UK Confirmation Statement (CS01): Deadlines and Penalties 2026

The confirmation statement is the annual filing every UK company must deliver to Companies House to confirm that the information held on the public register is correct. It is the modern replacement for the old “annual return”. Filing on time keeps the company in good standing; filing late or not at all is one of the fastest routes to being struck off the register.

What the Confirmation Statement Is — and Is Not

Under Companies Act 2006, section 853A, every company must deliver a confirmation statement to Companies House at least once every 12 months, confirming either that the information held on the public register is up to date or notifying any changes that have not already been filed.

The confirmation statement is filed on form CS01 (digital) or CS01 (paper). The digital filing fee from 1 February 2026 is £50; the paper fee is £62 (per the gov.uk fee schedule at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/companies-house-fees-are-changing-from-1-february-2026).

It is not an accounts filing — that is a separate obligation under section 441 with its own deadlines.

What the Confirmation Statement Confirms

The CS01 confirms or updates:

• Registered office address
• Registered email address (since the ECCTA 2023 amendments at section 88A)
• Principal business activities (SIC codes)
• Statement of capital
• Trading status of shares
• Shareholder information (members of the company)
• People with Significant Control (PSC) information
• Confirmation of “lawful purpose” statement under section 9(2)(d) (as amended by ECCTA 2023)

If any of these have changed since the last filing, they should already have been notified separately (e.g. a PSC change via PSC01 within 14 days). The CS01 is the moment at which the company confirms the current state of the register is accurate.

The Deadline Calendar

Two dates matter:

1. The Confirmation Date

The “confirmation date” is the date to which the statement relates. By default, the first confirmation date is the anniversary of incorporation. Subsequent confirmation dates are the anniversary of the previous confirmation date (or any earlier date the company chooses to file).

2. The Filing Deadline

The CS01 must be delivered to Companies House within 14 days of the confirmation date.

So for a company incorporated on 15 January 2026, the timeline is:

A confirmation statement may be filed earlier than the confirmation date — useful if the directors want to align the statement with year-end accounts or other events.

Late Filing and Penalties

Unlike late accounts (which trigger automatic civil penalties under section 451), a late confirmation statement does not attract a fixed monetary penalty. However, it triggers more serious consequences:

1. Criminal offence (section 853L). The company and every officer in default commit an offence punishable on summary conviction by a fine, with daily fines for continued default. In practice, prosecutions are rare for a single late filing but become more likely with persistent default.

2. Strike-off proceedings. Companies House routinely begins strike-off action against companies that fail to file a confirmation statement. The process under Companies Act 2006, sections 1000–1002 typically runs:

• First letter to registered office (1 month)
• Second letter (1 month later)
• Gazette notice published (1 month later)
• Strike-off and dissolution (typically 2–3 months after first letter)

A struck-off company ceases to exist. Its assets pass to the Crown as bona vacantia. Restoration is possible (under section 1024 by administrative action, or under section 1029 by court application), but it is expensive and uncertain.

3. Director disqualification risk. Persistent failure to comply with filing duties can support a disqualification order under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, particularly where the director also has unpaid Crown debts.

4. Loss of bank and creditor confidence. A “proposed strike-off” notice on the public register at https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/ is visible to anyone — banks, customers, suppliers, investors. It can trigger account freezes and refusal of credit.

How to File the CS01

The fastest route is the Companies House Web Filing service:

1. Sign in at https://www.gov.uk/file-your-company-information
2. Select “File a confirmation statement”
3. Review each section; update where needed (or use the cross-reference to a separately filed change)
4. Confirm the lawful purpose statement
5. Pay the £50 digital filing fee
6. Submit

Most digital filings are accepted within hours during working time.

Common Mistakes — Gyoseishoshi View

1. Diarising only the confirmation date, not the filing deadline. The deadline is 14 days after the confirmation date. Diarise the deadline.

2. Filing CS01 without first updating PSC, registered office, or share changes via the appropriate forms. The CS01 confirms what the register already says. If a PSC change has not been filed via PSC01, do that first; otherwise the CS01 reflects out-of-date information.

3. Treating the £50 fee as optional. The fee is statutory and the filing is rejected without payment. Some companies inadvertently file without paying because of a card-payment glitch, then ignore the rejection email — and the deadline passes.

4. Believing dormant companies are exempt. Dormant companies are not exempt from confirmation statement filing. They are exempt from some accounts filings but the CS01 is mandatory for every company on the register.

5. Missing the registered email address requirement (post-ECCTA 2023). Since 4 March 2024, every company must hold a registered email address under section 88A. The first confirmation statement after that date must confirm the address.

6. Allowing an old PSC entry to persist past the 14-day cure window. PSC changes have their own 14-day rule under section 790VA. The CS01 catches them, but late filing of the underlying PSC change is itself an offence.

Restoration After Strike-Off — Two Routes

If a company has been struck off because of confirmation statement default:

Administrative Restoration (section 1024)

Available where (a) the company was carrying on business at the time of strike-off, (b) the application is by a former director or member, and (c) the application is within 6 years of dissolution. The applicant must bring all overdue filings up to date — including all missing confirmation statements with fees and any late filing penalties.

• Restore your company guidance: https://www.gov.uk/restore-dissolved-company

Court Restoration (section 1029)

Available in wider circumstances and within a longer window (generally 6 years; 20 years for personal injury claims). More expensive — court fee plus legal representation typically required.

The Simple Discipline

The mistake is rarely “I forgot what a confirmation statement is” — it is “I missed the date”. Three habits prevent this:

1. On incorporation, calendar the first confirmation date and the +14-day deadline
2. Every January (or whenever the anniversary falls), file the CS01 as the first task of the month, regardless of whether changes have occurred
3. Keep the registered email address live and monitored — Companies House sends reminders that are often the first warning of a strike-off process

Conclusion

The confirmation statement is the cheapest, simplest filing in the UK companies regime — and the most consequential to miss. £50 a year keeps the register current and the company alive. Failure to file leads through criminal offence, strike-off, and potentially disqualification. Diarise the deadline at incorporation and treat it with the same seriousness as the annual accounts.

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Disclaimer

This article provides legal information, not legal advice. MmowW Scrib🐮 is a document preparation service operated by a licensed Gyoseishoshi (行政書士) office in Japan. We are not solicitors, barristers, or attorneys.

Sources

1. Companies Act 2006 (sections 853A, 1000–1029): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/contents
2. Companies House fees from 1 February 2026: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/companies-house-fees-are-changing-from-1-february-2026
3. File your company information: https://www.gov.uk/file-your-company-information
4. Restore your dissolved company: https://www.gov.uk/restore-dissolved-company