All limited companies incorporated in England and Wales must regularly submit to Companies House their Confirmation Statement, previously known as Annual Return.
The Confirmation Statement provides a summary of general information about your company, such as names and addresses of directors and secretaries, as well as details of people with significant control (PSC), registered office, and capital. Statement must be submitted by every limited company, regardless of its trading status – both dormant and active companies are required to complete the filling.
Who must complete an Annual Return (Confirmation Statement)?
Confirmation Statements must be submitted annually, either a year from your company’s incorporation date, or a year from the date your last annual return or confirmation statement was filled. Companies House will usually send you an email alert, or a reminder letter to your company’s registered office address when your confirmation statement is due.
As a director of limited company, you are legally required to submit the Confirmation Statement of your company to Companies House. If the Statement is not submitted within 28 days from the due date, you can face penalties up to £5,000.00 and your company might be struck off from the register.
What information must Confirmation Statement include?
The Confirmation Statement form will ask you to validate the following details:
- Name of your company
- Registration number of your company
- Type of company
- Registered office address
- Core business activities (Trade classification codes)
- Details of company secretary (If appointed)
- Details of company director
- The date to which the return is made up
- Shareholders and share capital
- People with significant control
- Trading status
The Confirmation Statement must be submitted in full each year, even if the details of your company have not changed. If that is the case, The Statement can be submitted with a note saying that no changes were recorded that year.
Changes to your statement of capital, shareholder information and SIC codes can be reported on the Confirmation Statement, however changes to your company’s officers, registered office address, or SAIL (Single Alternative Inspection Location) address, must be submitted on a separate form.
How to submit a Confirmation Statement
There are two options of submitting The Confirmation Statement to Companies House.
First of them is more traditional and requires completing AR01 paper form, then sending it via post to Companies House. This will cost you £40.00 - no value added tax is applicable. The fee covers full twelve-month period, so you can send several confirmation statements throughout the year without any additional charges.
More efficient and cost-effective way of delivering your Confirmation Statement is Companies House WebFiling system, which allows you to submit all required information for just £13.00, a fraction of the cost of the traditional filling. To submit your Statement online, you will need to register with the WebFiling service.
published under Tax and Legislation Guides
