Before submitting your confirmation statement to Companies House, you need to compare the public register with your own company records. Use the confirmation date shown for your company. Check the names of the directors, shareholders, activities of the company, and address for correspondence.
Always start with any changes that occurred during the year. The company could start and end with 100 shares but with an entirely new person exercising substantial control over the company. Likewise, a director that resigned a few months ago might still be on the register because no one reported his resignation.
Find the confirmation date and the deadline
Search the Company House Register using company name, number or officer name. Once you land on the overview page, under the confirmation statement, look for the next statement date and the date it is due. The next statement date tells you which day your information must cover, while the due date tells you on which date Companies House must receive the statement.
If the next statement date is 30 November 2026, and it is due by 14 December 2026. While preparing the form in December, look at the shareholdings as of 30 November. A transfer registered on 2 December is part of the next review period.
A limited company must file a confirmation statement at least once every twelve months, even if it is dormant or nothing has changed. The annual accounts are a separate filing. They give the financial position of the business and do not verify its directors, shareholders, or contact information. If your accountant has recently filed your accounts, check whether the confirmation statement is still outstanding.
Check which changes you must report separately
Open the filing history along with the company records. If this is your first statement, begin with the incorporation documents. For subsequent filings, start with the previous statement and consider what has happened since.
Some of the changes require prior notification before filing. Some have to be made on the confirmation statement.
| What to check | What to compare | Where to report a change |
| Directors and any company secretary | Appointment decisions, resignation letters and effective dates | File the appointment, termination or change of details separately before the statement. |
| Registered office | The address on the register and the address where the company receives official post | Use the registered office change service before filing. |
| Registered email | The address supplied to Companies House and who still monitors it | Change an existing address separately. If the company has never supplied one, provide it on the statement. |
| People with significant control (PSCs) | Shareholdings, voting rights and rights to appoint or remove a majority of directors | Report changes to the PSC details separately. |
| Business activity and share information | Actual trading activity, the register of members and share documents | Update the relevant sections of the statement. A new share issue also needs its own filing. |
Director changes have their own deadline. The company has a deadline of 14 days if the director resigns the company during the year. Use the actual resignation date if the notice is overdue.
Companies House sends official messages to your registered email address. This email is not present on the public register. If your previous accountant filed your last confirmation statement, ask which email is registered with Companies House.
Make sure someone from your team checks these emails. If the email is no longer accessible, update your registered email address with Companies House. If your new accountant has already sent the update, check if the company accepted your request before sending others.
Another additional check will apply in the event that you keep your records somewhere outside your registered office. You need to ensure Companies House has the correct postal address.
Check the shareholders as well as the share capital
The capital statement tells how many shares have been issued by the business and their type. On the other hand, the register of members tells you who hold those shares. You need to check both. The number of shares, their currency and nominal value, as well as the unpaid amount, if any, needs to be compared for each share class. Nominal value is the face value of a share, not what a buyer paid for it.
Suppose Asha has 75 shares and Ben has 25 shares. Shares have the right of one vote each. Both of them have no other control rights. On the date 24th November, there is a registered transfer from Asha to Ben of 5 of her shares.
At the 30 November confirmation date, three things are true:
- Share capital is unchanged. The company still has 100 shares. The new shares are not issued.
- The shareholder details have changed. Asha now has 70 shares, while Ben has 30 shares. Use 24 November as the date the transfer was registered. This is the date requested in the shareholder section of form CS01.
- Ben now qualifies as a PSC. Having exactly 25% did not qualify him on these facts. Having 30%, however, does. The test is more than 25% of the shares or voting rights. His PSC status should be reported separately. Updating only the shareholders’ part will not do that.
If the company had issued five new shares to Ben instead, this number would have reached 105. A company is obliged to notify Companies House of the new allotment of shares within one month in form SH01. Waiting for the next confirmation statement is not acceptable.
Check whether the SIC code still describes the business
A Standard Industrial Classification code, which is normally referred to as an SIC code, states the business activities of the company. Compare the description on the register with the current business activities of the company.
Let understand this with an example. Suppose a furniture manufacturer has relocated to a new workshop; such relocation does not change the core activities of the business. However, if the company has stopped manufacturing furniture and is selling only products made by other companies, it is necessary to re-examine the code for manufacturing. Select the relevant code from the Companies House SIC code and fill out the statement.
The form also asks certain companies about the trading status of their shares. This concerns shares trading on a market. A shop can trade every day without its shares being traded.
Have the right filing codes ready
The six-character code authorises any online filing made by the company. The personal code of the Companies House belongs to a person who has already verified his identity. If you need a reminder of the company code, please ask for it well in advance. Sending a code through post takes up to 10 working days.
Ensure that all the current directors have verified their identities and that the information about them has been provided for this company. In case this information is missing, provide the director’s personal code along with the statement. If the information regarding a particular director has already been provided for that position, there is no need to verify it again each year.
Someone who is both a director and a PSC has two roles. Providing a code as a director does not complete the separate PSC submission. Check the PSC reporting window for that person. For help obtaining a code, see our guide to Companies House identity verification for directors.
Resolve a mismatch before you submit
If two records disagree, establish when the difference arose. Suppose last year’s statement showed 90 shares, but the original share documents and register of members both show 100. That is a different problem from issuing ten shares this year.
Find the last filing that agrees with the company records. Then check the first one that does not. Do not report a new share issue simply to make the totals match. If the earlier document was wrong when filed, use Companies House guidance on correcting the register. The correction route depends on the error. A second filing using form RP04 is reserved for very minor inaccuracies.
File the statement and check it was accepted
Use the official filing service when the figures and dates agree. The simplified service for eligible companies with one shareholder cannot change company information. Use WebFiling if you need to update the SIC code or shareholder entries on the statement.
Before submitting, confirm that the company intends to carry on lawful activities. The Companies House fee is £50 online or £110 on paper as at November 2026. It is due with the first statement in each 12-month payment period. If you file early, your next review period starts the day after the earlier confirmation date. Your payment period stays the same.
Keep the submission reference and look for the acceptance message. The first email only confirms receipt. If Companies House rejects the filing, correct the reason given and resubmit promptly. Once accepted, save the statement with the records you checked and note the next due date. Failure to file can lead to a financial penalty or the company being struck off the register.
If you have a share transfer, an unreported resignation or figures you cannot reconcile, RMA Accountants’ company secretarial team can help you check the records before you file.
