What is a Confirmation Statement?
A confirmation statement is a document that all limited companies and LLPs must file annually. It replaces the old annual return and contains essential information about the company, including its directors, SIC code, and shareholders.
It also includes a list of ‘People with Significant Control’ (PSCs) and when they took up a position within the company. It’s a crucial document that must be filed on time. The confirmation statement is essential for maintaining the accuracy and transparency of UK companies’ public registers. It allows authorities, stakeholders, and the public to access up-to-date information about companies, ownership, and operations.
What is a Confirmation Statement?
In UK company law, a confirmation statement is a mandatory annual filing that limited companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) must submit to Companies House. It serves as a way for businesses to confirm and update the information that Companies House holds about them. The confirmation statement replaced the earlier requirement known as the Annual Return.
Here are key details about the confirmation statement:
- Annual Filing
- Company Information
- People with Significant Control (PSC) Information
- SIC Code
- Shareholder Information
- Date of Statement
- Changes and Updates
- Submission Deadline
- Online Filing
- Publicly Accessible
What is a Confirmation Statement?
A confirmation statement (Companies House form CS01) is an annual snapshot of your company details, and it’s a legal requirement that every company (and dormant company) must file. It verifies that the information registered at Companies House and shown on the public register is correct and up to date.
The directors of the company or members of an LLP can choose when to file the confirmation statement, but it must be filed within 12 months and 14 days of the end of the previous filing period. This is unlike the old annual return, where the information had to be submitted each year, even if everything stayed the same.
If you’re late with your filing or don’t file it, you risk having your business struck off the public register. In that case, you’ll need to pay an extra fee to restore your business to the register.
But if you do it correctly, filing your confirmation statement can be straightforward. Here’s what you need to know about confirmation statements, when to file them, and how to ensure the information is correct.
What is the Purpose of a Confirmation Statement?
Being a small business owner comes with a lot of paperwork, and confirmation statements are one of those. These are a legal requirement in the UK for all businesses and limited liability partnerships (LLPs), including dormant or non-trading. It’s also a great way to ensure that all information about your business is accurate and current.
The confirmation statement is a statutory document (Companies House form CS01) filed yearly by a limited company or LLP to confirm the details of the stakeholders, directors and members and the company registered address. This is to ensure that the public register of companies contains accurate and up-to-date data. It replaced the annual return filing requirement on 30 June 2016.
Confirmation statements are filed by all UK limited companies, whether they’re trading or dormant and even those with no employees. This is because Companies House needs to know that essential details on the company are correct and up to date.
Filing a confirmation statement on time is essential to running a business in the UK. However, missing the deadline is a severe offence and can lead to the company being struck off the public register if there is no explanation for why it was late. The registrar may also take other actions against directors and designated LLP members of a company if it is not filed on time.
How to Write a Confirmation Statement?
A confirmation statement is a yearly snapshot of your company that you send to Companies House to confirm the information they hold on file. It’s replaced the old-style annual return.
The process is easy enough, but you need to ensure you have all the relevant data before you start and that it’s up to date. This is crucial, as filing a confirmation statement late or wrong can be pretty serious!
You can do it online using the Companies House WebFiling platform or through a reputable formations business that will take the stress out of the process so you can focus on your day-to-day operations. Using a service will also mean you have everything pre-populated for you, making the process quicker and easier.
Another thing to note about a confirmation statement is that you must include details of any People with Significant Control (PSCs). These are anyone with more than 25% voting rights or who can exercise significant control over a company. This information is then made publicly available on the Companies House register.
What to Include in a Confirmation Statement?
All limited companies and LLPs must file a yearly confirmation statement with Companies House. This replaces the annual return but serves the same purpose in a more straightforward format. The form requires a company to confirm that important information about the business is accurate on a particular date. The information must be submitted, including the names and addresses of directors, shareholders and the registered office address (SAIL). If a company has shares, it must also include the statement of capital, the SIC code and any changes to the name or address of the company.
Although it may seem tedious, filing the confirmation statement on time can save you a lot of stress and money. Failing to file or filing it late is considered a severe offence, and you could face fines or even have your business struck off the register.
The key is to be organised and ensure all the required information is submitted correctly. Adding the deadlines for confirmation statements to your diary and signing up for email reminders from Companies House are good ways to keep on top of the filing schedule. Alternatively, you can hire an accountant or business advisor to handle the filing. Clever Formations’ sister company, Clever Accountants, can handle confirmation statement filing for your LLP or Ltd company and help you ensure it’s done on time.
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The Impact of Sustainability on Ecommerce Businesses
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