A confirmation statement (form CS01) is the annual filing every UK company must send Companies House to confirm its details are still correct — its registered office, directors, people with significant control (PSCs), SIC codes and shareholders. You file it at least once every 12 months, and the digital fee is £50 (it rose from £34 on 1 February 2026). It isn't a tax form and it doesn't report your profit; it's a yes-or-no check that the public record matches reality. It's also separate from your annual accounts and your Company Tax Return — three different filings, to two different bodies, on three different clocks. Miss the confirmation statement and it isn't a fine you shrug off: not filing is an offence, and the company can ultimately be struck off the register. For most directors it's a five-minute job online once a year — the trick is simply not forgetting it.
Figures are sourced to gov.uk and Companies House and are correct for filings made now; fees change, so check before you pay. General guidance, not personal advice.
What does a confirmation statement actually confirm?
A confirmation statement confirms that the information Companies House already holds about your company is still accurate — or flags what's changed. You're checking, in effect, the snapshot the public can see when they look your company up. The details it covers are the registered office address, the directors (and company secretary, if you have one), the people with significant control (PSCs), the SIC codes that describe what your company does, and the statement of capital and shareholders for a company limited by shares.
Two newer additions come from the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2024 reforms, which Companies House has been rolling out to tighten the register. Since those changes, every company must also confirm a registered email address (a real inbox Companies House can use to contact you) and make a lawful-purpose statement — a declaration that the company's intended future activities are lawful. These aren't optional extras tucked away elsewhere; they're now part of the confirmation statement itself, so a director filing for the first time under the new regime will be asked for both.
Be clear about what the statement does not do. You don't use it to file day-to-day changes — appointing a new director, moving your registered office or transferring shares are reported to Companies House when they happen, on their own forms. The confirmation statement is the annual backstop that says "and apart from those, everything else is still correct."
How and when do you file it — and what does it cost?
You file the confirmation statement online through Companies House, and the digital fee is £50 for the year (it was £34 until it rose on 1 February 2026, so older guides quoting the lower figure are now out of date). That single fee covers a 12-month payment period: you can file as many confirmation statements as you need within that window — for instance if your details change and you want to update the record — without paying again until the next payment period comes round.
The timing works off your confirmation date, sometimes called the review date. Every company has a 12-month review period, and you must file a confirmation statement at least once every 12 months. Companies House gives you a short window after the review date to get it in, so the practical rule is straightforward: know your review date, and file on or shortly after it each year. If nothing has changed, you're simply confirming that the record is still correct — the lawful-purpose statement and registered email aside, there may be nothing new to enter at all.
New directors often confuse this with their accounts deadline, so here's the clean version: the confirmation statement goes to Companies House roughly on the anniversary of incorporation; your annual accounts also go to Companies House but on a different deadline; and your Company Tax Return (CT600) goes to HMRC after your accounting period ends. Same company, three filings, and only one of them is the confirmation statement.
What happens if you don't file it?
Failing to file a confirmation statement is a criminal offence, and it puts both the company and its officers — the directors — at risk. Companies House treats a confirmation statement that's overdue as a sign the company may no longer be active or properly run, and that can trigger the process of removing it from the register. In other words, ignore it for long enough and your company can be struck off — dissolved, struck from the public record, and no longer able to trade.
A strike-off you didn't choose is far messier than one you do. When a company is dissolved, any assets still in its name — money left in the bank account, say — can pass to the Crown as bona vacantia (ownerless goods), and restoring the company to put that right is slow and costly. If you ever do want to close a company deliberately and cleanly, that's a planned decision with its own rules and costs — see our guide on how to close a limited company — not something to drift into by forgetting an annual filing.
The compliance slip we see catch new directors out most is exactly this one. The confirmation statement is small, cheap and quick, which is precisely why it slides down the to-do list — and missing it can put the whole company at risk of being struck off. We're not the firm that files it for you, but when a director comes to us worried about an overdue filing or a strike-off notice, getting them matched with a partner accountant who'll put the routine annual filings on a calendar is usually the first thing that settles it.
