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Introduction to this document

Stock transfer form

Where a shareholder wants to sell their shares in the company, or give them away, they will need to complete a “stock transfer form”.

Statutory form

This is a statutory form that needs to be filled out when a shareholder sells their shares or gives them away. Usually, the company supplies the form to the shareholder, who fills it in and returns it to the company. The company can then make the necessary changes in the register of shareholders and issue a new share certificate to the new shareholder.

Terminology

The shareholder selling or giving their shares away is the “transferor”. The person receiving the shares is the “transferee”. Either person may be represented by a broker or agent (in which case, they will complete the form).

Stamp duty

Stamp duty is due on most share transfers worth over £1,000, including where the transfer itself is worth less than this but it forms part of a wider transaction/series of transactions that exceed this threshold. If the transfer is exempt, one of the certificates at the end of the stock transfer form needs to be competed to verify why the form is not stamped. Otherwise, the form must be sent to the Stamp Office for stamping and stamp duty paid by the transferee.

Special cases

Where various transferors are transferring shares to one transferee, they each need to complete a separate form in respect of their shares. However, joint shareholders (who jointly own the same share(s)) only need to fill out one form (but they all need to sign).

If a transferor is transferring shares of different classes, a separate form should be filled out for each class.

If the transferor is a company, the form should be signed by two directors, one director and the company secretary or one director and a witness. Or the company can use its seal following the rules set out for doing so in its articles.

This model assumes that the shares are not traded on a stock exchange.

Admin

See our Share Transfer Checklist for the next steps.