How to file a confirmation statement (and what it actually is)

Here is what trips people up. The confirmation statement is not your annual accounts, and it is not your Corporation Tax return. It is a third, separate filing, and confusing the three is the single most common reason a company misses one.

This page explains what the confirmation statement is, how to file it, when it is due, and what it costs.

Always check GOV.UK for the current position.

What is a confirmation statement?

It is a snapshot check. Once a year, you confirm to Companies House that the information on the public register about your company is accurate and up to date. If something has changed, you update it; if nothing has changed, you confirm that.

It replaced the old "annual return" back in 2016, so if you have been running a company a long time and still call it the annual return, this is the same job under a newer name.

You have to file one even if:

• Nothing about the company has changed since last year
• The company is dormant or not trading
• You are the only director and shareholder

There is no way to opt out. Filing the confirmation statement is a legal duty for as long as the company exists on the register.

The three filings people muddle together

A trading limited company has three separate annual filings, going to two different places, on three different deadlines. They are not the same thing.

"I've done my accounts" does not mean you have filed your confirmation statement. They are different filings, on different dates, and a company can be fully up to date on its tax and still get struck off for missing the confirmation statement. This is exactly the sort of thing an accountant keeps track of so you do not have to.

How to file a confirmation statement

You file online through the Companies House service. In outline:

1. Sign in to Companies House (you will need your company authentication code, and, since 18 November 2025, directors and people with significant control must have completed identity verification).
2. Review the company details Companies House holds: registered office, directors, secretary, shareholders, people with significant control, and your SIC codes (what the company does).
3. Update anything that has changed, or confirm it is all still correct.
4. Submit and pay the fee.

Most changes can be made as part of the statement. A few things (like changing your registered office or appointing a director) are better done as separate filings first, then confirmed on the statement.

If we are your accountants, we file this for you as part of looking after the company, so it simply happens on time without you thinking about it.

When is it due? The review period

Your review period is normally 12 months, running from either the date you incorporated or the date of your last confirmation statement. You must file within 14 days of the end of that review period.

So if your review period ends on 30 June, your confirmation statement is due by 14 July.

You must file at least once every 12 months, even if you choose to file more often (for example, to record a change). Filing early resets the clock.

What does it cost?

£50 to file online, from 1 February 2026. (The fee was lower before then, so ignore any older figures you may see quoted.)

You pay the fee once per 12-month payment period, not every time you file. So if you file a second confirmation statement within the same year to record a change, you do not pay twice.

Fee correct at July 2026. Companies House reviews its fees annually, so check the current amount before you file.

What the confirmation statement confirms

You are confirming that these are correct and up to date:

• Registered office address
• Directors (and company secretary, if you have one)
• Registered email address (a requirement for all companies since 2024)
• SIC codes, the standard codes describing what your company does
• Statement of capital, your shares and shareholders (for companies with share capital)
• People with significant control (PSC), usually anyone owning or controlling more than 25% of the company
• Where your statutory registers are kept, if not at the registered office

If any of these have changed and you have not told Companies House, the confirmation statement is where it catches up with you, so it is worth getting them right rather than confirming information you know is out of date.

What happens if you do not file it?

This is more serious than people assume. Not filing a confirmation statement is a criminal offence, and the consequences escalate:

• Companies House will send reminders, then treat the company as in default.
• The company can be struck off the register, which means it stops existing. Any assets it holds can pass to the Crown.
• The directors can be prosecuted, and directors of a company struck off for non-compliance can face disqualification.

None of this is worth risking over a £50 filing. If your confirmation statement is overdue, file it now, and if the company is heading toward strike-off, get advice quickly, because it is far easier to stop than to reverse.

How we help

For the companies we look after, the confirmation statement simply gets filed on time, along with the accounts and the Corporation Tax return, so you are never chasing a deadline or wondering which filing is which.

We also keep your Companies House details right through the year, so that when the statement is due there is nothing to fix, just a confirmation to make. If your confirmation statement is overdue, or you have lost track of what is filed and what is not, we can sort it out and get you back in good standing.