The Confirmation Statement — What Trade Company Directors Must File at Companies House (2026)

What Is the Confirmation Statement (Form CS01)?

The confirmation statement — filed on form CS01 — is an annual filing to Companies House that confirms the key information held about your company on the public register is accurate and up to date. You aren't re-submitting masses of data each year. Instead, you're checking the existing record, updating anything that has changed, and confirming to Companies House that the rest is correct.

Every company registered in the UK must file one — including dormant companies and companies that haven't traded all year. It applies to one-person contractor companies just as much as to larger firms. If you're a sole trader (not a limited company), this doesn't apply to you — the confirmation statement is a Companies House obligation that only affects incorporated businesses.

If you've been in business a while, you may remember the annual return (form AR01). The confirmation statement replaced the annual return back in June 2016. The principle is similar — an annual check-in with the register — but the confirmation statement is simpler: you confirm the information is correct rather than re-entering it all every time.

Three Different Obligations — Don't Confuse Them

This is the single most common point of confusion for trade company directors. The confirmation statement is not your annual accounts, and it's not your Corporation Tax return. These are three separate obligations, with different deadlines, going to two different bodies. Getting one done does not cover the others.

• Confirmation statement — goes to Companies House. Confirms the company details on the public register are current. Due at least once every 12 months.
• Annual accounts — also go to Companies House. A financial statement showing the company's position. Due within 9 months of the company's financial year end (the first set is due 21 months after incorporation).
• Company Tax Return (CT600) and Corporation Tax — goes to HMRC. Reports profit and calculates the tax due. The return is due 12 months after the accounting period ends, but the tax itself is payable 9 months and one day after the period ends.

Treat these as three diary entries, not one. Many directors assume their accountant's year-end work covers everything and are caught out when a confirmation statement reminder arrives separately. There's a full comparison table further down this page.

What the Confirmation Statement Confirms

When you file, you review and confirm (or update) the following information held on the public register:

• Registered office address — the official address for your company. Since recent reforms this must be an "appropriate address" where documents are expected to come to the attention of someone acting for the company.
• Registered email address — a relatively new requirement. Companies House now requires every company to maintain a registered email address, introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act changes. It is not published on the public register but must be kept current.
• Directors and company secretary — names and details of the people running the company. (Most small trade companies don't have a company secretary, which is fine — it's optional for private companies.)
• SIC code(s) — the Standard Industrial Classification code(s) describing the nature of your business (for example, electrical installation, plumbing or construction). You can confirm or change these.
• Registered office / SAIL address — where your statutory records are kept, if not at the registered office (the "single alternative inspection location").
• Statement of capital and shareholders — the shares issued, their value, and who holds them.
• People with Significant Control (PSC) — the individuals who own or control the company, typically anyone holding more than 25% of shares or voting rights. For most owner-managed trade companies, that's you (and possibly a spouse or business partner).

If nothing has changed, you simply confirm the record is correct. If something has changed — a new director, a different registered office, an updated SIC code — you update it as part of the same process. Note that some changes (such as appointing or removing a director, or changing the registered office) must actually be reported separately at the time they happen; the confirmation statement is the annual catch-all confirmation, not a substitute for those event-based filings.

When Is It Due? Understanding the Review Period

You must file a confirmation statement at least once every 12 months. The clock works like this:

• Your review period usually runs for 12 months, starting from the date your company was incorporated (for the first statement) or from the date of your last confirmation statement (for every statement after that).
• The day the review period ends is your confirmation date — the anniversary of incorporation, or of your previous statement.
• You then have 14 days after the end of the review period to file the statement.

So if your company was incorporated on 1 March, your confirmation date is 1 March each year and your filing deadline is 14 days later, around 15 March. You can file early, and you can file more often than once a year — for example, straight after a change in shareholding or PSC — but you must never let more than 12 months pass without one. Filing more often than annually doesn't cost extra within the same payment period (more on the fee below).

The Fee — What It Costs to File

The confirmation statement carries a modest annual fee, paid once per 12-month payment period. From May 2024 the online filing fee rose to £34 (it was £13 previously). Filing on paper costs significantly more, so almost every small company files online.

The fee covers a full 12-month payment period, not each individual statement. That means if you file more than one confirmation statement in a 12-month window — say, because your shareholdings changed mid-year — you only pay the fee once for that period. The additional statements are free.

Fees do change, so always check the current Companies House fee before you file rather than relying on a figure you saw last year. Filing online is cheaper, faster and gives you instant confirmation, so there's rarely a reason to use paper.

Companies House Reform — What's Changing

The biggest shake-up to UK company law in years is being rolled out under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. It gives Companies House more powers to check and challenge the information it holds, and it introduces several new duties that affect every trade company director. The key changes to be aware of:

• Identity verification — directors and People with Significant Control are required to verify their identity with Companies House. This is being phased in, and verification ties into the confirmation statement process, so expect to confirm your verified status as part of filing.
• Registered email address — as noted above, every company must now provide and maintain a registered email address, used by Companies House to contact the company.
• Statement of lawful purpose — when you file, you confirm that the company's intended future activities will be lawful. This is a new declaration that accompanies the confirmation statement.
• Appropriate registered office — PO boxes alone are no longer acceptable; the registered office must be a real address where documents reach someone acting for the company.

These rules are being introduced in stages and the detail is still settling, so the exact requirements that apply to your next filing depend on when you file. Check the current Companies House guidance — or ask your accountant — before your confirmation date so you're not caught out by a step you didn't know was now mandatory.

What Happens If You Don't File?

This is not a filing you can quietly ignore. Failing to file a confirmation statement is a criminal offence. The consequences escalate:

• Directors can be prosecuted and fined personally — the offence sits with the company's officers, not just the company.
• The company can be struck off the register — Companies House can begin the process of dissolving a company that fails to meet its filing obligations.
• If a company is struck off, its assets can pass to the Crown (bona vacantia) — including any money left in the business bank account, which can be a nasty surprise for a trading company.

For a working trade business, being struck off mid-contract is a serious problem — you lose the legal entity you invoice and contract through. Given the fee is modest and the filing takes minutes, there's simply no upside to letting it lapse. Set a reminder and treat the deadline as fixed.

The Three Companies House and HMRC Obligations at a Glance

Deadlines vary with your company's specific dates, so check your own filing dates on the Companies House register and with HMRC rather than assuming the generic timings above apply to you.

Practical Tips for Trade Company Directors

• Set a reminder. Note your confirmation date in your calendar and add a prompt two weeks before. Companies House also sends email reminders if you sign up for them — keep that registered email address current so they reach you.
• Keep PSC and SIC details accurate year-round. If your ownership changes, you take on a business partner, or your work shifts (say from domestic to commercial installation), update the relevant details when it happens rather than scrambling at confirmation time.
• Most accountants file it for you. If you have an accountant doing your year-end accounts, ask whether the confirmation statement is included in their service — it very often is, but confirm it so you both know who's responsible.
• File online. It's cheaper, quicker and gives you instant confirmation. The paper route costs more and adds delay for no benefit.
• Don't conflate your filings. Keep the confirmation statement, annual accounts and Corporation Tax return as separate items on your to-do list so none slips through.

This article is general guidance for UK trade company directors, not professional or legal advice. Fees, deadlines and the detail of the Companies House reforms change over time — always verify the current requirements with Companies House, HMRC or your accountant before you file.