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A Members' Agreement is the constitutional document that displaces the bare statutory default rules in the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000 and the Limited Liability Partnerships Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/1090) — the rules that, in their absence, would treat every Member as having an equal profit share regardless of capital, no right to remuneration for active management, and no power of expulsion. Use our free UK template to draft a multi-tier (Equity / Salaried / Fixed Share) LLP Members' Agreement with a full decision matrix, Designated Member compliance under s.8 LLPA 2000, capital accounts and drawings mechanics, goodwill buy-out on cessation, and the post-ECCTA 2023 identity verification regime that is live for every UK LLP member from 18 November 2025.
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A Limited Liability Partnership Members' Agreement is the private contract between the Members of a UK LLP that regulates the internal conduct of the LLP — who contributes capital, how profits and losses are allocated, who decides what and by what majority, how Members are admitted and how they leave, and what each Member may and may not do during and after membership. It sits alongside the LLP's public Companies House filings (the incorporation document, annual confirmation statement and accounts) but, critically, is not itself filed and remains confidential between the Members.
Without a written agreement, every UK LLP is governed by a stripped-down default code: the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000, the Limited Liability Partnerships Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/1090) — particularly Regulation 7 (equal profit share, equal management, no remuneration, no interest on capital, unanimous consent for new members) and Regulation 8 (no expulsion power) — and the parts of the Companies Act 2006 applied to LLPs by SI 2009/1804 (as amended by SI 2024/355 from 4 March 2024 to layer in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 reforms). For all but the simplest two-Member equal partnership, those defaults are commercially unworkable.
Under English, Scots and Northern Irish law an LLP is a separate legal person (s.1 LLPA 2000), so liability for trading debts sits with the LLP itself and Members are protected from personal liability beyond their contractual undertakings. But that limited-liability shield works only if the LLP is run as a properly governed entity — Members file what they must, Designated Members discharge their s.8 LLPA 2000 duties, and identity verification under the live ECCTA 2023 regime is in place. A robust Members' Agreement is the operational backbone that lets a UK LLP function as a real business, not merely as a tax-transparent vehicle.
This UK LLP Members' Agreement displaces the default code with a complete multi-tier governance, capital accounts and exit framework.
Each Member tagged as Equity, Salaried or Fixed Share, with Designated Member status flagged separately under s.8 LLPA 2000.
LLP name, Companies House OC number, registered office (England & Wales / Scotland / Northern Ireland), business description, commencement and accounting reference date.
Initial capital per Member with separate capital accounts, debt-of-LLP treatment, and optional interest on positive balances (displacing Reg 7(2) SI 2001/1090).
Equal / capital-weighted / tiered / custom ratio with priority allocations for Salaried and Fixed Share Members, plus Part 9 ITTOIA 2005 transparency note.
Unanimous / simple majority / two-thirds — displaces Reg 7(6) SI 2001/1090 default of majority for ordinary management, unanimous for change of business.
Equity / Salaried / Fixed Share definitions with distinct voting rights, default salary or fixed share, and the s.863A ITTOIA 2005 PAYE flag for salaried members.
Minimum two (s.8 LLPA 2000 default) up to all-members, with the seven statutory duties — accounts signing, auditor appointment, confirmation statement, change notifications, ECCTA IDV coordination, strike-off response.
Separate capital and current accounts, monthly / quarterly drawings on account of profit, true-up timing and over-drawings repayment under demand.
Pro-rata top-up mechanism with 14 / 30 / 60-day notice and dilution / additional voting rights remedies for non-contributing Members.
Ordinary (simple majority) / Special Reserved (75%) / Fundamental (unanimous) thresholds with borrowing cap, capex cap and bespoke reserved matters.
Unanimous (Reg 7 default) / 75% / Designated Member admission with subsequent ratification — and ECCTA 2023 IDV completion as a condition precedent.
3 / 6 / 12-month notice, payout within 180 days or 12 / 24-month instalments at BoE base + 2% — calibrated by tier and seniority.
Material breach only / + dishonesty + gross misconduct + criminal offence / + permanent incapacity + insolvency — displacing the Reg 8 SI 2001/1090 no-expulsion default; Flanagan v Liontrust procedural fairness.
