How To File A Confirmation Statement At Companies House

The 'Confirmation Statement' is a bland term Companies House came up with to describe the new way of your informing it of the status and composition of your company.

Previously, this was called the Annual Return. The Confirmation Statement can be filed more often, so the word 'Annual' no longer applies. The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act announced that it would be replacing the Return from the 30th June 2016.

→ Login to buy a Confirmation Statement filing service

Most small companies will still only need to file a Statement annually.

A company which is filing them more often is busy in a very bad (internal troubles), or a very good (expanding rapidly) way.

Read: More about form CS01 on the Companies House website.

Important: You have to file a return every 12 months even if your company is dormant. If you do not, you company will accrue fines and later be struck off the register. This is not a huge problem if you basically want it gone but it still leaves an online record of failure, with your name attached to it. This is very bad in the digital era, so, if your business is failing and you want to be done with it, shut it down yourself. It's very easy, especially if it hasn't traded.

Read: How to close down your company.

Tip: The Confirmation Statement is not the means to change Directors or Share Capital or any feature of the company for which there is an existing Companies House form. Those sorts of changes should be done via other Companies House designated forms beforehand.

See: The entire list of Companies House forms.

What you can change using the Confirmation Statement:

- Statement of capital, shareholder information and SIC codes.

What you can't change using the Confirmation Statement:

- Your company’s officers, registered office address or the address where you keep your records.

The Confirmation Statement is the means to confirming or adjusting an overview of your company's legal registered status.

You confirm the following:

- Company name;
- Registered office address;
- SIC code.

Details of each officer of the company:

- Name;
- Residential address;
- Service address;
- Nationality;
- Date of birth;
- Occupation.

Shareholders details:

- Shares held by each shareholder;
- Class of these shares;
- Amount;
- Statement of capital;
- Total number of shares of the company;
- Aggregate nominal value of each share;
- Aggregate amount (if any) unpaid on those shares.

Information about People with Significant Control (PSC):

- Name;
- Month and year of birth;
- Nationality;
- Residential address;
- Service address.

It's much easier to submit your returns online.

Read: How to get editor access to your company's listing at Companies House.


 


 


 
Companies House Webfiling login page with the registration link outlined in red 



A positive feature: One fee covers multiple submissions in the same 12 month period. The online method is cheaper, quicker and easier. While some Companies House paper (PDF) forms are relatively quick and easy, the Confirmation Statement is not. It's better to do it online.

New companies: The review period starts on the date of incorporation and ends 12 months later. If your company was registered on 1 January 2018, the review period you need to report on will end on 31 December 2018. The next period will begin on 1 January 2019.

Existing companies: The review period starts the day after the last statement was made and ends 12 months later.




 




How To File A Confirmation Statement
 



You'll get sent an email, or a reminder letter to your company’s registered office, when your statement is due.

- Don't rely on the government reminding you.
- Don't leave it until the last minute.

Make a note on a calendar somewhere you can see it or commit it to memory and start the submission process at least 30 days before it's due. This is so you can find out if you have login access and can make submissions in a relaxed way.

If there's a problem, then you have time to get access. It can take days or even weeks to get the Authentication Code by postal mail, if there's a problem with your registered office.

Good news: for most small startups, this particular return is very easy. Most small companies stay the same in the composition year to year.

Need help? Buy a Confirmation Statement Submission from us today!