What is a confirmation statement?
Every UK company must file one at least once a year, even a dormant one, and yet it is one of the most misunderstood filings on the calendar. Here is what it is and what it is not.
What it actually confirms
The confirmation statement tells Companies House that the information it holds about your company is correct: the registered office, directors, shareholders, share capital, people with significant control and the company's SIC codes describing what it does. If something has changed, most changes are reported through their own filings; the statement is your annual confirmation that the record as a whole is right.
When it is due
At least once every twelve months. Each statement covers a review period, and you have fourteen days from the end of that period to file. Companies House sends reminders, but responsibility sits with the directors, and the fourteen-day window is short enough that "I'll do it later" regularly becomes "it's overdue".
It is not your accounts
The confirmation statement contains no financial information and is entirely separate from your annual accounts, which have their own deadline. Filing one does not excuse the other; every year, companies discover this the hard way in both directions.
What happens if you miss it
Failing to file is an offence, and a company that persistently fails to file can ultimately be struck off the register, with its assets passing to the Crown. It is a small filing with a disproportionate consequence, which is exactly why it belongs on a professional's deadline list rather than in a drawer.
The identity verification connection
Companies House identity verification is being rolled in alongside confirmation statements: existing directors are brought into the verification regime as their company files its next statement. If nobody in your company has verified yet, the statement deadline is effectively your verification deadline too; see our identity verification service.
This note is general guidance. If your statement date is looming, or you are not sure when it is, get in touch.