A confirmation statement is a mandatory annual snapshot that confirms the information Companies House holds about your company is accurate on a specific date. Every UK company, including dormant and non-trading companies, must file it at least once every 12 months, and the filing must be made within 14 days of the confirmation date.
If you're running a company, this is one of those jobs that often sits in the background until an email arrives, an accountant asks for records, or you notice a filing deadline is close. It can look like a minor admin task. In practice, it plays a much bigger role in keeping your company compliant and your public record accurate.
For many directors, the main confusion isn't the form itself. It's how the confirmation statement fits with director changes, shareholder changes, PSC updates, share issues, registered office changes, and the wider reforms at Companies House. That's where mistakes tend to happen.
Your Annual Company Check-In with Companies House
A familiar pattern plays out in many owner-managed businesses. The reminder email arrives, the deadline looks close, and the question is simple: if nothing has changed, is there anything to do?
Yes. There is.
The confirmation statement is the point at which you confirm that your company's public record is accurate at the end of the review period. For a busy SME owner, that sounds administrative. In practice, it sits alongside the wider duty to keep Companies House updated during the year, not just once every 12 months.
That distinction matters more now than it used to. Companies House has been moving towards tighter checks, better quality data, and greater accountability for directors. Our own summary of the Companies House business plan and reform direction gives useful context on why accuracy on the public register is getting more attention.
The confirmation statement itself replaced the annual return in 2016, but the practical issue for directors is not the form name. The core issue is whether the information behind the filing has been kept in order all year. If it has, filing is usually routine. If it has not, this is often when missing share transfers, unrecorded PSC changes, or outdated company details come to light.
Practical rule: View the confirmation statement as a formal compliance checkpoint for your company record, not a box-ticking exercise.
I see the same trade-off repeatedly. Directors who keep statutory records up to date tend to deal with the CS01 quickly and with confidence. Directors who leave changes buried in emails, unsigned minutes, or informal conversations often find that a simple filing turns into a wider clean-up exercise.
That is why this annual check-in matters. It is not only about meeting a deadline. It is about making sure your Companies House record still reflects the company you are running.
The Core Purpose of Your Confirmation Statement
The simplest way to think about the confirmation statement is this. It is your company's annual census.
It tells Companies House that, as at the end of the review period, the public record is accurate. That matters because the register isn't only there for government. Banks, lenders, suppliers, investors, and counterparties often check it when deciding whether to deal with a business.
It is not a financial filing
Many directors often confuse these distinct obligations. Your annual accounts deal with financial performance and position. Your Corporation Tax Return goes to HMRC. The confirmation statement does something different. It confirms corporate record data rather than profit, tax, or balance sheet figures.
That distinction is important because a company can have excellent bookkeeping and still have a poor Companies House record. I see that more often than many owners expect. The accounts are ready, but the shareholder information is stale, a PSC change hasn't been recorded properly, or the registered office details need attention.
Why Companies House places so much weight on it
Companies House reform has pushed accuracy and identity much higher up the agenda. Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, from 18 November 2025 the online system will automatically block CS01 submission if any director has not completed personal identity verification, as set out in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.
That changes the practical reality for directors. The confirmation statement is no longer just an annual declaration. It's becoming a gatekeeping filing that depends on the people behind the company meeting identity requirements.
For business owners trying to stay ahead of reform, the wider direction of travel in the Companies House business plan commentary is worth watching. The broad message is clear. Companies House expects better data, better verification, and fewer weak spots in the register.
If your records are wrong all year and only reviewed at filing time, the confirmation statement becomes a scramble. If your records are maintained properly, it becomes a routine confirmation.
What Information You Must Check and Confirm
A confirmation statement works properly only if the company records behind it are already in order. The filing asks you to confirm that key Companies House information is correct as at the confirmation date, including your registered email address for official contact. That email is private, but it still needs attention because missed messages often lead to avoidable compliance problems.
