United Kingdom / Guides / Companies House deadlines: accounts and confirmation statements
United Kingdom · guideCompanies House deadlines: accounts and confirmation statements
The short answer
A private limited company must deliver its annual accounts to Companies House within 9 months of its accounting reference date (21 months after incorporation for a first set of accounts), and must file a confirmation statement within 14 days of the end of each 12-month review period. Both deadlines run independently of each other and independently of the Corporation Tax return deadline at HMRC. Missing either one triggers an automatic, non-discretionary penalty or the risk of the company being struck off the register.
Key facts — verified dates on each
Two separate clocks, two separate filings
A private limited company registered in the UK owes Companies House two recurring filings, and they run on different schedules. The annual accounts report the company's financial position for a period and are due within a fixed number of months of the accounting reference date (ARD) — the date a company's financial year is treated as ending. The confirmation statement is a separate, shorter document that confirms the information Companies House holds about the company (registered office, officers, people with significant control, shareholders, SIC codes) is up to date, and it runs on its own 12-month review period.
Neither filing is linked to the Corporation Tax return filed with HMRC, which has its own 12-month deadline after the end of the accounting period. A company can be compliant with HMRC and still be late with Companies House, or the reverse — the two regulators are not synchronised.
Annual accounts: the 9-month rule and the accounting reference date
For a private company, annual accounts must reach Companies House within 9 months of the accounting reference date. The ARD is normally the last day of the month in which the company was incorporated, unless it has been changed. A company's first set of accounts follows a different rule: they are due within 21 months of the date the company was registered with Companies House, which in practice gives most new companies a longer first period because it covers slightly more than a full year of trading.
A public limited company works to a shorter statutory window — 6 months from its accounting reference date rather than 9 — reflecting the wider public interest in PLC reporting.
The ARD itself can be changed by shortening or extending the current financial year, which Companies House allows within limits (a year can be shortened by any amount but generally cannot be extended beyond 18 months from the start of the financial year, and cannot usually be extended more than once in five years). Changing the ARD moves the filing deadline with it, so a change made close to an existing deadline needs to be checked against the new date it produces rather than assumed.
Confirmation statement: the 14-day window
The confirmation statement review period is 12 months, running either from incorporation or from the date of the previous confirmation statement. The company then has 14 days after the review period ends to file the statement — a materially shorter buffer than the accounts deadline. A confirmation statement is required even when nothing about the company has changed during the review period; "no changes" is itself a valid statement, but it still has to be filed.
Because the review period restarts from whatever date the statement was actually filed, filing early does not shorten the following year's window, but filing late shifts every subsequent review period later unless it is corrected.
What happens when accounts are filed late
A late filing penalty for accounts is automatic — Companies House does not exercise discretion on whether to charge it, only on whether to accept an appeal in specific circumstances such as a filing system failure. Penalties for a private company are set out in bands based on how late the accounts are, with public companies charged a materially higher rate in each band.
The penalty doubles if a company files its accounts late in two successive financial years. Separately, failing to file accounts at all is a criminal offence, and company directors can be personally prosecuted; Companies House can also take steps to strike the company off the register for continued non-filing.
- Up to 1 month late — lower band penalty
- 1–3 months late — second band
- 3–6 months late — third band
- More than 6 months late — top band
- Penalty doubles on a second consecutive late year
What happens when a confirmation statement is missed
There is no banded fee schedule for a missed confirmation statement in the way there is for late accounts. Instead, Companies House guidance states a company can be fined and struck off the register for failing to file, and — as with accounts — non-filing is a criminal offence that can attach to the officers responsible, not only the company itself.
A strike-off is the more consequential risk in practice: once a company is removed from the register, its bank accounts and remaining assets can become inaccessible to the directors, and restoring a struck-off company is a separate, slower process than filing the missed statement would have been.
Whose responsibility the filing is
The legal duty to file both the accounts and the confirmation statement on time sits with the company and, specifically, with its directors — this does not shift by appointing an accountant, bookkeeper, or company secretary to prepare or submit the documents. An agent acting on a company's behalf files as its representative, but the statutory obligation, and the penalty or prosecution risk for missing it, remains with the company and its officers.
CapEasy serves accounting and compliance clients in the United States and Australia today. UK company services, including Companies House filings, are under consideration but not currently offered; this guide is provided for orientation only.
The figures, and when we checked them
These numbers change by year or by notification. Each one shows the date we last verified it against the source — if that date looks old, check the source before relying on it.
Questions on this
What is the accounting reference date (ARD)?
The ARD is the date a company's financial year is treated as ending for Companies House purposes. By default it is the last day of the month a company was incorporated in, and it can be changed by shortening or extending the current financial year within Companies House rules.
How long does a new company have to file its first accounts?
A first set of accounts is due within 21 months of the date the company was registered with Companies House, rather than the standard 9-month rule that applies from a company's second financial year onward.
How long does a private company have to file its accounts after that?
From the second financial year onward, a private company's accounts are due within 9 months of its accounting reference date. A public limited company's deadline is 6 months.
Does changing the accounting reference date change the filing deadline?
Yes. The accounts deadline is calculated from the ARD, so shortening or extending the financial year moves the filing deadline along with it. The new deadline needs to be checked directly rather than assumed from the old one.
What does a confirmation statement actually confirm?
It confirms that the information Companies House holds about a company — registered office address, officers, people with significant control, shareholders and share capital, and SIC codes — is accurate as of the review date. Any changes are usually filed separately as they happen; the confirmation statement is a checkpoint, not the mechanism for reporting most changes.
Is a confirmation statement still required if nothing has changed?
Yes. A confirmation statement must be filed at least once every 12 months regardless of whether any of the company's details have changed during that period.
What is the penalty for filing accounts late?
Companies House applies a fixed, banded penalty based on how late the accounts are, from £150 for up to a month late to £1,500 for more than six months late for a private company, with higher bands for public companies. The penalty is automatic and doubles if accounts are filed late in two consecutive financial years.
What happens if a confirmation statement is never filed?
Companies House guidance states the company can be fined and may be struck off the register. Failing to file is also a criminal offence that can attach to the officers responsible, separate from any action against the company itself.
Can a Companies House filing deadline be extended?
Companies House operates a process for requesting a filing extension in specific circumstances, applied for before the existing deadline passes. It is not a general grace period and is not guaranteed.
Who is legally responsible for meeting these deadlines?
The company and its directors are responsible for both filings, regardless of whether an accountant, bookkeeper, or company secretary prepares or submits the documents. Using an agent does not transfer the statutory obligation or the penalty risk away from the company's officers.
Primary sources
- Companies House — File your first accounts and reporting dates
- Companies House — Confirmation statement guidance
- Companies House — Late filing penalties
- Companies House — Life of a company: annual requirements (accounts)
Last reviewed 2026-08-14. Statutes and schedules change — the sources above are authoritative, this page is orientation.
This page is information, not an offer of services. CapEasy serves the US and Australia today; UK services are under consideration.