What is a confirmation statement?

The statement is a snapshot check of everything Companies House holds about your company on the public register:

• Registered office address (and registered email address, which stays private)
• Directors and company secretary
• People with significant control (PSCs) — broadly, anyone holding over 25% of shares or voting rights, or otherwise controlling the company
• Shareholders and statement of capital
• SIC codes — the standard codes describing what the company does
• A statement that the company’s intended future activities are lawful

Some changes (a new director, a new registered office) can’t be made on the statement itself — they must be filed separately first, then confirmed. Share transfers and SIC code changes, by contrast, are reported with the statement.

If you’ve run a company for a while you may remember the annual return (AR01) — the confirmation statement replaced it in June 2016. The idea is the same, but instead of re-listing everything each year you simply confirm (or correct) what’s already held, which is why filing is quick when your record is clean.

There’s no automatic fine — but non-filing is a criminal offence for the company and its officers, and it’s the classic trigger for Companies House to conclude the company is defunct and begin striking it off the register. For a trading company, being struck off means the bank account is frozen and remaining assets pass to the Crown. If you’ve received a strike-off notice, filing the overdue statement promptly usually halts the process.

We check your register entries against reality, sort any separate filings needed first, and file the statement with the fee — then track your next review period. Call 0114 327 1480 or start below.

Our confirmation statement filing service →