You may have the community idea, the people you want to help and even a plan for funding. Then you start your CIC registration and suddenly you are dealing with Articles of Association, an asset lock, company structure and a Community Interest Statement.
That is where many founders become unsure.
Knowing how to register a CIC is not simply about filling in a Companies House application. Your proposed company must be suitable for CIC status, and your application needs to explain clearly how its activities will benefit the community.
Get the foundations right, and Community Interest Company formation becomes much easier to navigate. Get them wrong, and you may face questions, corrections or unnecessary rework.
Quick Answer: What Do You Need to Register a CIC?
- A Community Interest Company (CIC) is a company designed for businesses that operate for community benefit.
- It can suit social enterprises that want to trade while protecting their community purpose.
- For a new CIC, you will need incorporation information, an appropriate CIC constitution or Articles of Association containing the required asset lock, and a CIC36 Community Interest Statement explaining the proposed activities and community benefit.
- The application route depends on the type of application. New CICs can be incorporated using the relevant Companies House process, with the CIC Regulator assessing whether the company meets the community interest test.
Important: CIC36 applies when forming a new CIC. If you already have a limited company and want to convert it into a CIC, that is a different process involving CIC37, not CIC36.
What You’ll Learn
This guide covers what to prepare before you set up a CIC, the CIC36 form, the information supporting your community-benefit case, the asset lock, the registration process, common mistakes and what happens after incorporation.
Before You Start Your CIC Registration
Good CIC formation starts before you open the application.
Define who your CIC will benefit
Be specific about the community you intend to serve.
Instead of:
“We want to help disadvantaged people.”
you might be able to explain that the CIC will provide employability workshops and mentoring for unemployed young adults within a particular community.
The second explanation tells the reader who benefits, what you will do and why it matters.
Decide what the CIC will actually do
Your social purpose and activities are connected, but they are not the same thing.
Your purpose might be reducing social isolation among older people. Your activities could include weekly community sessions, digital-skills workshops and befriending programmes.
That connection becomes important when completing your CIC36.
CIC limited by shares vs guarantee
A CIC is incorporated as a company, and founders need to choose an appropriate structure.
A CIC limited by guarantee is commonly considered by organisations where membership, grants and community activities are central to the model.
A CIC limited by shares provides for shareholders and may suit some social enterprises where ownership or investment is relevant.
Neither structure is automatically better. The decision should follow what the organisation is trying to achieve.
Get the basic company information ready
You will also need to think about matters such as your proposed company name, directors, registered office and other incorporation information.
Do this before drafting everything else. Changing fundamental decisions halfway through the application can create inconsistencies.
How to Register a CIC: Step-by-Step UK Process
Step 1: Choose the right CIC structure
Decide whether the proposed CIC will be limited by guarantee or shares.
Consider governance, membership, ownership, funding plans and how you expect the organisation to develop.
Do not select a structure simply because another CIC you know uses it.
Step 2: Prepare the CIC Articles of Association
A CIC needs appropriate constitutional provisions that comply with the CIC framework.
One particularly important feature is the CIC asset lock.
In broad terms, the asset lock places restrictions on transfers of the CIC’s assets so they remain protected for community benefit, subject to the applicable CIC rules.
The CIC Regulator provides model constitutions for different CIC structures. The version you use needs to match the company you are actually establishing.
Step 3: Complete the CIC36 form
For a new CIC company, the CIC36 Community Interest Statement is a central part of the application.
This is where you explain what the company intends to do and how those activities will benefit the community.
Think in this order:
Activity → beneficiary → benefit
For example, saying:
“We will run workshops.”
does not tell the whole story.
Explaining that the company will run practical employability workshops for adults facing barriers to work, helping participants develop workplace skills and access employment opportunities, gives a much clearer picture.
Your CIC36 should reflect your actual organisation. Avoid copying somebody else’s statement.
Step 4: Prepare the incorporation information
Your CIC-specific documents sit alongside the information required to incorporate the company.
Check names, addresses, directors, structure and constitutional documents carefully.
Most importantly, make sure the documents describe the same organisation.
Step 5: Submit your CIC registration application
The appropriate submission route depends on the application and circumstances, so use the current Companies House and CIC Regulator instructions when you are ready to file.
Companies House deals with company incorporation requirements, while the CIC Regulator considers whether the proposed company satisfies the requirements for CIC status, including the community interest test.
Step 6: Deal with any queries and incorporation
A submission should not be treated as guaranteed approval.
Questions or corrections may be needed where something is unclear or does not satisfy the relevant requirements.
This is why careful preparation before submission matters.
What Is the CIC36 Form and Why Does It Matter?
The CIC36 form is more than an administrative attachment.
Your Community Interest Statement helps explain why the proposed business should become a Community Interest Company.
A strong statement should make several things easy to understand.
Who benefits?
Identify the community or group of people your activities are intended to benefit.
What will you do?
Describe actual activities rather than relying only on aspirations.
“Improve the community” is an ambition.
Providing affordable after-school activities for children from low-income households is an activity with a much clearer beneficiary and intended outcome.
How does the activity create community benefit?
Connect the activity to the outcome.
A reader should not have to guess why what you are doing is beneficial.
This is one reason your CIC36 deserves careful attention rather than being completed as an afterthought.
What Evidence Do You Need to Register a CIC?
The word evidence can make founders think they need to assemble a huge portfolio of funding agreements, testimonials and impact statistics before they can apply.
That is not a helpful way to approach every application.
What matters is being able to provide the information required for your application and to present a credible, specific explanation of your proposed activities and community benefit.
