Confirmation Statement UK 2026 — Deadlines, Fee & PSC Filing

Every active UK limited company files a confirmation statement once a year. Miss it and Companies House can strike the company off the register and prosecute the directors. Get the confirmation statement UK 2026 process right and the filing takes ten minutes online.

This guide explains what the statement covers, when it is due, what the current Companies House fee looks like after the May 2024 uplift, and how to handle the PSC register, SIC codes, and statement of capital without tripping a rejection.

What a confirmation statement actually is

A confirmation statement is form CS01. You file it with Companies House to confirm that the public information held about your company is correct. The statement is not a tax return. It does not go to HMRC. It does not report profit, loss, or corporation tax.

Think of CS01 as a yearly health check on the public register. Companies House asks: are the directors still the directors, is the registered office still the registered office, and do the shareholders and PSCs match what we have on file? You answer yes or you file the changes first and then confirm.

The confirmation statement replaced the older annual return (form AR01) in June 2016. The mechanics are similar, but PSC information is now required and the data points are slightly different. Older directors who remember the AR01 still slip up on the PSC section.

You can read the official guidance on the Companies House page File a confirmation statement with Companies House.

Confirmation statement vs annual accounts — they are different filings

Many first-year directors believe the confirmation statement and the annual accounts are the same filing. They are not. They have different deadlines, different forms, and different consequences for failure.

You file all three each year. The dates rarely line up. The confirmation statement runs from your incorporation date or the date you last filed one. The accounts run from your accounting reference date, which Companies House sets nine months after incorporation by default.

CS01 filing deadline — the 12-month review period and 14-day window

The CS01 filing deadline is one of the most misread rules at Companies House. You do not file on a fixed date each year. You file at the end of your review period, with a 14-day grace window.

Your review period is 12 months. It starts on either your incorporation date or the date of your most recent confirmation statement. The review date is the last day of that period. You then have 14 days to file.

Worked example: a company incorporated on 12 March 2025 has its first review period run from 12 March 2025 to 11 March 2026. The review date is 11 March 2026. The CS01 must be filed by 25 March 2026.

You can file early. You can also file a second confirmation statement in the same review period (paying the fee again) if you want to lock in a change earlier. Most directors file once a year on or shortly after the review date.

The Companies House confirmation statement fee in 2026

Companies House raised most of its filing fees on 1 May 2024 to cover the costs of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 reforms. The CS01 fee was part of that uplift. Online filing is cheaper than paper filing, and both rates are higher than they were before May 2024.

For the current rates, see the official page Companies House fees. Online filing through WebFiling or the Companies House API is the route most directors use. Paper filing exists for companies that cannot file online, but it is slower, dearer, and more likely to be rejected for small errors.

The fee is paid once per review period. You do not pay extra for ticking the no-changes box. You do not pay extra for adding SIC codes or updating shareholders in the same statement. Separate forms — such as AP01 to appoint a director — are filed for free, but they must be filed before the CS01.

What goes inside form CS01

The CS01 has several sections. Each one asks you to confirm that the existing record is correct or to file an update beforehand.

• Registered office address. The company's official address for legal correspondence. Update with form AD01 first if it has changed.
• Registered email address. New since the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. Companies House uses this address for service of statutory notices. You must keep it current.
• Officers. The directors and (if appointed) the company secretary. Appoint with AP01, terminate with TM01.
• People with Significant Control. The PSC register. The CS01 confirms the PSCs you have already registered or notified by separate PSC01 to PSC09 forms.
• SIC codes. Up to four codes from the Companies House SIC list describing what your company does.
• Statement of capital. Issued share capital, classes, prescribed particulars, and total aggregate nominal value.
• Shareholder list. Required for non-traded companies. You list shareholders at the confirmation date and any transfers in the period.
• Trading status. Whether the company has traded shares on a market.
• Exemption from PSC requirements. Most owner-managed companies tick no.

You do not enter financial information. The CS01 is not a tax filing.

