Journey

Get approved to trade

Register your business with HMRC and, for a company, Companies House. Then pay the data protection fee, check which licences your activities need, and arrange the insurance the law requires.

Starting Updated 2 November 2026

  1. Register your business

    How you register depends on whether you are a sole trader, a partnership or a limited company.

    Set up as a sole trader Set up a limited company Register your company for Corporation Tax

  2. Register for PAYE and VAT if they apply

    Register as an employer before your first payday, and for VAT once your taxable turnover passes the threshold.

    Register as an employer (PAYE) Check if you need to register for VAT

  3. Pay the data protection fee

    Organisations, including sole traders, that use personal information pay a yearly fee to the Information Commission unless they are exempt.

    Pay the data protection fee to the Information Commission

  4. Check which licences your activities need

    Selling food or alcohol, putting on entertainment, carrying waste or trading in the street all need a licence or registration.

    Business licences by activity type

  5. Get authorised by your sector's regulator

    Financial services, health and social care, legal services, childcare, gambling and private security each have a national regulator.

    Professional registrations in regulated sectors

  6. Get council approvals for your premises

    Planning, building control, environmental health, licensing and business rates sit with different council teams.

    Local authority approvals for new businesses

  7. Arrange the insurance the law requires

    Employers' liability insurance is compulsory as soon as you become an employer.

    Employers' liability insurance Choosing the right business insurance

  8. Plan your timeline

    Work back from your first trading day, starting with the applications that take longest.

    When to apply for licences and registrations before you trade

Official guidance

Register as a waste carrier, broker or dealer (opens in a new tab)

GOV.UK · England

Register a food business (opens in a new tab)

FSA · England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Apply for a premises licence (opens in a new tab)

Home Office · England and Wales

GOV.UK license finder (opens in a new tab)

GOV.UK

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