Confirmation Statement: 2026 Companies House Fee and Deadline

Quick answer: A confirmation statement (form CS01) is the yearly filing that confirms your company's details on the Companies House register are correct. In 2026 the Companies House fee is £50 online or £110 on paper, and the deadline is 14 days after the end of your 12-month review period. Every director must have verified their identity before the statement can be filed.

The confirmation statement used to be a two-minute job most directors barely noticed. In 2026 it carries more weight. The fee rose by almost half on 1 February, and since identity verification became law on 18 November 2025, it is the filing that tells Companies House whether your directors have verified. This guide explains what the confirmation statement covers, the deadline, the fee, how to file it step by step and what goes wrong. If you have just incorporated, read how to set up a limited company first, and keep your company details consistent on every invoice from the free invoice generator.

This is general information as of 2026, not legal advice.

What a confirmation statement is

Every UK company must confirm, at least once every 12 months, that the information Companies House holds about it is accurate. That information sits on the public register, where clients, suppliers, lenders and fraud investigators look it up. The confirmation statement is the moment you either confirm it or correct it.

It covers:

• Directors and any company secretary
• People with significant control (PSCs)
• Registered office address and registered email address
• SIC code describing what the company does
• Statement of capital (shares issued and their value)
• Shareholder information and whether shares are traded
• A statement that the company's intended future activities are lawful
• Each director's Companies House personal code and a verification statement

It does not include accounts, profit or tax figures. Those are separate filings with separate deadlines.

Confirmation statement fee: what Companies House charges in 2026

Companies House raised its fees from 1 February 2026. The current amounts in the Companies House fees guidance:

Filing method	Fee before 1 February 2026	Fee from 1 February 2026
Online (WebFiling) or software	£34	£50
Paper CS01	£62	£110

The fee covers a 12-month payment period that is separate from your review period. If you file more than one confirmation statement within the same payment period, for example to record a change of shareholders mid-year, you only pay once. A new £50 becomes due when the next payment period starts.

Online vs paper over five years

Filing online at £50 a year costs £250 over five years. Filing on paper at £110 a year costs £550, an extra £300, and paper filings are slower to process. Unless you have a specific reason, file online.

Confirmation statement deadline

The Companies House confirmation statement guidance sets out the timing:

• First statement: the review period runs for 12 months from incorporation.
• Later statements: each review period runs for 12 months from the confirmation date on your last statement.
• Deadline: you have 14 days after the end of the review period to file.
• Filing early: allowed at any time, but you then choose a new confirmation date and the next review period starts the day after it.

Your exact confirmation date and due date are shown on your company's page on the Companies House register, and Companies House sends a reminder to the registered email address.

Worked example: deadline and costs for a small company

Lena's company, Lena Bakes Ltd, has a confirmation date of 14 June 2026.

• Review period ends: 14 June 2026
• Filing deadline: 14 June + 14 days = 28 June 2026
• Fee: £50 online
• Next confirmation date if she files on time without changing it: 14 June 2027, due by 28 June 2027

In March 2026 Lena brought in a business partner, who bought 40 of the company's 100 shares, and was appointed as a second director. Before filing, Lena:

1. Files the director appointment, which needed the new director's personal code.
2. Updates the PSC register, because the partner now holds more than 25% of the shares.
3. Records the share transfer in the shareholder section of the confirmation statement.

Lena's total Companies House cost for the year is the single £50 confirmation statement fee. Over five years of on-time online filing, that is 5 x £50 = £250.

How to file a confirmation statement online

1. Check identity verification for every director. Each director needs a Companies House personal code. Companies House will not accept the statement until all directors have verified. Our Companies House identity verification guide explains how.
2. Review the public register. Look up your company and check every detail: officers, PSCs, registered office, SIC code and capital.
3. File changes first. Report changes to directors, secretary, PSCs, registered office and registered email address before you file the statement.
4. Sign in to Companies House. Use your Companies House account and the company's authentication code.
5. Confirm or update the additional information. SIC code, statement of capital, shareholder details and share trading status can be updated within the statement.
6. Give directors' personal codes and the verification statement. Enter each code and tick the confirmation.
7. Confirm the lawful purpose statement. Confirm the company's intended future activities are lawful.
8. Pay the £50 fee and submit. Keep the acceptance email with your company records.

What to check before you file

Item	Common problem	Fix
Directors	Former director still listed	File the termination before the statement
Identity verification	One director has not verified	Get them verified and obtain their personal code
PSCs	Share changes not reflected	Update the PSC register and file the change
Registered office	Old address or one that cannot receive post	File a change of address
Registered email	Not provided or not monitored	Add an email someone checks regularly
SIC code	No longer matches the business	Update it in the statement
Statement of capital	New shares issued but not recorded	File the allotment and update capital

Directors, PSCs and who files the confirmation statement

The PSC information is the part of the confirmation statement most likely to be out of date. A person with significant control is broadly anyone who holds more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, can appoint or remove a majority of the board, or otherwise has significant influence or control over the company. In a one-person company, that is simply you. In companies with several owners, it shifts every time shares are issued, sold or gifted.