If you are describing a new organisation, do not invent an impact history you do not yet have.
Explain what you will do, who you intend to serve and how those activities are expected to benefit that community.
Likewise, securing grant funding is not the same thing as obtaining CIC status. Becoming a CIC does not guarantee that funders will support you.
CIC Articles of Association and the Asset Lock
The asset lock is one of the features that distinguishes a CIC from an ordinary company.
It is designed to protect assets for community benefit and restrict how those assets can be transferred, subject to the applicable CIC rules.
This means you should not simply incorporate an ordinary limited company and assume adding “CIC” to its name creates a Community Interest Company.
The constitution matters.
Use the appropriate CIC model as your starting point and make sure it corresponds with whether the company is limited by shares or guarantee.
Common CIC Registration Mistakes That Cause Delays or Rework
Some of the biggest problems are surprisingly simple.
Vague CIC36 wording is a common weakness. “Helping people” or “supporting our community” does not explain enough on its own.
Copying another CIC’s statement can be equally problematic. Their beneficiaries, activities and governance may be completely different from yours.
Choosing shares or guarantee without understanding the consequences can leave founders with a structure that does not fit their longer-term plans.
Using inappropriate Articles can create another problem because a CIC needs the required constitutional provisions, including the asset lock.
Finally, watch for contradictory documents. If your CIC36 describes one purpose while other parts of your application point towards something materially different, you may create questions that could have been avoided.
The Detail Many CIC Formation Guides Miss: Governance Must Work in Practice
Getting incorporated is not the finish line.
Your Articles also determine how the company is governed.
That makes provisions dealing with matters such as voting, director decisions and quorum important. A quorum is the minimum participation required for a meeting or decision to be valid under the relevant rules.
This deserves particular attention when establishing a CIC with a very small board.
Do not concentrate so heavily on passing registration that you overlook whether the governance arrangements will actually work once the CIC starts operating.
What Happens After Your CIC Is Registered?
Successful CIC registration UK creates a company with ongoing responsibilities.
Your CIC may need to deal with Corporation Tax and other HMRC obligations relevant to its circumstances. CIC status does not automatically give a company the tax treatment available to registered charities.
There will also be ongoing Companies House filing obligations, including annual accounts and confirmation statements.
CICs also have CIC-specific reporting responsibilities, including the annual CIC34 Community Interest Company Report, which reports on matters relating to the company’s community-interest activities.
And where directors or employees are paid, payroll, PAYE and employment-tax considerations may arise.
Registration is therefore the beginning of your compliance journey, not the end.
Frequently Asked Questions about CICs
Can a CIC make a profit?
Yes. A CIC is a company and can trade and make a profit. However, it operates within the CIC framework, including its community purpose and asset-lock requirements.
How much tax does a CIC pay?
A CIC is generally subject to UK company taxation, including Corporation Tax where applicable. CIC status does not itself give the company the tax exemptions available to charities. The actual tax payable depends on the company’s circumstances and taxable profits.
Is it better to be a CIC or a charity?
It depends on what you want to achieve. A CIC can suit a social enterprise that wants to trade commercially while operating for community benefit. A charity operates under charity law and may have access to charitable tax treatment where the relevant conditions are met. Decide based on your activities, governance, funding plans and long-term objectives.
Can I pay myself from a CIC?
A CIC director can be paid, but remuneration needs to be handled properly and should be consistent with the organisation’s governance arrangements, company law and relevant tax and employment rules.
How many directors are needed for a CIC?
A CIC structured as a private company generally needs at least one director. However, the legal minimum is not necessarily the best governance model. Your constitution, decision-making arrangements and the expectations of potential funders may make a broader board appropriate.
Why Specialist CIC Formation Support Helps
The hardest part of Community Interest Company formation is often not entering information into a form. It is making sure the structure, Articles, community purpose and CIC36 all work together.
Specialist support can reduce the mental load of working through those decisions alone.
It can help ensure the CIC36 clearly explains your activities and beneficiaries, that the structure fits your plans, and that your application presents a coherent organisation from the outset.
That can reduce avoidable rejection, clarification requests and repeated rewriting.
It can also give you a stronger foundation when you later approach grant funders or local authorities. Being registered as a CIC does not guarantee funding, but clear purpose and credible governance can help your organisation present itself professionally.
Conclusion: Register Your CIC With the Future in Mind
Learning how to register a CIC is about more than completing the CIC36 and submitting incorporation documents.
A strong CIC formation starts with a clear community purpose, the right company structure, appropriate Articles containing the asset lock, and a Community Interest Statement that explains what you will do, who benefits and how.
Think beyond getting the application approved.
You are creating the legal and governance foundation for the organisation you want to build.
How we can help
Setting up a Community Interest Company (CIC) is not just about registering a company — the wording of your Community Interest Statement (CIC36), the structure you choose, and how your social purpose is presented all have long-term regulatory and funding implications.
At KG Accountants, we draft your Community Interest Statement to meet CIC Regulator requirements while reflecting the language and priorities commonly expected by grant funders and local authorities. This gives your organisation a funder-ready foundation from the outset and reduces the risk of delays, clarification requests, or repeated rewrites when applying for grants or public funding.
Our fixed and transparent CIC fees remove uncertainty, allowing you to move forward with confidence and focus on running your organisation, not worrying about compliance or hidden costs.
Arrange a FREE CIC initial consultation
Call us on 0207 078 7477 or complete our enquiry form to book a FREE CIC consultation and discuss your plans with a specialist.
Categories: cic formation, cic register, Community Interest Companies
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