Companies Act 1985

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The Companies Act 1985 (c.6) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, enacted in 1985, which enables companies to be formed by registration, and sets out the responsibilities of companies, their directors and secretaries.

The Act was a consolidation of various other pieces of company legislation, yet it is just one component of the rules governing companies in England and Wales and in Scotland. A company will also be governed by its own memorandum and articles of association.

Table A, which lays out default articles of association, was not included in the body of the Act, as it had been in all previous Companies Acts. Instead, it was introduced by statutory instrument - the Companies (Tables A to F) Regulations 1985.

The Act applies only to companies incorporated under it, or under earlier Companies Acts. Sole traders, partnerships, limited liability partnerships etc. are not governed by the Act.

Company law throughout the United Kingdom is being replaced by the Companies Act 2006, which received Royal Assent on 8 November 2006. Rather more than half of the 2006 Act's provisions are now in force, and it is intended that all parts of the Act should be in effect from October 2009. Provisions on company communications to shareholders and others came into force in January 2007, driven by the considerable cost savings for businesses which they represent, and by a requirement to implement a European Union Directive by that date. The new Act will codify and clarify areas of common law affecting companies and ease the legislative burden on private companies. Table A will be replaced by new model articles.

Certain aspects of the Companies Act 1985 have not been replaced by the Companies Act 2006, and they will remain in force: