How to file a confirmation statement with Companies House

The confirmation statement is one of the most significant parts of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. Since 30 June 2016, limited companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) have been required to verify their business information by regularly filing a Companies House confirmation statement.

Filing your confirmation statements on time helps your business run smoothly. Not only will you avoid fines and potential closure, but you could also boost your customer and supplier relationships. That’s because some of the information you give will be publicly available on the Companies Register, which your stakeholders may check to verify your business.

If you’re a Tide member, another great benefit is that completing your confirmation statements helps you keep access to the Tide features you’re already enjoying ✨.

In this blog post, learn about your responsibilities when it comes to confirmation statement filing and how to avoid the consequences of late and non-submission.

What is a confirmation statement?

A confirmation statement tells Companies House that the information they have about your limited company or LLP is correct. All limited companies and LLPs in the UK must send a Companies House confirmation statement. That includes dormant and non-trading companies, too.

Before the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, companies had to send an annual return to Companies House to verify their details. Confirmation statements ask for similar information but in a simpler format.

💡 What’s Companies House? Companies House is the UK’s registrar of companies. They’re responsible for registering limited companies by a process known as incorporation, and for making their information available on a public register.

At Tide, we’re an authorised formation agent of Companies House. So if you join us through our company registration service, we’ll register your business directly with Companies House and pay the £12 incorporation fee on your behalf. You can also use our free business name checker tool to find out if your chosen company name is available before you register your company.

When is my confirmation statement due?

To calculate your confirmation statement due date, you first need to know about review periods.

Review period

This is the 12-month period in which you must file at least one confirmation statement. You have to do this within 14 days of the end of each review period, at the latest.

Your first 12-month review period starts on the day you incorporate your company. Each subsequent review period will start on the date you filed your last confirmation statement.

👉 For example: you incorporated on 1 January 2022, so your review period starts on that date and ends on 31 December 2022. Your next review period would then start on 1 January 2023.

However, you can file a confirmation statement at any time during your review period and as often as you like. Some small businesses may do this to report changes as soon as they happen, for example. Every time you submit a confirmation statement, a new 12-month review period will start.

👉 For example: you started a review period on 1 January 2022. It’ll end on 31 December 2022, which is when your confirmation statement is due. However, you decided to file it early, on 30 September 2022. That means a new review period will start on that date and end in 12 months.

How to file a Companies House confirmation statement

1. Check that your company’s details are up to date on the Companies House register

This includes your:

• Registered office address, directors, secretary and the address where you keep your records
• People with significant control (PSC)
• Statement of capital and shareholder information, if your business has shares
• Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code, which tells Companies House what your business does

What if I need to make changes to my company details?

There’s an additional information section on the confirmation statement. In this section, you can make changes to your:

• Statement of capital
• Trading status of shares
• Exemption from keeping a PSC register
• Shareholder information
• SIC code

However, if you need to change the following information, you’ll have to do so separately with Companies House – you can’t do it on your confirmation statement.

• Your company directors and/or secretary
• Your registered office address
• The address where you keep your records
• PSC

Find instructions on how to do this on GOV.UK.

What if I don’t have any changes to report?

You still need to check your information and file a confirmation statement, even if nothing’s changed during the review period. This will confirm that the information Companies House has on record for you is correct.

2. Send your confirmation statement

File your confirmation statement online or download a paper copy and send it by post. You can get started with both of these methods on GOV.UK.

How much does it cost to file a confirmation statement?

It costs £13 to send it online or £40 by post. You’ll only need to pay this fee once a year, in what’s called a payment period.

A payment period is separate from your review period. It’s also 12 months long, however, its purpose is to tell you when your annual fee is due. 

As mentioned earlier in this blog post, you can file as many confirmation statements as you want during your review period, without being charged a fee every time. You won’t have to pay a fee again until your next payment period starts.

Avoid a Statutory Notice Overdue confirmation statement letter

If you don’t send your confirmation statement on time, you could face a fine of up to £5,000. Companies House may also strike you off their register so you can’t trade legally, and your business, your company directors and secretary may be prosecuted.

Wrapping up

Add your confirmation statement deadlines to your diary alongside other key dates for small businesses. You can also sign up for email reminders from Companies House, too.

If you have any more questions, we’ve put together a whole host of FAQs for you. Speak to an accountant or legal advisor for specific advice for your business.

Photo by Erge Mahinda, published on Unsplash