First published: 6 December 2017 | Updated: 3 September 2026

A good business letterhead does two jobs at once: it makes a professional first impression, and, for UK limited companies, it legally must display certain information under the Companies Act 2006. Get the legal requirements right first; they’re non-negotiable. Then use the layout styles below to make the rest of it look genuinely professional.

What UK Law Actually Requires on a Letterhead

If you run a limited company (Ltd or PLC) registered in the UK, your business letters, order forms, and invoices must legally display:

• Your full registered company name, exactly as it appears on your certificate of incorporation, including “Limited” or “Ltd” unless your company has a specific exemption.
• Your company registration number, the eight-digit number Companies House assigned when you incorporated.
• The part of the UK your company is registered in, for example, “Registered in England and Wales” or “Registered in Scotland.”
• Your registered office address, even if you actually operate from a different address (in which case, it’s worth including your trading address too for clarity).

Optional, but common:

• Directors’ names: there’s no legal requirement to list directors at all, but if you list one, you legally must list all of them; you can’t pick and choose.
• VAT number: required on invoices if you’re VAT registered, but not a legal requirement on a general letterhead specifically.
• Charity number: If you’re a charitable company whose name doesn’t include “charity” or “charitable,” you must state that you’re a charity, plus your charity number.

Sole traders and partnerships have a lighter version of this requirement: if you trade under a name other than your own (or the partners’ own names), you need to display the real name(s) of the owner(s) and an address for service on your business letters.

Getting this wrong is technically a compliance issue, not just a style one; non-compliant company letterheads can result in fines. This isn’t legal advice. If you’re unsure what applies to your specific business structure, it’s worth a quick check with your accountant or on the Companies House website.

 

Once you’ve got the legal essentials sorted, we can help with the rest. Browse our letterhead templates or design your own to see your layout in action. 

Choosing a Layout Style

Once the legal essentials are locked in, everything else is about hierarchy and branding: what information matters most, and how your design reflects your company.

Quick comparison:

Style	What it looks like	Best for
Minimalist	Just logo, name, and contact details, nothing else	Professional services, consultancies
Side column	A vertical strip along one edge holding logo and contact info	Businesses wanting a distinctive, structured look
Bold border	A colour or graphic border framing the page	Creative or brand-forward businesses
Solid colour block	A strong block of brand colour on part of the page	Bold, confident brands. Works especially well on the reverse
Typography-led	Careful font pairing does the visual work, minimal graphics	Brands with a strong, distinctive typeface
Supporting graphic	A subtle icon or illustration tied to what the business does	Businesses wanting a memorable visual cue without a full logo redesign

Minimalist

Strip it back to the essentials: company name, logo, and contact details, nothing more. This works particularly well if multiple people across your business send letters; a bare-bones template is quick to apply consistently without needing bespoke versions for every department.

Side Column

A vertical strip down one edge of the page holds your logo and contact information, leaving the rest of the page free for the letter itself. This creates a clear visual hierarchy and works well if you want your branding to feel structured without dominating the page. You can create this with a solid colour block or simply through clever text alignment.

Bold Border

A border, whether a thin coloured line or a more graphic design, frames the page and draws the eye to the content inside. Borders can be as minimalist or as bold as your brand allows, and they’re an easy way to bring a brand colour onto the page without overwhelming it.

Solid Colour Block

Using a strong block of brand colour, often on the reverse of the letterhead, creates impact and gives you space for a bolder secondary message, a tagline, or a strong visual moment. This works best for brands confident enough to commit to colour.

Typography-Led

If your brand has a distinctive typeface, let it do the work. A well-considered pairing of fonts for your company name, tagline, and contact details can create a strong visual identity with minimal (or no) graphics, letting the words themselves form the design.

Supporting Graphic

A subtle icon, pattern, or illustration tied to your industry (think a stitch pattern for a tailor, or a leaf motif for a garden business) adds a memorable visual cue without needing a full logo redesign. Keep it understated; this is a supporting detail, not the main event.

