Guides

Confirmation Statement: What It Is, When It's Due

Updated 10 Jun 2026

A confirmation statement is an annual check-in with Companies House confirming that the information on the register about your company is up to date — directors, registered office, shareholders, people with significant control. It isn't a set of accounts and contains no financial results. Every company files one at least once a year, dormant companies included. It costs £50 filed online, missing it risks a fine and your company being struck off the register — and since November 2025 it won't be accepted until every director has verified their identity with Companies House.

What does a confirmation statement confirm?

That the company's details on the public register are current. Before filing you check (and where needed, update) things like the registered office, directors, share capital and people with significant control. Two newer requirements, brought in under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act:

• You must state that the intended future activities of the company are lawful.
• You must provide a registered email address if the company hasn't already given one.

If nothing has changed since last year, you still file — the statement is the confirmation that nothing has changed.

Identity verification: the statement won't be accepted without it

Since 18 November 2025, identity verification has been a legal requirement for directors, phased in through each company's next confirmation statement. In practice that means the statement must include a Companies House personal code for every director — the unique identifier each director gets when they verify their identity — and Companies House will not accept the confirmation statement until all directors have verified.

So the practical to-do list now starts earlier: before your statement is due, make sure every director has verified and has their personal code to hand. People with significant control verify too, on their own 14-day timetable. A director who carries on acting without verifying is committing an offence — this one isn't optional admin.

When is it due?

The clock runs on a 12-month review period, starting from incorporation or from the date of your last confirmation statement. You then have 14 days after the review period ends to file. You can file early (which resets the review period) and you can file more than once a year; the requirement is at least once.

Note the rhythm is different from accounts: accounts run from your financial year end; the confirmation statement runs from incorporation or your last statement. Two separate clocks — the deadline checker and the company accounts page cover the accounts side.

How much does it cost?

The fee is annual, paid with your first statement in each 12-month payment period — file more statements within the same payment period and there's nothing more to pay. (The payment period is separate from the review period: it runs from your incorporation date or its anniversary.)

What happens if you don't file?

Not filing a confirmation statement is an offence: directors can be fined up to £5,000, and Companies House can strike the company off the register. There's no banded late-filing penalty like accounts have — the consequence is escalation rather than an automatic invoice, and strike-off is the one that bites: the company ceases to exist and its assets can pass to the Crown.

Frequently asked questions

Is the confirmation statement the same as annual accounts? No. Accounts report financial results; the confirmation statement confirms registry details. Both are due every year, on different clocks.

Do dormant companies file a confirmation statement? Yes — every company on the register files one, dormant or not. See dormant company accounts for the full dormant picture.

What if nothing has changed since last year? File anyway — confirming that nothing changed is exactly what the statement is for.

Can I file it myself? Yes — it's one of the more DIY-friendly filings, done through Companies House online. The work is in checking the details are actually right before confirming them — and, since November 2025, making sure every director has verified their identity first.

What is a Companies House personal code? The unique identifier a director receives after verifying their identity with Companies House. It's personal to the director (not the company) and has to be provided with the confirmation statement — without codes for all directors, the statement won't be accepted.

I'm a sole trader — does this apply to me? No. Sole traders aren't on the Companies House register and file no confirmation statement — see sole trader accounts.

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