How to transfer shares

A share transfer moves existing shares from one person to another. The company itself receives no money, and — unlike an allotment — nothing is filed at Companies House when it happens; the change is simply reflected in the next confirmation statement.

The steps

• Complete a stock transfer form (J30), signed by the transferor (and the transferee where needed).
• Pay stamp duty to HMRC if the consideration is over £1,000 (0.5%, rounded up to the nearest £5); the form is then stamped.
• Lodge the stamped J30 and the old certificate with the company. The transferor remains the legal owner until the register is updated.
• Approve and update the register of members.
• Cancel the old certificate and issue a new one to the buyer — plus a balance certificate to the seller if they kept some shares.

Compaxit does the certificate bookkeeping for you: on a transfer it cancels the seller’s certificate and issues the new and balance certificates automatically.