Confirmation statement vs annual accounts vs Company Tax Return
Because all three land in roughly the same year and all three feel like "the company paperwork", it's easy to assume they're one job. They aren't. The confirmation statement confirms who and what your company is; the annual accounts report its finances to Companies House; the Company Tax Return reports its profit and tax to HMRC. Here's how they line up:
Filing
Goes to
Roughly when
What it does
Confirmation statement (CS01)
Companies House
At least every 12 months
Confirms registered office, directors, PSCs, SIC codes, shareholders
Annual accounts
Companies House
After your financial year-end
Reports the company's finances on the public record
Company Tax Return (CT600)
HMRC
After your accounting period
Reports profit and the corporation tax due
Keep them mentally separate and the year becomes manageable: the confirmation statement is the cheapest and simplest of the three, but it's the one with the bluntest consequence for missing it. If you've only just incorporated and you're not yet sure which deadline is which, our walkthrough on how to set up a limited company covers what each filing is and when it first falls due, and getting a business bank account sorted early makes the accounts and tax return far easier to keep clean. When you'd rather not track any of it by hand, our accountancy partners handle the lot as part of the routine.
The confirmation statement rarely makes anyone's highlight reel — but it's the one annual filing where doing nothing is the way to get it wrong.
What is a confirmation statement?
It's the annual filing (form CS01) every UK company sends Companies House to confirm its details are still correct — registered office, directors, people with significant control, SIC codes and shareholders. Since the 2024 reforms it also confirms a registered email address and a lawful-purpose statement. It's a check on the public record, not a tax form.
How much does a confirmation statement cost?
The digital fee is £50 for the year when you file online with Companies House. That rose from £34 on 1 February 2026, so any guide still quoting £34 is out of date. The £50 covers a 12-month payment period, so you can file again within that window without paying twice.
How often do I file a confirmation statement?
At least once every 12 months. Each company has a review date — usually around the anniversary of incorporation — and you must file on or shortly after it each year, even if nothing has changed since last time.
What happens if I don't file my confirmation statement?
It's a criminal offence, and it puts the company and its directors at risk. Companies House can begin removing an overdue company from the register, which ultimately means the company is struck off and dissolved — at which point any assets left in its name can pass to the Crown.
Is a confirmation statement the same as my accounts?
No. The confirmation statement confirms who and what your company is and goes to Companies House. Your annual accounts report the company's finances (also to Companies House, on a different deadline), and your Company Tax Return reports profit and corporation tax to HMRC. Three separate filings, not one.
A confirmation statement (form CS01) is the annual filing every UK company must send Companies House to confirm its details are still correct — its registered office, directors, people with significant control (PSCs), SIC codes and shareholders. You file it at least once every 12 months, and the digital fee is £50 (it rose from £34 on 1 February 2026). It isn't a tax form and it doesn't report your profit; it's a yes-or-no check that the public record matches reality. It's also separate from your annual accounts and your Company Tax Return — three different filings, to two different bodies, on three different clocks. Miss the confirmation statement and it isn't a fine you shrug off: not filing is an offence, and the company can ultimately be struck off the register. For most directors it's a five-minute job online once a year — the trick is simply not forgetting it.
Figures are sourced to gov.uk and Companies House and are correct for filings made now; fees change, so check before you pay. General guidance, not personal advice.
What does a confirmation statement actually confirm?
A confirmation statement confirms that the information Companies House already holds about your company is still accurate — or flags what's changed. You're checking, in effect, the snapshot the public can see when they look your company up. The details it covers are the registered office address, the directors (and company secretary, if you have one), the people with significant control (PSCs), the SIC codes that describe what your company does, and the statement of capital and shareholders for a company limited by shares.
Two newer additions come from the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2024 reforms, which Companies House has been rolling out to tighten the register. Since those changes, every company must also confirm a registered email address (a real inbox Companies House can use to contact you) and make a lawful-purpose statement — a declaration that the company's intended future activities are lawful. These aren't optional extras tucked away elsewhere; they're now part of the confirmation statement itself, so a director filing for the first time under the new regime will be asked for both.
Be clear about what the statement does not do. You don't use it to file day-to-day changes — appointing a new director, moving your registered office or transferring shares are reported to Companies House when they happen, on their own forms. The confirmation statement is the annual backstop that says "and apart from those, everything else is still correct."
How and when do you file it — and what does it cost?
You file the confirmation statement online through Companies House, and the digital fee is £50 for the year (it was £34 until it rose on 1 February 2026, so older guides quoting the lower figure are now out of date). That single fee covers a 12-month payment period: you can file as many confirmation statements as you need within that window — for instance if your details change and you want to update the record — without paying again until the next payment period comes round.
