Every UK company must confirm once a year that the information Companies House holds about it is correct. The confirmation statement replaced the annual return in 2016 and was, for most small companies, a routine filing. Since 2024 it has become the point at which a series of new requirements under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act are checked, including the registered email address, the lawful-purpose declaration and, from November 2025, the identity verification of every director and person with significant control. This guide explains what the statement covers, what the new rules require, and how to keep the company compliant.
What the confirmation statement confirms
The statement confirms the company's registered office and, if different, the location of its statutory registers; its registered email address; its directors and secretary; its SIC codes; its statement of capital; its shareholders and their holdings; its register of people with significant control; and, since March 2024, that its intended future activities are lawful. It is due within fourteen days of the end of the review period, which is twelve months from incorporation or from the last statement date, and the Companies House fee is £50 per statement as published on 25 September 2026. Filing early does not move the review date.
Updating information
Some information can be changed within the statement: SIC codes, the statement of capital and shareholder details, including share transfers made during the year. Other changes must be filed on their own forms before or alongside the statement: director appointments and resignations on AP01 and TM01, changes to directors' details on CH01, the registered office on AD01, the registered email address, and changes to people with significant control on PSC01, PSC04 and PSC07. PSC changes in particular must be filed within fourteen days of the change and cannot wait for the statement, which is where many companies are in default without knowing.
The registered email address
Since 4 March 2024 every company must provide Companies House with an email address for official communications. It is not published. Existing companies that have not yet supplied one must do so with their next confirmation statement. The address should be one that is monitored, because Companies House uses it for reminders and notices.
The appropriate registered office
Since the same date the registered office must be an appropriate address: one where a document delivered would be expected to come to the attention of a person acting for the company, and where delivery can be acknowledged. A PO box alone no longer qualifies. Companies House can move a company with a non-compliant address to a default address and begin strike-off if the position is not corrected. Many directors use this requirement as the moment to move their home address off the register with a registered office service.
The lawful-purpose statement
Every confirmation statement since March 2024 includes a declaration that the company's intended future activities are lawful, and the same statement is made on incorporation. It is a tick-box declaration but a formal one made by the directors, and making it falsely is an offence.
Identity verification
From 18 November 2025 every new director and every new person with significant control must verify their identity with Companies House before they can be appointed or registered. Existing directors and PSCs verify during a twelve-month transition period, at the time of the company's next confirmation statement, after which the statement cannot be filed for a company whose officers are unverified. Verification is done either directly through GOV.UK One Login, using a passport, driving licence or other identity document with a biometric check, or through an authorised corporate service provider, which is a firm registered with Companies House and supervised for anti-money-laundering purposes.
A verified individual receives a personal code which is linked to each of their appointments. People who hold several directorships verify once. Failing to verify is an offence and can result in the individual being prevented from acting as a director and the company's filings being rejected. Anyone who files on behalf of a company, including accountants and formation agents, must themselves be an authorised corporate service provider or an individual with a verified identity.
People with significant control
The PSC register records the individuals who ultimately own or control the company: anyone holding more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, anyone with the right to appoint or remove a majority of the board, anyone with significant influence or control, and anyone controlling a trust or firm that meets a condition. Each PSC is recorded with the band of their holding. Changes are filed on PSC forms within fourteen days, not in the confirmation statement. An incorrect PSC register is an offence and one of the first things lenders and buyers check. Our PSC changes service files individual changes and the £79 review reconciles the whole register.
What happens if the statement is late
There is no fixed financial penalty, unlike late accounts, but failure to file is a criminal offence for the company and its officers, and Companies House begins compulsory strike-off, which if not stopped dissolves the company. The overdue flag appears on the public register. Dormant companies must file in exactly the same way.
Keeping the company compliant
The simplest arrangement is to treat the confirmation statement as the annual review of everything on the register. Before filing, check that every director listed still serves and is verified, that the registered office and email are current and appropriate, that the SIC codes describe what the company now does, that the shareholders and capital match the register of members, and that the PSC register matches who actually owns and controls the company. File the separate forms for anything that needs them, then file the statement. Our confirmation statement service does this for £33 plus the £50 Companies House fee, or £33 a year with the date diarised and the review sent to you a month before. Director changes are filed through director appointments and resignations, with no Companies House fee.
The transition in practice
During the twelve months from 18 November 2025, Companies House has required existing directors and PSCs to verify by the date of their company's first confirmation statement falling in that period. A company with a review date in March verified its officers by March 2026; a company with a review date in October did so by October 2026. By November 2026 every active company should have verified officers, and from that point a confirmation statement cannot be accepted for a company whose directors have not. Companies that let the statement go overdue to avoid the requirement are now facing strike-off proceedings, which is the outcome the requirement was designed to force.
Verification through GOV.UK One Login takes most people under half an hour with a passport or driving licence and a smartphone. Where the biometric check fails, which happens with some older documents, the alternative routes are an in-person check at a Post Office or verification by an authorised corporate service provider, which is a firm supervised for anti-money-laundering that has registered with Companies House to perform checks. Once verified, the personal code is the individual's to keep and is used for every future appointment and filing.
Who can file for the company
From the same date, anyone delivering documents to Companies House on a company's behalf must be an authorised corporate service provider or an individual whose own identity is verified. A director filing for their own company verifies as a director and files under their own code. An accountant or agent who files must be an ACSP, which involves supervision and registration, or must file as a verified individual. Companies should check that whoever files for them has completed this, because filings from unverified presenters are rejected.