Confirmation statements: are you up to speed?
Posted on 20th June 2019
As you probably already know, a confirmation statement (CS01) is an important document that limited companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) must file with Companies House on a yearly basis.
On 30 June 2016, the annual return was replaced with the confirmation statement as decided by the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act (which announced the change in November 2014). With the annual return you used to have to fill out your company’s details – but now, with the confirmation statement, all that you need to do is simply check and confirm the company information.
What information is included on a confirmation statement?
The company’s registered address;
Principal business activities, otherwise known as Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes;
Persons of Significant Control;
Name of each shareholder;
Shares held by each shareholder including share class and quantity, and details of any transfers;
Statement of capital, including the total number of shares of the company, the aggregate nominal value of those shares and, if applicable, the aggregate amount unpaid on those shares (whether on account of their nominal value or by way of premium);
For each class of shares, information about the prescribed particulars of the rights attached to the shares, the total number of shares of that class and finally the aggregate nominal value of shares of that class should also be provided;
Trading status of shares.
When and how is a confirmation statement filed?
A company’s confirmation statement should be filed twelve months after its incorporation – or twelve months from the date its last annual return was filed. After that, it should be filed once a year.
Companies House will send a prompt via email or written letter to your company’s registered office before your confirmation statement is due. You can file it up to fourteen days after it is due – but beware: while there are no late penalty fines for filing your company’s confirmation statement late, it is a criminal offence not to do so, and Companies House may start the process of striking off your company if it is not filed on time.
If you instruct your accountant to file your company’s confirmation statement on your behalf, they will handle this for you. If you choose to handle this yourself, you can file it on Companies House using the online form.
What if information about my company has changed?
You can change the SIC codes, shareholder details and paid-up share capital on the confirmation statement. If there are other changes, such as the company’s registered address or directors’ details, this must be done using a different form, which you can do at the same time or prior to filing the confirmation status.
How does Effective Accounting handle confirmation statements?
Up until now, we would prepare the confirmation statement and send it to our clients to approve before finally submitting it. As the team at Effective Accounting moves towards becoming super-efficient and more streamlined in our processes, going forward we will be submitting the confirmation statement directly to Companies House without requesting approval beforehand. We keep our clients’ records updated throughout the year, so this new process will remove one of the administrative burdens and keep one extra email out of our clients’ inboxes!
Written by
Nicola J Sorrell
- Effective Accounting
Founder | Xero Champion | IR35 Expert
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