The six areas that need proper attention
Registered office
Check that the address on the register is the company's correct official address. It must be suitable for receiving formal post and should match how the business is being administered.Directors and secretaries
Confirm current appointments, resignations, service addresses, and other recorded details. Fast-growing businesses often miss an update here after internal admin changes or a rushed filing.People with Significant Control (PSC)
Review who ultimately owns or controls the company. A share transfer, a new investor, or a change in voting rights can alter the PSC position even if the trading business looks unchanged day to day.SIC codes
These should still describe the company's main activities. I often find that businesses have evolved well beyond the codes chosen at incorporation, especially after a change in services, product lines, or market focus.Statement of capital
If the company has shares, the issued share capital on the public record needs to match the statutory registers and any allotments completed during the review period.Shareholder information
Check current shareholders and any movements in ownership. If shares have been transferred, inherited, reorganised, or newly issued, the paperwork and the Companies House position should tell the same story.
The private email requirement
The registered email address deserves more thought than many directors give it. It should be an inbox the business monitors, not a founder's personal address or a mailbox that nobody checks during leave, staff turnover, or busy periods.
Companies House reform also means annual filing can no longer be treated in isolation. If you are reviewing directors and officer details, it makes sense to check how to verify your ID at Companies House at the same time, because identity checks and filing access are becoming more closely connected in practice.
A shared compliance inbox usually works better than relying on one person's email account.
What this means in day-to-day terms
The best approach is to compare the public record with your own statutory registers and internal records before you approve the CS01. In practice, that usually means checking share allotments and transfers, PSC decisions, director changes, registered office arrangements, and whether the business description still fits.
Many SMEs come unstuck due to discrepancies. The accounts may be accurate, but the Companies House record can still be wrong because a stock transfer form was never reflected in the register, a PSC review was left incomplete, or an old director resignation was assumed to have been dealt with elsewhere.
Each filing has its own job. The confirmation statement does not correct every missing update automatically, so the safer approach is to fix underlying issues first and then confirm the position with confidence.
How to File Your Confirmation Statement Step by Step
The mechanics of filing are simple once you know the order. The trouble usually comes from timing, missing login details, or trying to file before underlying changes have been dealt with properly.
The filing is made through Companies House. The confirmation statement filing service says the fee is £50 for online submission, and you need a company account, company number, authentication code, and payment card. It also confirms the statement must be filed within 14 days of the confirmation date, even if nothing has changed.
Step 1
Check your confirmation date and don't confuse it with your accounts deadline or Corporation Tax deadline. For a new company, the review period runs from incorporation. For an existing company, it runs from the last confirmation statement date.
Step 2
Make sure the underlying register is right before you start the CS01. If you've had changes to directors, PSCs, or shareholdings, deal with those first through the appropriate filings. The confirmation statement should confirm an accurate position, not try to patch over old omissions.
Step 3
Gather what you need:
- Company number: the basic identifier for the company
- Authentication code: essential for online access
- Payment method: needed to complete the filing
- Updated internal records: shareholder, PSC, and officer details
Online or paper
Most companies should file online unless there's a specific reason not to. Online filing is faster and simpler. Paper filing still exists, but it creates more room for delay and avoidable admin.
A practical issue I often see is that the director who wants to file doesn't know where the authentication code is, or it was sent to an old adviser years ago. If that's your situation, sort access before the deadline gets close.
A sensible filing workflow
Use this sequence:
- Review the register
- Correct any separate filing issues first
- Log in to the Companies House service
- Complete CS01
- Pay and submit
- Save the filing confirmation
That final step matters. Keep a copy with your statutory records so you can prove what was submitted and when.
If you'd like to see the filing environment before doing it yourself, this walkthrough helps set expectations:
Working rule: Don't leave the filing to the last day. Most late filings aren't caused by the form itself. They're caused by access problems, unresolved record issues, or uncertainty over who should approve the submission.
Confirmation Statement vs Annual Return What Changed
A common situation is this. A director logs in to Companies House, sees CS01, and asks whether it is just the old annual return with a new name. The short answer is no.
The confirmation statement replaced the annual return (AR01) on 30 June 2016. The change from AR01 to CS01 reflected a wider shift in how Companies House expects companies to manage their records. Instead of re-entering the same information each year, the company reviews what is already on the public register and confirms whether it is correct on the confirmation date.
Confirmation Statement (CS01) vs. Annual Return (AR01)
| Aspect | Annual Return (Pre-2016) | Confirmation Statement (Post-2016) |
|---|---|---|
| Form used | AR01 | CS01 |
| System focus | Re-submitting company information | Confirming existing records are accurate |
| Introduced or replaced | Used before the change | Introduced on 30 June 2016 |
| Director experience | More repetitive | More focused |
| Practical effect | Re-entering information annually | Checking whether the register is correct |
For busy SME owners, that distinction matters. The old annual return encouraged a once-a-year mindset. The confirmation statement works properly only if the company has kept its records up to date throughout the year.