Continue / buy-out / dissolve options for death; cease / continue / Insolvent Partnerships Order 1994 dissolution for insolvency.
Book value (cheapest) / RICS or ICAEW independent valuer / EBITDA multiple / formula basis, with 180-day or instalment payout.
12 / 24-month non-compete, non-solicit clients and non-solicit staff with UK-wide or narrower radius — Tillman v Egon Zehnder blue-pencil severance and Nordenfelt reasonableness.
Identity verification regime live from 18 November 2025 for every UK LLP member; voluntary IDV since 8 April 2025; 12-month transition for existing members.
Failure-to-prevent-fraud (s.199 ECCTA 2023, live 1 September 2025 for 'large' LLPs ≥250 employees / ≥£36m turnover / ≥£18m balance sheet, 2 of 3) and professional indemnity cover.
2 / 5-year or indefinite confidentiality; mediation-then-court (UK SME standard), LCIA / CIArb arbitration, or court-only exclusive jurisdiction.
England and Wales / Scotland / Northern Ireland with matching exclusive jurisdiction to the courts of that constituent UK nation.
Follow these steps to draft a UK LLP Members' Agreement that displaces the default code and supports a working multi-tier partnership.
Provide the LLP name, Companies House OC number, registered office, business description and commencement date; list each Member with their tier (Equity / Salaried / Fixed Share) and Designated Member status.
Record each Equity Member's initial capital. Decide whether interest accrues on positive capital account balances — this displaces the no-interest default in Regulation 7(2) of SI 2001/1090.
Pick equal, capital-weighted, tiered (priority allocation + residue) or a custom ratio. Note that the LLP is tax-transparent under Part 9 ITTOIA 2005; Members are taxed individually.
Set Equity Member voting (per-member, capital-weighted or profit-share weighted) and Salaried / Fixed Share Member voting (full / administrative-only / consultation only).
Select Ordinary (simple majority) / Special Reserved (75%) / Fundamental (unanimous) thresholds and set the borrowing cap and capex cap that trigger Reserved Matter approval.
Pick admission consent (unanimous / 75% / Designated Members), retirement notice (3 / 6 / 12 months), payout period and expulsion grounds. Decide what happens on death and insolvency.
Choose book value, independent expert valuation, EBITDA multiple or a formula basis for the price payable on cessation of membership.
Apply non-compete (12 / 24 months), non-solicit clients and non-solicit staff with a UK or narrower radius. The template applies Tillman v Egon Zehnder blue-pencil drafting.
Tick the identity verification flag — live for every UK LLP member from 18 November 2025 under ECCTA 2023 (CA 2006 ss.1110A-1110N as applied to LLPs by SI 2009/1804 as amended).
Preview the Members' Agreement and download as a free PDF or, with Expert, an editable Microsoft Word (.docx) for execution alongside the LLP incorporation document.
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UK LLP Members' Agreements operate against a layered statutory framework — LLPA 2000, SI 2001/1090 default rules, the CA 2006 provisions applied by SI 2009/1804 (and amended by SI 2024/355), the ECCTA 2023 identity verification regime, and the parts of partnership and employment case law that apply to LLP members.
This template is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. LLP Members' Agreements are constitutional documents — for an LLP with more than six Members, an LLP carrying on a regulated activity (financial services, legal practice, healthcare), an LLP with substantial third-party debt, or any deal involving corporate Members or non-UK resident Members, professional advice from a solicitor specialising in LLPs is strongly recommended.
Reviewed for England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland law
Where no Members' Agreement displaces them, Regulation 7 of the Limited Liability Partnerships Regulations 2001 imposes equal profit shares regardless of capital (Reg 7(1)); equal management rights (Reg 7(3)); no remuneration for active management (Reg 7(4)); no interest on capital (Reg 7(2)); a duty to render true accounts (Reg 7(5)); ordinary management matters by majority but a change of the nature of the business by unanimity (Reg 7(6)); a competition / private benefit duty (Regs 7(7) and 7(9)); and an indemnity (Reg 7(8)). Critically, Regulation 8 provides that no Member may be expelled by a majority unless that power is expressly conferred — without a written agreement, the only escape route from a dysfunctional UK LLP is a winding-up petition under the Insolvent Partnerships Order 1994. A Members' Agreement is the only practical way to operate any LLP beyond a two-Member equal partnership.