 

Found a style that fits your brand? Try it out in our design tool and see how it looks with your logo and colours. 

What to Include, Beyond the Legal Basics

Beyond the mandatory legal information, your letterhead should include:

• Your logo, always; it’s the fastest way for a reader to recognise who the letter is from.
• Contact details: phone number, email, and website, so the recipient has an easy way to respond.
• A consistent brand colour or two, tying the letterhead to your other branded materials.

Decide what matters most and give it visual priority. Most businesses lead with logo and company name, though some choose to foreground contact details instead, effectively turning the letterhead into a soft call to action to get in touch.

Do These Rules Apply to Your Emails Too?

Yes, and this is the point most businesses miss entirely. The Companies Act 2006 requirements apply to business correspondence “whether in hard copy or electronic,” which means your email footer legally needs the same disclosures as your printed letterhead: full registered company name, registration number, part of the UK you’re registered in, and registered office address. 

Most businesses solve this by adding a standard footer to every outgoing email (often automatically, via your email platform’s settings) rather than relying on individual employees to remember it. Worth checking your current email footer alongside your printed letterhead while you’re at it, it’s easy to sort the print version and forget the digital one entirely.

Choosing Your Paper Weight and Finish

The paper itself is part of the impression a letterhead makes, before anyone’s even read a word.

• Standard weight (around 120gsm) is a practical, everyday choice, noticeably more substantial than standard printer paper without adding real cost, suitable for routine correspondence.
• Heavier weight (around 160gsm) feels more premium in the hand, worth considering if your letterhead represents a more formal or high-end brand, legal, financial, or luxury services, for example.
• Recycled stock is worth considering if sustainability is part of your brand story. It’s a small detail, but one that’s increasingly noticed by clients and partners who care about it.

Building a Consistent Stationery Suite

 

A letterhead rarely exists in isolation. If you’re also using compliment slips or business cards, keeping the logo placement, colour palette, and typography consistent across all three creates a much more cohesive, professional impression than treating each piece separately, particularly if a client receives more than one piece of your stationery at once (a compliment slip tucked into a letter, for example).

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Missing legal information entirely. The most common mistake by far, especially on DIY letterheads created quickly in Word, is skipping the registration number or registered office address altogether.
• Overcrowding the page. A letterhead’s job is to frame the letter, not compete with it. If your header and footer leave less than three-quarters of the page for actual writing, it’s too busy.
• Inconsistent branding across formats. A letterhead that doesn’t match your business cards or website creates a disjointed impression, even if each piece looks fine individually.
• Using paper too thin to feel substantial. Standard printer paper (around 80gsm) can undercut an otherwise good design; it’s worth the small extra cost of proper letterhead stock.

Get Your Letterhead Printed at Banana Print

Ready to print? Choose from 120gsm, 160gsm, or recycled stationery paper, from £14.95, dispatched within 24 hours. Browse our templates or upload your own design.

 

 

Start your design now →

 

 

 

 

Letterhead FAQs

What must legally be on a UK company letterhead? 

For UK limited companies, letterheads must display the full registered company name, company registration number, the part of the UK the company is registered in (e.g. England and Wales), and the registered office address.

Do I have to list my company directors on a letterhead? 

No, there’s no legal requirement to list directors at all. However, if you choose to list even one director’s name, you’re legally required to list all of them.

Does a sole trader need a special letterhead? 

If you trade under your own name, there’s no special disclosure requirement. If you trade under a different business name, you need to display your real name and an address for service on your business letters.

Do I need my VAT number on a letterhead? 

Only if you’re issuing invoices and are VAT registered, a VAT number is required on invoices, but it isn’t a specific legal requirement for a general letterhead.

What happens if my letterhead doesn’t meet the legal requirements? 

Non-compliant company letterheads can result in fines under the Companies Act 2006. This is a general pointer rather than legal advice; if you’re unsure what applies to your business, check with your accountant or Companies House.