Companies House guidance says PSC changes must be reported before you file the confirmation statement, and PSCs must also verify their identity and provide a personal code. The timing depends on whether the PSC is also a director:

• A PSC who is also a director provides their code as a director on the confirmation statement, and separately for the PSC role within 14 days.
• A PSC who is not a director provides their code in the window Companies House sets for them, linked to their month of birth.
• A new PSC added after identity verification began provides their code when they are added, or shortly after.

The detailed rules are covered in our identity verification guide. The practical point is that a confirmation statement cannot be treated as a box-ticking exercise any more: it is the checkpoint where gaps in verification become visible.

Who can file the confirmation statement

Any director or the company secretary can file it, using the company's authentication code. Many small companies leave it to their accountant or formation agent. Companies House is moving to a system in which third parties who file on behalf of companies must register as Authorised Corporate Service Providers, and that registration itself requires identity checks. If someone else files for you, ask whether they are registered and confirm who will pay the £50 fee.

Whoever files, the directors remain legally responsible. If an agent misses the deadline, the offence is still the company's and the officers'. Keep the confirmation date in your own calendar, check that the filing has been accepted, and look at the register after it has been processed to make sure the information shown is right.

Changing your confirmation date

Some companies prefer to align the confirmation statement with their financial year end so all the annual paperwork happens together. You can do this by filing early: when you file before the end of the review period, you choose a new confirmation date, and the next review period runs for 12 months from the day after it. Remember that the payment period for the fee does not move with it, so an early statement filed in a new payment period still costs £50.

Confirmation statement vs annual return

The confirmation statement replaced the old annual return in 2016. The main differences are that you no longer have to resubmit all the information each year, only confirm it or report changes, and that it now includes PSC information, the lawful purpose statement, the registered email address and, since November 2025, directors' identity verification. If you see references to an annual return in older paperwork, they mean the same yearly filing obligation.

What happens if you miss the deadline

There is no automatic late filing penalty for a confirmation statement, unlike late accounts. But it is a criminal offence not to file, GOV.UK says the company can be fined up to £5,000, and Companies House can begin striking the company off the register. A struck-off company's bank accounts can be frozen and its assets pass to the Crown, which is far more expensive to fix than a £50 filing. Restoring a struck-off company administratively costs £341 on paper, before any professional fees.

If you realise you have missed the deadline, file immediately: the sooner the register is up to date, the less likely it is that strike-off action progresses. If you have received a letter warning that Companies House intends to strike the company off, file the overdue statement straight away and contact Companies House to explain. Where the delay is caused by a director who has not yet verified their identity, deal with that first, because the statement cannot be accepted without it.

Late statements also look bad on the register. Clients and lenders who check your company see the overdue status, which can affect credit decisions.

How the confirmation statement fits your annual calendar

Filing	Who receives it	Typical deadline
Confirmation statement	Companies House	14 days after the review period ends
Annual accounts	Companies House	9 months after the financial year end
Corporation Tax payment	HMRC	9 months and 1 day after the accounting period ends
Company Tax Return	HMRC	12 months after the accounting period ends
Directors' Self Assessment	HMRC	31 January after the tax year

Our Corporation Tax guide covers the HMRC side, and the year-end invoicing checklist helps you get the income records straight before your accountant prepares the accounts. Directors taking dividends should also check dividend tax rates for 2026.

Common confirmation statement questions from small companies

Do sole traders file one?

No. Only companies and LLPs registered at Companies House file confirmation statements. A sole trader has no Companies House record. If you are weighing the extra admin, see sole trader vs limited company.

What if the company is no longer needed?

A dormant company still has to file every year and pay the fee. If you do not need it, voluntary strike off with form DS01 costs £13 online. Our guide to closing a limited company explains when strike off is appropriate and when liquidation is better.

Do I need to update my invoices after filing?

Only if something changed. If the registered office or company name changed, update your invoices, website and email signatures, because limited company documents must show the registered name, number, place of registration and registered office. See limited company invoice requirements for the full list.

Keep your company records and invoices in step

The confirmation statement is the one filing that checks your company's public identity every year, so treat it as a yearly tidy-up: verify directors, update the register, pay the £50 and file early in the 14-day window. Then make sure the same details appear on every invoice. Save your company name, number and registered office in the invoice generator, pick a design from our invoice templates, and your paperwork will match the register every time. It is free, needs no account, and exports a print-ready PDF invoice.