Companies Act 1985

Chapter IE+W+S Company Identification

348 Company name to appear outside place of business.E+W+S

(1)Every company shall paint or affix, and keep painted or affixed, its name on the outside of every office or place in which its business is carried on, in a conspicuous position and in letters easily legible.

(2)If a company does not paint or affix its name as required above, the company and every officer of it who is in default is liable to a fine; and if a company does not keep its name painted or affixed as so required, the company and every officer of it who is in default is liable to a fine and, for continued contravention, to a daily default fine.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1S. 348 applied (with modifications) (6.4.2001) by S.I. 2001/1090, reg. 4, Sch. 2 Pt. I

349 Company’s name to appear in its correspondence, etc.E+W+S

(1)Every company shall have its name mentioned in legible characters—

(a)in all business letters [F1and order forms] of the company,

(b)in all its notices and other official publications,

[F2(ba)on all its websites,]

(c)in all bills of exchange, promissory notes, endorsements, cheques and orders for money or goods purporting to be signed by or on behalf of the company, and

(d)in all its bills of parcels, invoices, receipts and letters of credit.

(2)If a company fails to comply with subsection (1) it is liable to a fine.

(3)If an officer of a company or a person on its behalf—

(a)issues or authorises the issue of any business letter [F3or order form] of the company, or any notice or other official publication of the company, in which the company’s name is not mentioned as required by subsection (1), F4. . .

[F5(aa)causes or authorises the appearance of a website of the company on which the company's name is not so mentioned, or]

(b)issues or authorises the issue of any bill of parcels, invoice, receipt or letter of credit of the company in which its name is not so mentioned,

he is liable to a fine.

(4)If an officer of a company or a person on its behalf signs or authorises to be signed on behalf of the company any bill of exchange, promissory note, endorsement, cheque or order for money or goods in which the company’s name is not mentioned as required by subsection (1), he is liable to a fine; and he is further personally liable to the holder of the bill of exchange, promissory note, cheque or order for money or goods for the amount of it (unless it is duly paid by the company).

[F6(5)References in this section to a document of any type are to a document of that type in hard copy, electronic or any other form.]

Textual Amendments

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C2S. 349 applied (with modifications) (6.4.2001) by S.I. 2001/1090, reg. 4, Sch. 2 Pt. I

C3S. 349(2)–(4) applied (S.) (4.2.1991) by Companies Act 1989 (c. 40, SIF 27), ss. 112(8), 213(2)

S. 349(2)-(4) applied (with modifications) (E.W.) (1.8.1993) by 1993 c. 10, ss. 68(3), 99(1)

350 Company seal.E+W+S

[F7(1)A company which has a common seal shall have its name engraved in legible characters on the seal; and if it fails to comply with this subsection it is liable to a fine.]

(2)If an officer of a company or a person on its behalf uses or authorises the use of any seal purporting to be a seal of the company on which its name is not engraved as required by subsection (1), he is liable to a fine.

Textual Amendments

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C4S. 350 applied (with modifications) (6.4.2001) by S.I. 2001/1090, reg. 4, Sch. 2 Pt. I

351 Particulars in correspondence, etc.E+W+S

(1)Every company shall have the following particulars mentioned in legible characters in all business letters and order forms of the company [F8, and on all the company's websites,] , that is to say—

(a)the company’s place of registration and the number with which it is registered,

(b)the address of its registered office,

(c)in the case of an investment company (as defined in section 266), the fact that it is such a company, and

(d)in the case of a limited company exempt from the obligation to use the word “limited” as part of its name [F9under section 30 or a community interest company which is not a public company] , the fact that it is a limited company.

[F10(2)If in the case of a company having a share capital there is a reference to the amount of share capital—

(a)on the stationery used for any such letters,

(b)on the company's order forms, or

(c)on any of the company's websites,

the reference must be to paid-up share capital.]

F11(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F11(4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(5)As to contraventions of this section, the following applies—

(a)if a company fails to comply with subsection (1) or (2), it is liable to a fine,

(b)if an officer of a company or a person on its behalf issues or authorises the issue of any business letter or order form not complying with those subsections, he is liable to a fine, F12. . .

[F13(ba)if an officer of a company or a person on its behalf causes or authorises the appearance of a website not complying with those subsections, he is liable to a fine.]

F12(c). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F14(6)References in this section to a document of any type are to a document of that type in hard copy, electronic or any other form.]

Textual Amendments

F12S. 351(5)(c) and the word “and” immediately preceding it repealed (1.2.1994) by 1993 c. 38, ss. 35(1), Sch.2

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C5S. 351 applied (with modifications) (6.4.2001) by S.I. 2001/1090, reg. 4, Sch. 2 Pt. I

C6S. 351(1)(2)(5)(a) applied with modifications by S.I. 1985/680, regs. 4–6, Sch.