A CIC must be a limited company, but can be limited either by shares or by guarantee (see our section on limited companies for more on this).
Forms and guidance are available on GOV.UK.
For postal applications, you will need to send the following documents to the Registrar of Companies:
1. Form IN01 (application for registration)
2. Form CIC36 (community interest statement). The community interest statement must be signed by the first director(s) of the CIC. It contains:
3. The memorandum of association of the CIC. The Regulator of Community Interest Companies has produced model memoranda of association. These state that the subscribers:
(The subscribers are the initial members for a company limited by guarantee, or initial shareholders for a company limited by shares.)
4. The articles of association. The Regulator of Community Interest Companies has produced model articles of association. A CIC is not obliged to use them, but there are certain regulations that the articles must comply with.
The documents must be sent to the Registrar of Companies with the appropriate fee.
For online applications, you will need to upload PDFs of the CIC36 and the articles of association. This is a combined service allowing you to register your company name with Companies House, register with HMRC for Corporation Tax and gain approval from the Regulator at the same time.
A company is eligible to be a CIC if:
The Regulator must confirm that the company is eligible before the Registrar of Companies can issue a certificate of incorporation. A CIC must satisfy the community interest test when it's formed and continue to do so for as long as it remains a CIC.
A CIC will satisfy the community interest test if it can show that a reasonable person might consider that its activities are being carried on for the benefit of the community.
A company will not satisfy the test if its activities only benefit members of a particular body or its activities are political. Not all of the activities need to have a direct benefit to the community it serves, but everything a CIC does should somehow contribute to benefiting that community.
To convert an ordinary limited company or a charitable company to a CIC, you will need to:
The community interest statement in form CIC37 is the same as in form CIC36, except that it includes an extra declaration that:
The special resolutions, amended articles of association, and forms CIC37 and NM01 must be sent to the Registrar of Companies with the appropriate fee.