What are companies house requirements for a small company?

Posted on: 16 February 2020

COMPANIES HOUSE REQUIREMENTS FOR A SMALL COMPANY :

The two main filing requirements for Companies House are

  • The Confirmation statement (previously Annual Return)
  • The Accounts

What is the confirmation statement?

A confirmation statement is a snapshot of a company’s information at the made-up date.  It is a separate document from a company’s annual accounts. Every company must deliver a confirmation statement to Companies House at least once every 12 months. The company’s director(s) and the secretary (where applicable), are responsible for ensuring that the confirmation statement is filed on time.

 

The company’s confirmation statement or annual return confirms:

  •         the company’s registered office address
  •         what type of business the company runs (e.g. retail, accountancy, catering)
  •         the address where the company’s list of shareholders is kept
  •         the type of limited company (e.g. limited by shares, limited by guarantee)
  •         name and address of all company directors (and company secretary if you have one)
  •         the number and value of shares issued by the company and who owns them

 

The annual return must be delivered to Companies House within 14 days of:

  • the anniversary of incorporation of a company, or
  • the anniversary of the made-up date of the last annual return.

 

There is a fee for filing the confirmation statement or annual return

There is an annual document-processing fee for form AR01 and posting it to Companies House with your payment. It costs £40 to file your annual return on paper or £13 to file it online. If you use your accountant it will cost £40 with an administration fee included likely to be more expensive in complex cases

 

There are late filing penalties.

 

All companies – private or public, large or small, trading or non-trading must send their accounts and reports to Companies House every year. If you submit company accounts and reports late, the law imposes an automatic penalty.