What is a Confirmation Statement & When to Submit?

A confirmation statement notifies the government that all the information they hold about your business is up to date.

Every limited company in the UK must file a confirmation statement with Companies House at least once a year, even if your company’s dormant or no longer trading.

The confirmation statement is separate to your business accounts, and you don’t necessarily have to submit it at the same time as your tax return.

Every business must file a confirmation statement once a year to confirm that the details held at Companies House are up to date

What’s Contained in a Confirmation Statement?

Your confirmation statement will contain up to date details of your directors, secretary, and any other people with significant control (PSC). Confirmation statements must also contain your business’s registered office address.

If you’re going to make any changes to any of these things, you must notify the government of them before you submit your confirmation statement.

The confirmation statement also has an “additional information” section. Here you can notify the government of any recent changes to your:

Statement of capital
Shareholder information
Trading status of shares
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code

Even if you haven’t made any changes to any of these things, you still need to submit a Confirmation Statement. You still need to confirm that all the information the government has about your business is correct and up to date.

When To Submit Your Confirmation Statement

You have a legal obligation to submit a confirmation statement at least once every 12 months. Each confirmation statement is supposed to cover a 12 month “review period”. This review period can either start on the date you registered your company, or the date you filed your last confirmation statement.

Once your review period comes to an end, you have a 14 day deadline to submit your confirmation statement. For example, if your review period ends on December 4, you’ll have until December 18 to submit your confirmation statement.

You can, of course, file a confirmation statement before the end of your review period. Doing this will start a brand new 12 month review period.

Penalties for Missing Your Confirmation Statement Deadline

If you don’t file your confirmation statement within 14 days of the end of your review period, you’ll face some serious penalties:

Your company and its officers might be prosecuted.
Your company may be struck off the register, which means you would no longer be able to legally trade until you file a paper form CS01.
HMRC may instigate an investigation.

You can avoid these penalties if you commit to never missing your review period deadline. Business insurance can offer an additional layer of protection here. Legal fees insurance can cover you should the government take you to court, while directors and officers insurance can offer additional protection while your decision-makers are performing their obligations and fiduciary duties.

We can tailor an insurance policy to cover your specific business requirements. Head here to get a free quote online in minutes.

How to Submit a Confirmation Statement

You can either submit your confirmation statement online, or in paper form. It costs £13 to file your confirmation statement online, and £40 to submit a paper form.

You only have to pay this fee for the first confirmation statement you submit. When it comes to confirmation statements, the government operates on 12 month “payment periods”. For newer companies, the payment period starts on the date your company incorporated. For older companies, the payment period starts on the date you last paid an annual confirmation statement fee.

Once you’ve paid that first fee, you can submit as many confirmation statements as you like until the end of this 12 month payment period.

Want to file your confirmation statement online? Head here to begin.