CS01 Confirmation Statement 2026: Deadlines & ID Checks

At a glance

• What it is: the CS01 confirms, once a year, that the information Companies House holds about your company is accurate. It is a check-in, not a financial filing — the legal duty sits in section 853A of the Companies Act 2006.
• Deadline: you have up to 14 days after your 12-month review period ends to file. The review period ends 12 months after incorporation (first statement) or after your last confirmation statement date.
• Mandatory even if nothing changed, and even for dormant companies. Silence is not confirmation — you still have to file.
• Fee: £50 to file online, £110 by paper, from 1 February 2026 (fees have changed twice in the last two years — always check the current rate on GOV.UK before you pay).
• Since 5 March 2024 (Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023): every confirmation statement must include a registered email address (first time) and a statement that the company's intended future activities are lawful. Neither is optional.
• Since 18 November 2025: Companies House will not accept your CS01 until every director has verified their identity and you have supplied their Companies House personal code. PSCs verify separately, on their own 14-day timetable.
• Miss the deadline and Companies House can issue a financial penalty of up to £2,000 (under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Financial Penalty) Regulations 2024), on top of the separate risk of the company being struck off the register.

What is a CS01 confirmation statement?

The Confirmation Statement, filed on form CS01, is the annual check-in that every UK limited company and LLP completes with Companies House. It replaced the older Annual Return (form AR01) in 2016, and while the name changed, the purpose stayed the same: to confirm that the public record of your company is accurate and up to date.

Unlike accounts, the CS01 is not about finances. It is about the structural and ownership details of the company — the registered office, the SIC codes describing what the business does, the statement of capital, shareholder information, and the People with Significant Control (PSC) register. Since 5 March 2024 it also carries two compliance statements that did not exist before: a registered email address and a confirmation that the company's future activities will be lawful.

You can either confirm that nothing has changed since the last filing, or use the statement to flag updates covered by its additional information section. Some changes — a new director, a change of registered office — must still be filed separately on their own dedicated forms before the CS01 is submitted. The legal basis sits in Part 24 of the Companies Act 2006, as amended by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.

Who must file it and what it confirms

Legal responsibility for filing sits with the company's directors, and with the secretary if one has been appointed. Whoever prepares the filing — in-house, or an accountant or company secretary service — the directors remain accountable if it is missed, filed late, or filed with inaccurate information, because the public register is treated as the company's own confirmation.

A CS01 confirms that Companies House already holds, or is receiving at the same time, accurate information about:

• the registered office address
• the directors and secretary (if any)
• the SIC codes describing the company's activities
• the statement of capital and shareholder information, for companies with share capital
• the People with Significant Control (PSC) register
• a registered email address
• a statement that the company's intended future activities will be lawful

The 12-month review period and 14-day deadline

Every company has a review period of 12 months, running from either the date of incorporation (for a company's first confirmation statement) or the confirmation statement date on the last one filed. You then have up to 14 days after that review period ends to file — this is the window set out in section 853A of the Companies Act 2006, and it has not changed.

You do not have to wait for the review period to finish. If you file early, you choose a new confirmation statement date, and your next 12-month review period starts the day after it. This is separate from your payment period, which runs for 12 months from your incorporation date (or the anniversary of your last annual return, for older companies) and determines when the annual fee is next due — you can file as many confirmation statements as you like within a payment period after the first one is paid for.

Worked example: Priya's filing window

Priya, a fictional director, incorporated her company on 10 March 2025. Her first review period runs to 9 March 2026, giving her a filing window that closes on 23 March 2026 (14 days later). She files on 15 March 2026 without any changes to report. Her next review period then starts on 16 March 2026 and runs for a further 12 months, with the same 14-day filing window applying at the end of it.

The 2024 changes: registered email address and the lawful purpose statement

Two measures under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 took effect for confirmation statements with a statement date on or after 5 March 2024, and both are now a standard, non-optional part of the CS01.

