activity and name
• office occupancy documents
• intended capital.

Describe any business, contracts or intellectual property the founder already holds personally and expects the company to use. Those arrangements need their own assessment; formation documents alone should not be treated as a record of transfer or permission to use an asset.

A decision worth resolving early

A founder expecting a co-investor shortly should compare the cost and process of future change before choosing an OPC. Incorporation alone does not resolve investor entry.

For a solo consultant moving future work into an OPC, the opening checklist can distinguish existing personal invoices from new company contracts, identify expenditure paid on the company’s behalf and establish where the formation and accounting records will be stored.

Scope and fees

The proposal identifies incorporation work, nominee-document coordination and the initial handover. Ongoing accounts, later ownership changes, asset transfers and operating permissions are separately identified. Use the one-person-company guide for the business context and the first-year company guide as a starting checklist, with OPC-specific applicability assessed rather than assumed.

Government charges and any execution costs are identified separately from professional fees. Completion timing depends on the information, signatures and authority process relevant to the assignment.