Confirmation Statement Filing in March

A confirmation statement is a filing made to Companies House that confirms the information held about your company is accurate and up to date as at a particular date. It is sometimes called a CS01. It is not a set of annual accounts and it is not a tax return — it is a separate compliance filing that keeps the public register current. You can think of it as a periodic check that the company's details on record, such as officers, shareholders and the registered office, are still correct.

In general, UK limited companies and limited liability partnerships registered at Companies House need to file a confirmation statement at least once every 12 months, and that applies whether the company is based in March, elsewhere in the UK or trading internationally. Dormant companies are not normally excused from the requirement. If you are unsure whether your company must file — for example, if it has been recently incorporated or is in the process of being dissolved — it is worth checking your company's specific circumstances before assuming you can skip it.

A company generally needs to file a confirmation statement at least once every 12 months, even if nothing has changed since the last one. There is also a review period concept: you can file more than one confirmation statement within a review period when company information changes, and if you do, the next 12-month period runs from the date of that later filing. The confirmation statement deadline is not the same as your accounting period or your annual accounts deadline.

Before filing, it is worth reviewing the details Companies House holds about your company. That typically includes the registered office address, directors and their service addresses, the company secretary if one is appointed, shareholder details and share capital, and people with significant control. You may also need to check the SIC code and whether the company's trading status has changed. If any of this is out of date, it should be corrected — and some changes need to be reported to Companies House separately rather than only being reflected in the confirmation statement.

Yes, in most cases. Being dormant or not trading does not normally remove the requirement to file a confirmation statement. Dormancy affects what you need to file in other areas, such as accounts, but the confirmation statement still applies because it confirms the register information Companies House holds. If your company is dormant, the confirmation statement may look very similar to previous years, but it still needs to be submitted within the relevant timeframe.

A confirmation statement and annual accounts are two completely separate filings. A confirmation statement confirms that the information on the Companies House register is accurate — it deals with company details such as officers, shareholders and the registered office. Annual accounts report the company's financial position and performance for an accounting period. Filing one does not satisfy the requirement for the other, and they have different preparation and filing deadlines. A confirmation statement also does not replace a Corporation Tax Return.

No. A confirmation statement goes to Companies House, while a Corporation Tax Return (often called a CT600) goes to HMRC and deals with the company's taxable profits for an accounting period. They are different documents with different purposes, different recipients and different deadlines. Completing a confirmation statement does not deal with your corporation tax position, and it does not mean every other filing obligation has been met. If you are unsure what your company needs to file, it is worth taking advice on your specific circumstances.

If a confirmation statement is not filed, the company's record at Companies House can fall behind and the filing can become overdue. Companies House may take further action where filings remain outstanding, and an overdue confirmation statement can create complications later, for example when dealing with banks, lenders or other organisations that check the public register. The best approach is to file on time and keep the register accurate. HMRC and Companies House do not approve or endorse confirmation statement services; the responsibility for filing remains with the company and its directors.

With a professional service, you provide details of your company and confirm whether anything has changed since the last confirmation statement. The team then prepares the confirmation statement, checks the information being confirmed, flags anything that may need a separate Companies House update, and submits the CS01 filing. Because a confirmation statement often raises questions about officers, shareholders and people with significant control, having someone who deals with these filings regularly can save time and reduce the risk of submitting out-of-date information. Micro Entity Accounts can handle Confirmation Statement Filing and help with Companies House information updates — the simplest way to begin is to get in touch with your company details and the date of your last confirmation statement.