That is where some directors get caught out. They assume CS01 is the annual point where everything can be corrected in one go. In practice, Companies House reforms have pushed companies toward continuous accuracy. If a PSC changed, a director resigned, or shares were allotted, the right approach is usually to deal with that event when it happened, then use the confirmation statement as the formal annual check.
I regularly advise clients to treat the confirmation statement as a review point, not a repair job. That approach reduces errors, shortens filing time, and lowers the risk of missed filings elsewhere on the register. If deadlines have already slipped, deal with that quickly and understand the wider Companies House late filing penalty risks for limited companies.
The primary change, then, was not just the form number. It was the compliance standard behind it. Directors now need to know both what must be confirmed annually and what has to be updated separately during the year.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Penalties
A familiar scenario. The confirmation statement deadline is close, the company has changed shareholders or directors during the year, and the records at Companies House no longer match what happened in the business. At that point, filing CS01 can turn from a routine task into a compliance problem.
The mistake is usually not the form itself. It is leaving company record-keeping until the annual filing date. Under the current Companies House regime, directors are expected to keep the public record accurate as changes happen, then use the confirmation statement as the annual sense-check.
The mistakes I see most often
Assuming dormant means nothing is due
Dormant companies still need to file a confirmation statement each year. No trading activity does not remove the filing duty.Using CS01 to correct old omissions
A confirmation statement confirms the position on the review date. If a director resigned earlier, a PSC changed, or new shares were issued, those events often needed their own filing at the time.Letting statutory registers fall behind
Companies House filings should match the company's internal registers. If the register of members or PSC record is incomplete, the annual check becomes unreliable.Treating the deadline as low risk because the form looks simple
Simple forms still carry legal obligations. I often find that the shortest filings cause the most avoidable issues because they are pushed to the bottom of the list.
What happens if you don't file
Companies House expects every company to file a confirmation statement each year, whether anything changed or not. If it is missed, the matter can escalate from reminders and warning notices to strike-off action. In more serious cases, directors can face scrutiny for failing to meet their duties under the Companies Act.
That matters for more than one filing. A missed confirmation statement often points to wider compliance weaknesses, such as unfiled officer changes, outdated PSC information, or poor record-keeping around share movements.
I tell clients to take the warning signs seriously. Filing problems rarely sit on their own. If you are already behind, deal with the missing statement and review the wider pattern of missed obligations, including these Companies House late filing penalty risks for limited companies.
Many problems start months before the deadline, when changes are agreed informally and never reflected in the statutory records.
What works better
The practical answer is disciplined maintenance through the year.
Record changes when they happen. Update the statutory registers promptly. File the separate Companies House forms required for those events. Then complete the confirmation statement as an annual review of an already accurate record.
For some businesses, that is manageable in-house. For others, especially where ownership, directors, or share structure change regularly, having an accountant or company secretarial adviser oversee the process saves time and reduces risk. If you are comparing providers, Top Small Business Accounting Firms gives a broader view of the support available around compliance and finance administration.
Your Compliance Checklist and Expert Support
If you want the short version, use this checklist before the next confirmation date:
- Check the deadline: know the review period end and the filing window
- Review core records: officers, PSCs, shareholders, share capital, SIC code, registered office, and registered email
- Deal with separate changes first: don't rely on CS01 to fix earlier omissions
- Confirm access: company number, authentication code, and filing login
- Keep evidence: save submission records with your company documents
For growing businesses, the challenge usually isn't understanding what a confirmation statement is. It's making sure the company records remain accurate while ownership, staffing, and operations keep moving. That's why many owners hand this work to their accountant or company secretarial adviser rather than dealing with it ad hoc.
If you're comparing support options, this roundup of Top Small Business Accounting Firms gives a broader view of the kind of help firms provide around compliance and financial management. For businesses that want filing deadlines, statutory updates, accounts, and wider finance support managed in one place, Stewart Accounting Services is one option that handles those compliance processes alongside broader SME accounting work.
If you'd like, I can also turn this into a version adapted for dormant companies, new limited companies, or a plain-English FAQ page for your website.