How to file your confirmation statement yourself

Before you start

This guide takes you through the online filing process for a UK private company limited by shares. Start early if you need an authentication code or any director still needs to verify their identity.

Have these ready:

• Your company number.
• Access to your GOV.UK One Login and the email address used for your filing account.
• Your company's authentication code.
• Each director's Companies House personal code, if their identity verification details still need to be supplied for this company.
• Your company's shareholder and share capital records, including any changes since the last statement.
• An email address the company monitors for Companies House correspondence.
• A debit or credit card if the annual filing fee is due.

There are two different codes involved:

Keep both secure. Your HMRC Government Gateway details cannot be used to file with Companies House. See the official guidance on company authentication codes and personal codes.

Step 1: Find your company and check the deadline

1. Open the Companies House company register.
2. Search using your company number, or your company name if you do not have the number.
3. Open your company's record. Check the number to make sure you have selected the right company.
4. On the overview page, find the confirmation statement section. Note the next statement date and the filing deadline.

The statement date is the date you are confirming the information up to. The filing deadline is the last day to send it. You normally have 14 days after the review period ends to file.

Use the dates shown on your company record. Your accounts deadline is a separate date. Companies House filing guidance.

Step 2: Get your company authentication code

If you already have the code, keep it ready. If an accountant or formation agent previously filed for you, check whether they hold it.

If you need to request it:

1. Go to the official confirmation statement filing page and select "Start now".
2. Sign in or create an account, then follow the instructions to request a company authentication code.
3. Arrange to collect the letter from your registered office.

Companies House sends the code by post. Allow up to 10 working days. It cannot send the code by email or give it to you over the phone. If you cannot access the registered office, use the home-address request route linked in the authentication code guidance.

Step 3: Make sure the directors have verified their identity

Before the company's next confirmation statement can be accepted, all directors must have verified their identity. Where the company has not already supplied their verification details, you will need each director's personal code during the filing.

For each director who has not verified:

1. Open Verify your identity for Companies House.
2. Sign in to, or create, their own GOV.UK One Login.
3. Follow the identity-check instructions. Have their photo ID and current address ready.
4. Keep the personal code they receive after successful verification.

Each person needs their own login email address for identity verification. The service explains the available routes if they cannot use the online photo-ID check.

If a director has already verified, they normally do not need to repeat the identity check. If they verified through GOV.UK One Login, they can find their code in the Companies House account under "Manage account", using the same email address they verified with. Someone verified through an authorised agent should check the email Companies House sent them. See how to find a personal code.

If you are also a person with significant control (PSC), there is a separate task in step 11.

Step 4: Check the company information and correct any errors

Open your company record and compare it with your own records. Check the registered office, directors and any secretary, and the people with significant control. Also check that the registered email address is current and monitored.

Changes to these details must be filed separately before you confirm the records are correct. For example, if a director has resigned but still appears as a current director, file their termination first.

If you have never supplied a registered email address, provide one when prompted during the confirmation statement. Companies House does not publish it on the public register. An existing registered email address must be changed through the separate update service.

Do not confirm information you know is wrong. See which changes must be made before filing.

Step 5: Sign in and open the confirmation statement

1. Return to File your confirmation statement with Companies House.
2. Select "Start now" to open WebFiling.
3. Follow the GOV.UK One Login sign-in instructions. If you have an older WebFiling account, follow any instructions to connect it.
4. Select your company, or enter the company number and authentication code when asked.
5. Open the confirmation statement filing option, also called CS01.

Read each screen before continuing. The sections you see depend on your company's records and whether you need to make changes. See the official WebFiling help.

Step 6: Check the confirmation statement date

Use the statement date shown for the filing unless you deliberately want to file early. Check that the records you are confirming reflect the position on that date.

Filing early means choosing an earlier confirmation date. Your next review period starts the day after that date, so the next statement date will change. The annual fee payment period stays separate. Companies House explains review and payment periods.

Step 7: Work through the business, share and shareholder sections

Business activity: SIC codes

A SIC code describes what your company does. Compare the code or codes shown with its actual activities. If the business has changed, update the relevant codes using the Companies House SIC code list.

Share capital

Use the company's share records to check the share classes, number of shares, currency, nominal values and any unpaid amounts requested. Keep accurate share rights available if the form asks for them.

For example, 100 ordinary shares with a nominal value of £1 each have a total nominal value of £100. Use the figures in your records; the company's bank balance or estimated business value does not give you its nominal share capital.

If new shares have been issued, check that the required allotment filing has been made. Updating the confirmation statement does not replace a separate filing obligation. See Companies House guidance on share changes.

Shareholders

Check the names, share classes and number of shares held against the company's register of members. Record changes since the previous statement, including transfers, where required. For a first statement, you may need to add shareholder details that are not yet displayed.

Trading status of shares and PSC exemptions

Read these questions carefully. A question about shares being traded on a market concerns the company's shares. It is not asking whether the business sells goods or services.

Do not select a PSC exemption unless it applies to your company. Use the on-screen help if you are unsure. The official CS01 guidance and additional sections cover these categories, and WebFiling help explains the share-trading terminology.

Step 8: Complete the identity and lawful-activity confirmations

Where requested, enter the personal code against the correct director and confirm that they have verified their identity. Check the code belongs to that person.

If the code does not match, check the entry and the director's date of birth held by Companies House. Incorrect personal details may need correcting before the identity can be linked. Follow the personal code troubleshooting guidance.

You must also confirm that the company's intended future activities are lawful. Read the statement before ticking the box. See the confirmation statement requirements.

Step 9: Review, pay and submit

Check the final review screen against your records. Pay particular attention to the company number, confirmation date, share figures and any changes you entered. Correct mistakes before submitting.

The Companies House online fee is £50. It is charged with the first confirmation statement in each 12-month payment period. If you have already paid for a statement in the same payment period, another statement in that period does not incur a second Companies House fee. Paper filing costs £110. See the current Companies House fees.

Follow the payment and submission prompts, then save the submission reference and payment receipt. Continue until the service confirms the filing has been submitted.

Step 10: Check that Companies House accepted it

A receipt email confirms that Companies House received your filing. It does not confirm acceptance. Look for the subsequent acceptance or rejection email, and check your spam folder if it does not arrive.

You can also sign back in and check "My Recent Filings" for the submission status. If the statement is rejected, read the reason, correct the problem and resubmit. Keep the reference if you need help from Companies House. Official WebFiling guidance on receipts and acceptance.

After acceptance, check your company's public record and filing history. Save the accepted statement with your company records, and note the next statement date and deadline. You can sign up for reminders through the official filing service.

Step 11: Complete the separate PSC identity submission, if needed

If you are both a director and a PSC, supplying your code as a director does not complete the PSC requirement. You verify your identity once, but supply the code separately for each role.

For an existing PSC who is also a director of the same company, the 14-day submission period starts the day after the company's confirmation statement date. Filing early does not change that PSC period. Other PSCs have different timing rules, so check the dates for your own role in the official service. See when to provide identity verification details.

To complete the PSC submission:

1. Open Provide identity verification details for a PSC.
2. Select "Start" and sign in.
3. Have the company number and the PSC's personal code ready.
4. Follow the prompts to supply the code and verification statement within the period shown.

Keep a record of this submission alongside the confirmation statement.

If your statement is already overdue

Check what is missing and file as soon as you can. If a missing code or an identity-check problem is preventing submission, contact Companies House for help. Failure to file can lead to a financial penalty and the company being struck off the register. Companies House guidance.

Related guides

Rates and deadlines can change. Use the official links below to check what applies to you.