Basic Legal Requirements for Common Items of Business Stationery

By law, certain information is required to appear on business stationery. The extent of this information is governed by the nature of the stationery and the type of business involved. Some basic requirements for common items are set out below, but this is by no means intended to be an exhaustive guide.

If you have any doubts or concerns about what should be included on your printed stationery please contact us and we will do our best to help.

COMPANIES and LIMITED LIABILITY PARTNERSHIPS (LLPs)

A company’s name, exactly as entered in the company’s memorandum of association, must be clearly shown on the following stationery:

  • Letterheads
  • Invoices
  • Order forms
  • Receipts
  • Credit notes
  • Demands for payment
  • Cheques
  • Bills of exchange
  • Promissory notes
  • Endorsements

Certain abbreviations to the name are permissible, such as “Ltd” and “PLC.”

The above items of stationery must also state an address within Great Britain or Northern Ireland at which documents can be served on the company.

In addition to the company name, letterheads and order forms must also show:

  • Registered number
  • Place of registrationg. “Registered in England and Wales”
  • Registered office address. If more than one address appears on the stationery, for example a trading address and the registered address, it is essential to indicate which is the registered address.

There is no requirement to show directors’ names (or members’ names in the case of LLPs) on stationery. However, if at least one director’s name is shown then the names of ALL directors must be included i.e. they should either all be shown or none at all.

Special cases

A company or LLP must reveal if it is:

– Registered as an employment agency;

– An investment company; or

– Exempt from using the word ‘limited’ as part of its name under the Companies Act 1985 Section 30.

PARTNERSHIPS and SOLE PROPRIETORS

In the case of most partnerships and sole proprietorships there is a legal requirement to clearly state the full names of all the partners (or sole proprietor) on the following items of stationery:

  • Business letters
  • Invoices
  • Order forms
  • Receipts
  • Demands for payment

As with companies the above items must also state an address within Great Britain or Northern Ireland at which documents can be served on each named partner. If more than one address is shown it must be clearly indicated which address is for the service of documents.

CHARITIES

If a company is a charity but its name doesn’t include the word ‘charity’ or ‘charitable’ then it must be clearly stated, on the following items of stationery, that the company is indeed a charity:

  • Letterheads
  • Invoices
  • Orders
  • Receipts
  • Credit notes
  • Cheques
  • Bills of exchange
  • Promissory notes
  • Endorsements

VAT REQUIREMENTS

For all types of business that are registered for VAT, all tax invoices must show the following:

  • Supplier’s name and address
  • Supplier’s VAT registration number

In addition, on a full tax invoice the following must also be shown:

  • Invoice number
  • Tax point
  • Type of supply
  • Customer’s name and address
  • Description identifying the goods or service supplied
  • For each item
    • The quantity of goods or extent of services
    • The charge made, excluding VAT
    • The rate of VAT
  • The total charge made, excluding VAT
  • The rate of any cash discount offered
  • The total VAT payable

The values of any zero-rated or exempt supplies shown on the invoice must be totalled separately.

 

Some of the above items will be common to all invoices and can be pre-printed on the stationery, whereas others will be specific to each individual invoice.

 

The requirements for VAT credit notes are very similar to those for VAT invoices and must include the following:

  • Credit note number
  • Date of issue
  • Supplier’s name and address
  • Supplier’s VAT registration number
  • Customer’s name and address
  • Reason for credit
  • Description of goods/services for which credit is applied
  • Quantity and amount credited for each item
  • Rate and amount of VAT credited
  • Total amount credited, excluding VAT
  • Separate totals for any zero-rated or exempt supplies
  • Number and date of original invoice