How to file a confirmation statement: a step-by-step guide

Before you start: what you need

Have these ready before you sign in. Gathering them usually takes longer than the filing itself.

You must still file even if nothing has changed during the review period.

• Company number, to find the company on the filing service.
• The six-character company authentication code. Companies House asks for it to file online for the company, and a replacement is posted.
• A Companies House sign-in. GOV.UK guidance says you may need to verify your identity using GOV.UK One Login before filing.
• A personal code for each director. The statement will not be accepted until every director has verified their identity.
• Current shareholder and share details, to check the statement of capital and shareholder information.
• Who currently has significant control, to check the PSC details shown on the Companies House register are still right.

Source: File your confirmation statement with Companies House

Step 1: check the company's details on the register

Before you open the filing service, look up your company on the Companies House register. Compare what it shows with your own records.

GOV.UK says you must update your records if any information is incorrect or out of date. Some of those updates cannot be made inside the confirmation statement. If you find a problem with officers, PSCs, the registered office or the registered email address, file that change first. Then come back to the statement.

Source: Filing your company's confirmation statement

Step 2: confirm the officers and where records are kept

The service shows the directors and any company secretary held on the register. Check each name, correspondence address and other details against your own records.

You also confirm the registered office and the address where the company keeps its records, if that is not the registered office. If any of these are wrong, stop. Filing the statement does not correct them.

Source: Running a limited company: confirmation statement

Step 3: give each director's personal code

Identity verification became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025. Existing directors give their Companies House personal code as part of the company's next confirmation statement. You enter a personal code for each director and tick a statement confirming that each director has verified their identity.

GOV.UK is clear: Companies House will not accept the confirmation statement until all directors have verified their identity. A director only needs to verify once. They can verify online with GOV.UK One Login using photo ID, in person at a Post Office after entering their photo ID details online, with bank or building society details, or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) such as an accountant or solicitor.

A director who has not verified yet should start well before your deadline. Our guide to Companies House identity verification explains the personal code in more detail.

Source: When you need to verify your identity for Companies House

Step 4: check the people with significant control

Check that the PSCs shown are right. A PSC change must be filed separately before the statement.

PSCs verify their identity and give their own personal code through a separate process. A PSC who is also a director gives their PSC personal code within 14 days after the confirmation statement date. That is a separate step from the director code on the statement.

If the company is exempt from providing PSC information, that exemption status can be updated on the statement.

Source: When you need to verify your identity for Companies House

Step 5: check share capital, shareholders and SIC codes

These are the details you can update on the confirmation statement itself.

Statement of capital: check the classes and numbers of shares, and their value, against your own share records. If shares were issued or bought back during the year, make sure the figures reflect that.

Shareholder information: check the names and holdings shown. Update them if shares have been transferred.

Trading status of shares: shares in most private companies are not traded on a market. Confirm what applies to yours.

SIC codes: these describe what the company does. If the business has changed, update the company's SIC code so it describes its current activities.

Source: Running a limited company: confirmation statement

Step 6: registered email and the lawful purpose statement

If the company has not already given Companies House a registered email address, you must provide one in the confirmation statement. Companies House uses it to contact you about the company. If an address is already held but needs changing, change it separately.

You must also state that the intended future activities of the company are lawful. This is a statement about the company, so only make it if it is true.

Source: Filing your company's confirmation statement

Step 7: pay, submit and check it was accepted

If a fee is due for the current payment period, you pay it at the end. The online fee is £50, paid once per 12-month payment period. When it applies is covered in our confirmation statement deadline guide and on the Companies House fees page.

Submitting is not the end. Companies House checks the statement and can reject it, for example if a director has not verified their identity. Once it is accepted, it appears in the company's filing history on the register. Note your new confirmation date, because the next review period starts the day after it.

There is also a paper form, CS01, which you post to Companies House. The paper fee is higher than the online fee. A company being restored to the register must use the paper form.

Source: Filing your company's confirmation statement

Common mistakes when filing a confirmation statement

Filing the statement to fix a wrong director or registered office. It does not change them. Make the separate filing first.

Leaving director identity verification to the last day. The statement is rejected if any director has not verified.

Confusing the company authentication code with a director's personal code. They are different codes.

Ticking the lawful purpose statement or confirming details without checking them. You are confirming the information is correct.

Forgetting to update shareholders after a share transfer, or SIC codes after a change of business.

Assuming the statement is filed before it shows as accepted in the filing history.

Get help filing your confirmation statement

SimpleFilings can go through these checks with you and submit the confirmation statement once you approve it. We charge a £4.99 service fee, and any Companies House fee is paid on top of that. SimpleFilings does not verify identities: every director must already have verified and given their personal code. Wrong officer, PSC, registered office or registered email details need their own filing first. The statement only counts as filed once Companies House accepts it.