Registered email address. Every company must give Companies House a registered email address — either when it incorporates, or the first time it files a confirmation statement after 4 March 2024, if it has not provided one already. Companies House uses this address to contact the company directly (including, from 18 November 2025, about identity verification requirements). It is not published on the public register. You can update it separately from a confirmation statement through the registered email address service.

Lawful purpose statement. Every confirmation statement must also confirm that the company's intended future activities will be lawful. This applies to every company, every year, and you cannot submit a CS01 without making the statement. It sits alongside — not instead of — the rest of the confirmation.

Director and PSC identity verification (from 18 November 2025)

From 18 November 2025, identity verification became a legal requirement for anyone setting up, running, or controlling a UK company. This is being phased in over a 12-month transition period to November 2026, and it now directly gates the confirmation statement.

Directors. Before you can file your CS01, each director must have verified their identity — free of charge, through GOV.UK One Login, or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (an accountant, solicitor, or formation agent registered with Companies House for this purpose). You then provide each director's Companies House personal code and tick a statement confirming the verification, as part of the CS01 itself. Companies House will not accept the confirmation statement until every director on the record has done this.

PSCs. People with significant control verify separately from directors, using the dedicated PSC identity verification service, and on a different 14-day timetable:

• If a PSC is also a director of the same company, their 14-day window starts the day after the company's confirmation statement date.
• If a PSC is not a director of the same company, their 14-day window starts on the first day of their birth month, as recorded at Companies House.
• A PSC added to the register after 18 November 2025 can provide their personal code from the point they are added, or within 14 days of being added.

New directors and new PSCs appointed or registered from 18 November 2025 must verify at the point of incorporation or appointment. Failing to comply is an offence, and Companies House has confirmed there is a range of consequences, including a financial penalty — a non-compliant company will not be able to make further filings or start a new company until the position is fixed.

How to file your CS01: step by step

1. Check your confirmation date and filing deadline. Look this up on the company's public record, or sign up for an email reminder from Companies House, before you start.
2. Confirm every director has verified their identity. Check each director's status on the register. If a director has not yet completed identity verification, do this first — an unverified director will block the filing.
3. Review what Companies House currently holds. Check the registered office, directors, secretary (if any), SIC codes, registered email address, and PSC details. Anything incorrect needs to be fixed before or alongside the CS01.
4. File any separate changes first. New directors, resignations, a change of registered office, or PSC changes each have their own form and should go in before the CS01, so the confirmation reflects an accurate record.
5. Provide (or confirm) your registered email address if you have not already given one, and complete the lawful purpose statement — both are mandatory fields on the current form.
6. Update shareholder and share capital information if you have had share transfers or issued new shares during the review period.
7. Provide each director's Companies House personal code and tick the identity verification confirmation.
8. Submit online and pay the fee. Filing online is faster and cheaper than paper. Check GOV.UK for the current fee before you pay, and keep the confirmation receipt — the fee covers a full 12-month payment period, so further statements in that window cost nothing extra.

What happens if you miss the deadline

Companies House can issue a financial penalty of up to £2,000 (under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (Financial Penalty) Regulations 2024) for a late confirmation statement, and it retains the separate power to start striking the company off the register, which ultimately dissolves the business if the position is not corrected. These two consequences can both apply — a penalty does not replace the strike-off risk.

If you realise a filing is overdue, file it as soon as possible. A confirmation statement filed late is still better than one not filed at all, and it stops the strike-off clock running. If any director has not yet completed identity verification, resolve that first, since Companies House will not accept the statement until they have.

This guide provides general information about the confirmation statement (CS01) filing requirement for companies registered in England and Wales. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances. The law described was accurate as at August 2026 and is subject to change — always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the most current position, particularly on fees and identity verification deadlines, both of which are still being phased in.

Last reviewed: August 2026 by a non-practising solicitor · Next review due: August 2027 or on legislative change.