Who can be a company director?

A director is a person from a group of managers who lead or oversee a particular area of business. Companies who use this word also have several directors spread around various business functions or positions (e.g., human resources director).

The Companies Act of 2006 stipulates that at least one of the directors of the company must be an actual individual. You'd think this was an obvious rule, but it was only introduced in 2008 because a growing number of companies did not use a natural person as a director.

Anyone aspiring to be a Business Manager must be at least 16 years old. It is recommended that no one under the age of 18 be in such a role. This is because 18 is the age at which a person is legally recognized as an adult and is responsible for any legal obligations arising out of their actions. If you have a director under 18 you may have contract problems.

How many directors are required by a limited company?

It is important to know that every UK registered limited company needs to have at least 1 director of the company.

You may not know this but the company director(s) may be the same persons as the shareholders in small businesses.

Although there are very few restrictions on who can be a shareholder of a company, there are some rules on who can be a director of a business.

As with most aspects of Company Law in the UK, the Companies Act of 2006 lays down rules for Company Directors.

One of its provisions is that at least one of the company's directors must be:

• A person or entity.
• A director of a UK company can live anywhere in the world and does not have to stay particularly in the UK.

Who can't be a company director?

Also forbidden to be company directors are persons currently disqualified from being a company officer or those who are unloaded bankrupt.

In reality, apart from the disqualification and bankruptcy provisions, Companies House will accept nominations for any person deemed fit to act in that capacity by the shareholders of a given firm.

People can be excluded from becoming a director of a corporation for different reasons including:

Fraud, failure to maintain proper records, and persistent breach of company law.

Disqualifications normally last for between 2 and 15 years.

As with the insolvency clause, disqualification from becoming a director of a corporation requires clear legal proceedings against you.

So if you're over the age of 16 and there have been no court proceedings against you then you can be a company director in the UK. No additional qualifications are required.