Memorandum of Association vs. Articles of Association

Main Difference

The documents or charters are the basic components of the companies as they give details about the vision, products or services, a team of the company. All the companies make sure that these documents, which possess the basic or the general information about the company. There are two of the basic document a company possesses which can be differentiated on the basis of their need at the time of the registration. The Memorandum of Association and the Articles of Association are two of the companies’ documents, which are differentiated by their requirement at the time of the registration. Memorandum of Association, abbreviated as MOA, is the document, which holds the fundamental information about the company; it is compulsory filed with the authorities at the time of registration. Conversely, Articles of Association, abbreviated as AOA, is the document which contains all the rules and regulations which apply on all the stakeholders of the company.

Difference Between Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association

Comparison Chart

What is Memorandum of Association?

The memorandum of association is the document that contains fundamental information about the company. This memorandum is so essential that without the availability and presence of this document, the company can’t get registered. It should be noted here that it is the public document, which anyone can see in the ‘about’ or the section of ‘general information’ about the company. In other words, we can say that this is one of the essential document which is required at the time of incorporation and as well as it gives know-how about the company to someone interesting in dealing with them. The MOA contains information like name of the company, location of the company situated, objectives and products of the company, the total capital company holds, details of the subscribers of the company, and the information about the liabilities of the members of the company. It is compulsory for the companies to have six-clause which holds the information mentioned above about the company. If any of the changes or the adjustments are to be made in this document, the special resolution is to be passed at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and at that time previous approval of Company Law Board or Central Government is compulsory to be submitted. The other name for the memorandum of association is the charter of the company.

What is Articles of Association?

The article of association is the document that contains the information about the set rules and regulations of the company. These rules and regulation are never meant for the public; the main function of this document is to oblige the members to follow the mentioned rules and to regulate the relationship between the company and its members. This document is purely drafted as per the choice of the company. If any modification is to be made in this document, it can be done by passing the special resolution at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). Regarding the status, the article of association is the subordinate of the memorandum of association. There is no requirement of this article at the time of the incorporation of the company. It is a compulsion for each and every member of the company to follow these rules as this document holds all the required information about the management of the company and the internal affairs.