Across the club world, real membership rights — a vote that counts, a hearing before you're thrown out, your data when you leave — are quietly disappearing. The answer is to found your own member association, and in the United Kingdom that is remarkably easy: two or more people, a written constitution and a founding meeting create a valid unincorporated association, with no registration and no fee. This page walks you through it.
| Legal form | Unincorporated association (optionally a company limited by guarantee) (Unincorporated association (optionally a company limited by guarantee)) |
|---|---|
| Governing law | No single statute: an unincorporated association is governed by the common law of contract — its written constitution is the binding agreement between members (see e.g. Lee v Showmen's Guild of Great Britain [1952] 2 QB 329 on expulsion). Optional incorporation: Companies Act 2006 (c. 46), company limited by guarantee, registered at Companies House. |
| Minimum founders | 2 (an unincorporated association is by definition an agreement between two or more persons; in practice 3+ so you can fill chair, secretary and treasurer and give the bank two unrelated signatories). A company limited by guarantee can be formed with 1 guarantor, but a membership association will want several. |
| Registry | None — an unincorporated association is not registered anywhere. If you choose to incorporate as a company limited by guarantee, the registrar is Companies House. |
| Tax / entity number | Corporation Tax Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) — a 10-digit number issued by HMRC after registering the unincorporated association for Corporation Tax (required only within 3 months of starting to trade or receive income such as investment interest); sent by post in about 15 days. Associations owing under £100 Corporation Tax a year can ask HMRC to treat them as dormant. |
| Banking | Open a 'club, society or community' account (offered by most high-street banks, often free for small organisations) in the association's name. Banks require the adopted constitution, founding minutes naming the elected officers, and ID for signatories. Use two unrelated signatories with dual authorisation. Expect onboarding to take 2–6 weeks; no company or tax number is required for an unincorporated association, though some banks ask for the HMRC UTR if you have one. |
| Typical cost | £0 to found an unincorporated association — there is no registration and no fee. Optional incorporation as a company limited by guarantee costs £50 online at Companies House. Budget only for minor extras (printing, domain, possible bank charges). |
| Timeline | The association exists the day the founding meeting adopts the constitution. HMRC sends the Corporation Tax UTR by post in roughly 15 days after registration (if registration is needed). Online incorporation at Companies House is usually completed within 24 hours. Opening a community bank account typically takes 2–6 weeks. |
| Virtual assemblies | Yes, effectively unrestricted for unincorporated associations: no statute regulates their meetings, so online founding meetings, virtual general assemblies and electronic voting are valid whenever the constitution provides for them — so write them in. Companies limited by guarantee may also use written resolutions, proxies and electronic communications under the Companies Act 2006. |
| Due process in local law | There is no statute, but English common law is strongly protective: because the constitution is a contract, expulsion is only lawful if the association follows its own rules and the rules of natural justice — notice of the case against the member, a fair opportunity to be heard, and an unbiased decision-maker. Courts will set aside expulsions that fail this test (leading case: Lee v Showmen's Guild of Great Britain [1952] 2 QB 329). This maps directly onto the federation's due-process guarantee. |
Take the federation's model statutes and adapt them into a written constitution: the association's name, purpose, membership rules, an unpaid committee, no distribution of profits to members, and — because UK courts will hold you to your own rules — a clear expulsion procedure with written notice of the complaint, a right to be heard, and an unbiased decision. In the UK the constitution IS the law of your association: it is a contract between the members, so what you write here is what governs you. Also write in that meetings and votes may be held electronically; if the constitution allows it, it is valid.
There is no register of unincorporated associations, so no one can refuse your name — but check it anyway. Search the Companies House register and the UK trade mark register so you don't collide with an existing company or brand, and make sure the name won't mislead people into thinking you are a charity or public body.
Gather your founders (two or more; three or more is practical), adopt the constitution by vote, and elect the unpaid committee — at minimum a chair, a secretary and a treasurer. Keep signed minutes recording who attended, that the constitution was adopted, and who was elected: these minutes are the association's birth certificate and the bank will ask for them. The meeting can be held online if your constitution says so.
An unincorporated association has no separate legal personality, and committee members can be personally liable for its debts. If the association will sign leases, employ staff or hold meaningful assets, consider registering it as a company limited by guarantee at Companies House under the Companies Act 2006 — £50 online, usually registered within 24 hours. For a small association that mainly collects modest dues and meets, the unincorporated form is normal and sufficient; you can incorporate later.
Unincorporated associations fall under Corporation Tax, but only if they trade or receive income such as investment interest — and you must register with HMRC within 3 months of that starting. Registration gets you a 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) by post, usually within about 15 days. Small clubs and associations owing less than £100 Corporation Tax a year can ask HMRC to treat them as dormant, which spares you annual returns. Pure membership subscriptions used for members' own benefit are generally mutual income, but confirm your situation against HMRC guidance.
Most UK high-street banks offer free or cheap 'club, society or community' accounts. You will need the adopted constitution, the founding minutes showing the elected officers, and ID for the signatories. Set up two unrelated signatories with dual authorisation on payments — it protects your treasurer as much as your money. Allow a few weeks; community account onboarding is slower than personal banking.
At a members' meeting (the founding meeting or the next one), vote to adopt the federation's Bill of Member Rights as binding internal rules and to enter the name licence agreement. Record the vote in the minutes. Because your constitution is a contract, this makes the member rights — transparent admission, the right to be heard, due process before exclusion, exit with your data — legally enforceable by every member.
Publish your constitution, admission criteria and how to apply. Keep a member register, admit transparently, and confirm each new member's acceptance of the constitution in writing or electronically. Remember the standard English courts apply to expulsions: follow your own rules exactly, give notice and a fair hearing, and decide without bias — an expulsion that skips these steps can be overturned.
In the UK the ordinary member association is the unincorporated association: two or more people adopt a written constitution at a founding meeting and the association exists — no registration, no registry, no fee, because the form is governed by the common law of contract rather than a statute. Groups wanting legal personality can optionally incorporate as a company limited by guarantee at Companies House under the Companies Act 2006 (£50, usually within 24 hours). Tax-wise the association only registers with HMRC (receiving a Corporation Tax UTR) if it trades or has investment income, and small clubs owing under £100 can be treated as dormant. English case law already enforces the federation's core concern: expulsion is valid only if the association follows its own rules and natural justice — notice, a fair hearing and an unbiased decision.