How soon after incorporation can I file a confirmation statement?

All UK limited companies and limited liability partnerships need to file a confirmation statement, whether they’re conducting any business or not. 

The purpose of the confirmation statement is to confirm that the general information Companies House hold for a company is correct and up to date.

It’s an annual obligation, but how soon after incorporation can you file one? Let’s take a look.

You can file a confirmation statement straight after incorporation

The statement is due 14 days after the anniversary of the date of incorporation. The following is then due 14 days after the anniversary of the last one being filed.

• The limited company dates that you need to know about
• Never miss a confirmation statement or annual account deadline again

However, if you wanted to, you are permitted to file a statement straight after your company has been registered. You could then proceed to file one every day (although there is no real reason to do this).

Why file early?

To ensure that Companies House has the very latest information on your company. This is often at the behest of a bank, or another lender (Companies House are happy if you only file once a year).

For the majority of company updates, you will need to file the necessary forms to make a change at Companies House.

For example, to change the registered office you will need to file an online or paper version of the AD01 form. To appoint a director you will need to file an AP01 form. These changes can’t be made via the statement.   

There are, however, three things that you can change in a confirmation statement:

• Standard industrial classification (SIC) codes
• Total amount unpaid on shares
• Shareholders 

When it comes to share issues, internal documents (such as the J30 stock transfer form) should be completed to record any changes, but the statement is your one and only opportunity to notify Companies House of an update.

Thanks for reading

So there you have it, you can file a confirmation statement as soon as you want. And the main reason for doing this is to make sure Companies House has up to date information on your company – particularly when it comes to SIC codes and shareholdings.

Need help filing your confirmation statement?

Whether you want to file in line with your deadline or early, our team will expertly prepare and file your company’s confirmation statement.

• Find out more about the Confirmation Statement Service

We hope this post has been helpful. Please leave a comment if you have any questions.