Community interest companies: forms and step-by-step guides
The processes you need to follow, and the documents you need to submit, when you are a community interest company or you wish to form (or convert to) a community interest company.
Documents
Details
A Community Interest Company (CIC) is a limited company, with special additional features, created for the use of people who want to conduct a business or other activity for community benefit, and not purely for private advantage.
This step-by-step guidance explains what you need to do to:
- Handy Hits and Tips befor completing your CIC application
- Online application checklist
- form a CIC online or by post
- form a community interest public limited company (plc)
- convert an existing company to a CIC
- convert a charitable company to a CIC
- convert a Registered Society to a CIC
- convert a private company to a community interest plc
- convert a plc to a community interest plc
- change or specifying an asset-locked body in the articles of association
- alter clauses in the articles of association
- alter the object statement of a CIC
- change the status of a CIC to a community interest plc
- convert a CIC to a charitable company
- convert a CIC to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)
- convert a CIC to an IPS
- arrange the voluntary dissolution of a CIC
- file an annual CIC report and accounts online or by post
It includes links to the appropriate forms, model constitutions (including the memorandum of association and articles of association) and model special resolutions.
Updates to this page
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Added Conversion application checklist
Update history
2026-01-08 13:05
Updated guidance on the use of Artificial Intelligence
2025-06-13 11:07
Added Conversion application checklist
2025-06-12 14:05
Added a checklist for the online process for Community Interest Companies
2025-03-07 11:38
Updated contact details on point 18
2025-02-27 11:53
Updated guidance on converting a Registered Society to a Community Interest Company
2024-05-01 10:18
Updated broken link for information on Person with significant control (PSC)
2024-05-01 06:42
Updated fees for incorporation & conversions
2024-02-23 08:16
Customers can no-longer send the form CIC34 to Scotland – removed the Scottish address
2024-02-14 12:01
Add video of webinar on Community Interest Company or Charity do you know the difference?
2024-02-01 09:56
Updated broken link for the form DS01 for dissolution
2023-07-18 10:04
Added information that Community Interest Companies (CICs) can now file Resolution online by using Companies house upload system
2022-12-14 10:11
Added information on Peron of Significant Control
2022-11-29 13:40
Updated information on filing CIC accounts
2022-10-11 13:40
Added helpful tips