The timing works off your confirmation date, sometimes called the review date. Every company has a 12-month review period, and you must file a confirmation statement at least once every 12 months. Companies House gives you a short window after the review date to get it in, so the practical rule is straightforward: know your review date, and file on or shortly after it each year. If nothing has changed, you're simply confirming that the record is still correct — the lawful-purpose statement and registered email aside, there may be nothing new to enter at all.
New directors often confuse this with their accounts deadline, so here's the clean version: the confirmation statement goes to Companies House roughly on the anniversary of incorporation; your annual accounts also go to Companies House but on a different deadline; and your Company Tax Return (CT600) goes to HMRC after your accounting period ends. Same company, three filings, and only one of them is the confirmation statement.
What happens if you don't file it?
Failing to file a confirmation statement is a criminal offence, and it puts both the company and its officers — the directors — at risk. Companies House treats a confirmation statement that's overdue as a sign the company may no longer be active or properly run, and that can trigger the process of removing it from the register. In other words, ignore it for long enough and your company can be struck off — dissolved, struck from the public record, and no longer able to trade.
A strike-off you didn't choose is far messier than one you do. When a company is dissolved, any assets still in its name — money left in the bank account, say — can pass to the Crown as bona vacantia (ownerless goods), and restoring the company to put that right is slow and costly. If you ever do want to close a company deliberately and cleanly, that's a planned decision with its own rules and costs — see our guide on how to close a limited company — not something to drift into by forgetting an annual filing.
The compliance slip we see catch new directors out most is exactly this one. The confirmation statement is small, cheap and quick, which is precisely why it slides down the to-do list — and missing it can put the whole company at risk of being struck off. We're not the firm that files it for you, but when a director comes to us worried about an overdue filing or a strike-off notice, getting them matched with a partner accountant who'll put the routine annual filings on a calendar is usually the first thing that settles it.
Confirmation statement vs annual accounts vs Company Tax Return
Because all three land in roughly the same year and all three feel like "the company paperwork", it's easy to assume they're one job. They aren't. The confirmation statement confirms who and what your company is; the annual accounts report its finances to Companies House; the Company Tax Return reports its profit and tax to HMRC. Here's how they line up:
Filing
Goes to
Roughly when
What it does
Confirmation statement (CS01)
Companies House
At least every 12 months
Confirms registered office, directors, PSCs, SIC codes, shareholders
Annual accounts
Companies House
After your financial year-end
Reports the company's finances on the public record
Company Tax Return (CT600)
HMRC
After your accounting period
Reports profit and the corporation tax due
Keep them mentally separate and the year becomes manageable: the confirmation statement is the cheapest and simplest of the three, but it's the one with the bluntest consequence for missing it. If you've only just incorporated and you're not yet sure which deadline is which, our walkthrough on how to set up a limited company covers what each filing is and when it first falls due, and getting a business bank account sorted early makes the accounts and tax return far easier to keep clean. When you'd rather not track any of it by hand, our accountancy partners handle the lot as part of the routine.
The confirmation statement rarely makes anyone's highlight reel — but it's the one annual filing where doing nothing is the way to get it wrong.
What is a confirmation statement?
It's the annual filing (form CS01) every UK company sends Companies House to confirm its details are still correct — registered office, directors, people with significant control, SIC codes and shareholders. Since the 2024 reforms it also confirms a registered email address and a lawful-purpose statement. It's a check on the public record, not a tax form.
How much does a confirmation statement cost?
The digital fee is £50 for the year when you file online with Companies House. That rose from £34 on 1 February 2026, so any guide still quoting £34 is out of date. The £50 covers a 12-month payment period, so you can file again within that window without paying twice.
How often do I file a confirmation statement?
At least once every 12 months. Each company has a review date — usually around the anniversary of incorporation — and you must file on or shortly after it each year, even if nothing has changed since last time.
What happens if I don't file my confirmation statement?
It's a criminal offence, and it puts the company and its directors at risk. Companies House can begin removing an overdue company from the register, which ultimately means the company is struck off and dissolved — at which point any assets left in its name can pass to the Crown.
Is a confirmation statement the same as my accounts?
No. The confirmation statement confirms who and what your company is and goes to Companies House. Your annual accounts report the company's finances (also to Companies House, on a different deadline), and your Company Tax Return reports profit and corporation tax to HMRC. Three separate filings, not one.