What to update before filing the CS01

File these first, then file the CS01. The confirmation statement only confirms — it does not create or remove records on its own.

PSC register filing — who is a Person with Significant Control

The PSC register is the section that gives most directors trouble. The Companies House PSC guidance sets out five conditions, lettered a to e. A person is a PSC if they meet any of them.

• Condition a: holds more than 25% of the shares.
• Condition b: holds more than 25% of the voting rights.
• Condition c: has the right to appoint or remove a majority of the board.
• Condition d: exercises or has the right to exercise significant influence or control.
• Condition e: would exercise significant influence or control over a trust or firm that itself meets conditions a to d.

For a single-director, single-shareholder limited company, the director-shareholder is almost always the only PSC, meeting conditions a, b, and c. For a 50:50 company, both shareholders are PSCs. For a 60:40 company, only the 60% shareholder is a PSC under conditions a and b — the 40% shareholder may still be a PSC under condition c or d if shareholders' agreements give them appointment rights.

When PSC details change — a share transfer, a death, a name change — you have 14 days to update your internal PSC register and 14 more days to notify Companies House by PSC01 to PSC09. The CS01 confirms the resulting position; it does not replace the duty to notify changes when they happen.

SIC code Companies House rules

A SIC code is a five-digit number from the Companies House Standard Industrial Classification list that describes what your company does. Every active company needs at least one SIC code. You can list up to four if your business has more than one trading activity.

Pick codes that describe your real activities. A Manchester-based accountancy firm uses 69201 (Accounting and auditing activities). A property landlord uses 68209 (Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate). A dormant company uses 99999. A non-trading company uses 74990.

Choosing the wrong SIC code is rarely fatal, but it skews your company's risk profile with banks and credit agencies. If you change activities, update the SIC code on your next CS01. There is no separate form for SIC changes — the confirmation statement is the route.

Filing through WebFiling and who can sign

Most directors file through WebFiling, the Companies House online service. You sign in with your company authentication code (a six-character code Companies House sent to your registered office). If you have lost the code, request a reminder by post — it is not emailed for security reasons.

The CS01 can be filed and authorised by:

• a director of the company;
• the company secretary, if one is appointed;
• a person authorised by the company, such as your accountant filing as an agent.

The named filer takes legal responsibility for the accuracy of the statement. Filing a false confirmation statement is a criminal offence. Companies House does not check the facts before accepting the filing — checks happen later, often when someone complains or when the new Companies House registrar uses its expanded verification powers under the 2023 Act.

Agents filing on your behalf use a separate Companies House login and the company authentication code. Most accountancy firms file CS01s for their limited company clients each year as part of the package.

Late filing — failure to file is a criminal offence

Missing the 14-day window is not a parking ticket. Failure to deliver a confirmation statement is an offence under section 853L of the Companies Act 2006. Directors can be prosecuted personally. Fines and disqualification follow.

In practice, Companies House sends reminders to your registered email and registered office. If you ignore them, the registrar may start strike-off action under section 1000 of the Companies Act. Strike-off dissolves the company. Bank accounts are frozen. Assets that remain in the dissolved company belong to the Crown (bona vacantia) and recovering them is expensive.

Restoration is possible — administrative restoration through Companies House if the company was struck off within the last six years, or court restoration otherwise — but it costs more than years of CS01 fees combined. The cheaper answer is to file on time.

If you have missed a deadline already, file immediately and pay the fee. Companies House usually accepts the late statement and pauses strike-off action. Then put a calendar reminder in place for the next review date.

A quick Manchester note for owner-managed firms

For local limited companies in Greater Manchester running on small profits, the confirmation statement is the cheapest single filing of the year. The risk of getting it wrong is large compared with the cost of getting an accountant to handle it. Most local firms file CS01s for clients as part of a fixed monthly fee. If your company is in Manchester or the wider North West and you would prefer not to track the review date yourself, an accountant can file as your authorised agent.

This article is general guidance, not personal tax advice. Speak to a qualified accountant before acting on it.