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What a UK invoice must show, and where the stamp goes
5 September 2026 ยท Estamplab
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A UK invoice has a required list, and it is shorter than most people expect. A stamp can carry part of it, which is the practical reason UK businesses keep one, but it cannot carry the parts that change from invoice to invoice.
Open the stamp maker and start from any of these
This is about the invoice. For whether your company needs a seal at all, see do I need a company seal in the UK, and for making the mark itself, stamp makers in the UK.
What a UK limited company must disclose
The Companies Act 2006 and the trading disclosures regulations made under it require a limited company to state, on its business letters, order forms and websites:
- The registered company name, in full, exactly as registered at Companies House.
- The registered company number.
- The part of the UK it is registered in, England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
- The address of the registered office.
If the company names any director on the document, it has to name all of them, which is the reason most invoices name none.
These are disclosures about the company. They do not change between invoices, which is exactly what makes them suitable for a stamp.
What a VAT invoice must show
If you are VAT registered, the invoice itself has its own list, set by HMRC rather than by company law, and most of it is per invoice:
- A sequential invoice number, unique and unbroken.
- The invoice date, and the tax point where it differs.
- Your name, address and VAT registration number.
- The customer's name and address.
- A description of the goods or services.
- The rate of VAT, the net amount, the VAT amount and the total.
A simplified VAT invoice is allowed for retail supplies under 250 pounds and carries less.
Which parts a stamp can carry, and which it cannot
This is the whole answer to why the UK company stamp survived.
A stamp can carry the fixed company disclosures: registered name, company number, the part of the UK, the registered office, and the VAT registration number. Those are the same on every document you will ever issue, so pressing them once beats typing them.
A stamp cannot carry the invoice number, the date, the customer or the amounts. Those change per invoice, and a stamp that pretends otherwise is a stamp that puts wrong information on a document.
The one exception worth knowing is the date, which on a digital stamp can resolve on the day it is used rather than being fixed when it was designed. That makes a dated RECEIVED mark genuinely useful, and it is the only field on this page a stamp can keep current by itself.
Is a company stamp required on a UK invoice?
No. Nothing in the Companies Act or in the VAT rules requires a stamp, and an unstamped invoice that carries the required information is a valid invoice. HMRC does not ask for one.
Businesses keep one for two other reasons. Overseas counterparties, particularly in the Gulf, Africa and East Asia, frequently will not accept an unstamped document whatever UK law says. And internally, a stamp is the fastest way to get the fixed disclosures onto a document that was not produced by the accounting system: a handwritten credit note, a delivery note, a printed form.
A stamp for the invoices you receive
The more useful stamp for most UK offices points the other way, at incoming supplier invoices: a RECEIVED block with a date, an account code and an approver's initials.
Payment terms run from receipt, and without a dated received mark an argument about whether an invoice arrived in time cannot be settled. The full layout is in invoice approval and coding stamps.
Common questions about UK invoices and stamps
Does a UK invoice need a company stamp?
No. Neither the Companies Act nor HMRC requires one, and an invoice carrying the required disclosures is valid without it. Overseas customers often ask for one anyway, which is the main reason UK companies still keep a stamp.
What must be on a UK invoice?
For a limited company: the registered name, company number, the part of the UK it is registered in, and the registered office address. If you are VAT registered, add a unique sequential invoice number, the date, your VAT number, the customer's details, a description, and the net, VAT and total amounts.
Does the company number have to be on an invoice?
Yes, for a limited company. The trading disclosures rules require the registered number on business letters, order forms and websites, and invoices are treated as business documents in practice. It is one of the fields best suited to a stamp, because it never changes.
Can I put my VAT number on a stamp?
Yes, and it is a sensible thing to put there, because it is fixed. Keep the invoice number off, since that must be unique and sequential per invoice and cannot come from a stamp.
What size is a UK company stamp?
Rectangular office stamps are commonly around 56 by 22mm, which holds three or four lines. A round company mark is usually 38 to 40mm. Fit is decided by your longest line, which is normally the registered office address.
The honest limits
Estamplab is a design tool, and this page describes common commercial practice rather than giving legal, tax or accounting advice. The exact disclosure and VAT invoicing requirements that apply to your business are set by Companies House and HMRC and change over time, so check the requirement with them or with your accountant before relying on this.
Only produce a mark your own company is entitled to use. Making one for a company you do not act for is forgery.
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