A confirmation statement is the annual filing every UK limited company and limited liability partnership sends to Companies House to confirm its registered details are correct and up to date. Dormant and non-trading companies file one, and so do companies where nothing has changed in the last 12 months. The form replaced the old annual return in June 2016. It also confirms that the intended future activities of the company are lawful, and it is where the registered email address and people with significant control (PSC) details are confirmed.
The statement is a check-and-confirm exercise rather than a change-reporting form. Changes to directors, PSCs, the registered office and the registered email are filed separately, before the statement confirms them. At least one statement is due every 12 months.
What Is a Confirmation Statement?
A confirmation statement is a check-and-confirm filing: it tells Companies House that the company record on the public register is accurate as at the statement date. Every UK limited company files one, whatever its trading status. LLPs file the same annual statement, adapted to their member and PSC details. The filing answers one question across the whole record: is this information correct today?
Because the statement confirms rather than reports, the order of filings matters. A director resignation, a new PSC, a registered office move or a change of registered email reaches Companies House through its own separate notification first. The next confirmation statement then confirms the updated record. Filing the statement on its own changes nothing on the register, apart from the additional-information items below.
The form covers the full company record: directors, officers, PSC details, registered office, registered email, share capital and shareholders. Most of that record is public. The registered email address is the exception, because Companies House holds it for contact purposes and does not publish it.
What Goes in a Confirmation Statement?
Five items are confirmed on every statement, whatever the company’s trading status:
- Directors and company secretary
- People with significant control (PSCs)
- Registered office address
- Registered email address
- The statement that the company’s intended future activities are lawful
A PSC is anyone holding more than 25% of the company’s shares or voting rights, anyone controlling the appointment or removal of a majority of the board, and anyone with significant influence or control over the company. The PSC entry on the statement carries seven fields: name, month and year of birth, nationality, country of residence, service address, the date control began, and the nature of that control.
The additional-information section updates the rest of the record when it changes. The SIC code, the five-digit trade classification describing what the company does, sits in this section alongside capital and shareholder data. The table below splits the form into its two parts.
| Confirmed on every statement | Updated in the additional-information section |
|---|---|
| Directors and company secretary | SIC codes |
| People with significant control (PSCs) | Statement of capital |
| Registered office address | Trading status of shares |
| Registered email address | Shareholder information |
| Statement of lawful future activities | PSC exemption statements |
Every item in the left column is confirmed as correct on each filing, even when unchanged. Items in the right column reach Companies House through the statement only when they change.
Identity verification sits behind the form. Every director and every PSC verifies their identity with Companies House and appears on the statement under their personal code. Companies House does not accept the filing until every director has verified, so one unverified officer blocks the whole statement rather than a single entry.
When Is a Confirmation Statement Due – and How Do You File It?
The first confirmation statement is due when the review period ends, 12 months after incorporation. Each later review period ends 12 months after the date of the previous statement, so a company files at least once every 12 months. New companies coming through our limited company formations service meet this filing for the first time at the one-year mark.
The deadline carries a grace window. You can file up to 14 days after the review period ends without penalty, and the statement is still made up to the review period end date. Filing early is allowed and resets the review clock: you choose a new confirmation statement date, and the next review period starts the day after it. The made-up-to date appears in the public filing history, so the next review period end is visible on the Companies House record at any time.
Filing takes place online through the Companies House service, signed in with the company password and authentication code, or on the paper CS01 form by post. Online filing costs £50. The paper CS01 costs £110.
The fee runs on a payment period separate from the review period. The £50 is due only with the first statement made up to a date in each 12-month payment period, and every further statement in that period is free. Early or additional filings inside the same payment period cost no more than the first.
Companies House also runs a free email reminder service for the review period end date, with reminders sent to up to 4 nominated people at the company.
What Happens If You Do Not File One?
A missing confirmation statement draws three responses from Companies House. It issues a financial penalty of up to £5,000. It starts strike-off action to remove the company from the register, and a struck-off company ceases to exist until a formal restoration process brings it back. Persistent non-filing is a criminal offence committed by the company and its officers, so directors carry personal exposure in the worst cases. The 14-day grace window closes when the review period ends, and penalty procedures begin once it passes without a filing.
The confirmation statement deadline is separate from the accounts deadline, and the two regimes penalise separately. A Newcastle company running company accounts, a CT600 and VAT returns alongside its statement manages four different deadlines in one year. The practical fix is to diarise the review period end date shown on the Companies House record, or to hand the compliance calendar to an accountant who tracks all four dates in one place.
Common Questions Answered
What Is the Difference Between a Confirmation Statement and an Annual Return?
The confirmation statement replaced the annual return in June 2016. Both forms do the same core job: confirming the company’s registered details once a year. The newer form added PSC details, the registered email address and the lawful-activities statement, and moved change-reporting to separate filings made at the time a change happens rather than held for the annual form.
Do Dormant Companies Need to File a Confirmation Statement?
Yes. Dormant and non-trading companies file at least once every 12 months, even when nothing has changed. The £50 online fee applies to dormant companies in the same way as to trading ones.
What Happens If There Are No Changes to Report?
You file anyway. The statement is a check-and-confirm record, so you confirm the existing details are accurate. Changes to directors, PSCs, the registered office and the registered email are filed separately beforehand.
How Much Does a Confirmation Statement Cost?
£50 online or £110 on the paper CS01 form. The fee is due only with the first statement in each 12-month payment period, and further statements in the same period are free, so early or extra filings cost no more.
How Aqua Accounting Can Help
The Aqua Accounting team files confirmation statements for Newcastle limited companies as part of its company secretarial service. We check the registers before anything is submitted: director entries, PSC details, SIC codes, the statement of capital and shareholder information. We correct out-of-date entries first, so the statement confirms a clean record rather than an old one. We file inside the review period, and we manage the director identity-verification requirement that now sits behind every submission.
The statement is one of four fixed dates in the annual compliance cycle, alongside the accounts deadline, the CT600 and any VAT returns. Our company accounts service runs that calendar end to end, so the review period end date, the filing fee and the accounts deadline are tracked by one team.
Book a call, and the statement moves off your to-do list and onto ours.
Disclaimer:
The information provided in this blog is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, Aqua Accounting accepts no responsibility for any actions taken based on this content. You should seek professional advice tailored to your individual circumstances.
Omar Ahmed is an ICAEW Chartered Accountant and the Director of Aqua Accounting, a UK-based accountancy practice providing expert accounting and tax services to individuals, sole traders, and small to medium-sized businesses. As a trusted accountant in Newcastle, he offers expertise in annual accounts, self-assessment tax returns, company accounts, VAT, payroll, bookkeeping, and company formation.
With a strong focus on delivering clear and practical financial advice, Omar helps clients stay compliant while improving their understanding of their finances. Through Aqua Accounting, he works closely with business owners to simplify accounting processes, meet tax obligations, and support informed financial decision-making.