Every UK LLP must have at least two Designated Members at all times (s.8(1) LLPA 2000). If the number falls below two, every Member becomes a Designated Member by operation of s.8(2) until the deficit is remedied. Designated Members carry the statutory filing duties under the LLP Regulations 2001 and the Companies Act 2006 (as applied to LLPs by SI 2009/1804): signing and filing annual accounts (s.444 / s.445 CA 2006), appointing auditors where required (s.485 CA 2006), filing the confirmation statement (s.853A CA 2006), notifying changes in membership and registered office (s.9 LLPA 2000 and related provisions), responding to any Companies House strike-off notice under the Companies Act 2006, and — since 18 November 2025 — coordinating the identity verification of every LLP member with Companies House under the ECCTA 2023 regime.
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 applied to LLPs from 4 March 2024 by SI 2024/355, which inserted Regulation 13B into SI 2009/1804. From 8 April 2025 voluntary identity verification through GOV.UK One Login or in person at a UK Post Office became available (free of charge). From 18 November 2025 IDV is compulsory for every UK LLP member — new members must verify before being appointed, and existing members have a 12-month transition window aligned with their next confirmation statement filing date. Where an LLP member is a body corporate, the director of that corporate must complete IDV. Failure renders subsequent acts in the name of the LLP open to challenge and exposes the Designated Members to s.853L CA 2006 (as applied to LLPs) offences.
Since 1 September 2025, the failure-to-prevent-fraud offence under s.199 ECCTA 2023 has been live for 'large organisations' — bodies (including LLPs) that meet at least two of: 250+ employees, £36m+ turnover, £18m+ balance sheet. A 'large' UK LLP is criminally liable where an associated person commits a specified fraud offence (including fraud by false representation, fraud by abuse of position, false accounting, and cheating the public revenue) intending to benefit the LLP, unless the LLP can prove it had 'reasonable fraud-prevention procedures' in place under the Home Office guidance published 6 November 2024. This template enables the fraud-prevention procedures flag so the LLP can evidence its compliance posture in any subsequent investigation.
Even though an LLP is tax-transparent under Part 9 of the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005 — Members taxed individually on their share of profit, not through PAYE — section 863A ITTOIA 2005 disapplies that transparency for a so-called 'salaried member' who meets all three conditions: at least 80% of their reward is disguised salary; they have no significant influence over the LLP's affairs; and their capital contribution is less than 25% of their disguised salary. Such Members are taxed as employees, the LLP must operate PAYE and pay Class 1 NIC, and they are workers for whistleblowing purposes following Bates van Winkelhof v Clyde & Co [2014] UKSC 32. The template's Salaried Member tier surfaces this trap and prompts the LLP to confirm capital level and influence before defaulting to LLP-transparent treatment.
Restrictive covenants on a UK LLP member are governed by the common law restraint of trade doctrine — Nordenfelt v Maxim Nordenfelt Guns & Ammunition Co [1894] AC 535 — and assessed for reasonableness in scope, duration and geography against the LLP's legitimate interests in goodwill, confidential information and stable workforce. Tillman v Egon Zehnder [2019] UKSC 32 confirmed the modern blue-pencil severance test: courts may sever an unreasonable element while preserving the rest if the words can be deleted without rewriting and the agreement still makes sense. The UK Government's 2025-26 working paper on a three-month statutory cap on non-compete clauses targets EMPLOYMENT non-competes; the consultation has not extended to LLP members or partners in a partnership, and the 12-24 month UK mid-market norm for senior LLP members remains enforceable subject to Nordenfelt-Tillman scrutiny.
Draft a multi-tier UK LLP Members' Agreement with full Designated Member compliance under s.8 LLPA 2000, ECCTA 2023 identity verification, decision matrix, goodwill buy-out and Tillman v Egon Zehnder-compliant restrictive covenants. Fill in the details, preview and download in minutes.
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