You must file the confirmation statement once in a year; filing a confirmation statement late or not filing one at all is a severe offense.
A confirmation statement is simply a binding document filed yearly by a limited company and a limited liability partnership (LLP) company to confirm the details of the members of the company. The details of the stakeholders, directors, and the business’s registered address are contained in the confirmation statement of a limited company. While in the case of the limited liability partnership company, the confirmation statement only includes the details of its members and the business’s registered address.
A deeper understanding of what a confirmation statement is
The confirmation statement contains all the essential details such as the administration, license, activities, and capital position of your limited liability partnership company. It is necessary to file a confirmation at least once in 12 months to prove that your company details registered at the Companies House are not false or outdated. The confirmation statement was initiated on the 30th of June 2016 to mend the annual report.
The difference between yearly reports and confirmation statements is in their formats. For an annual report, you have to fill in your company’s details from scratch every time. While with a confirmation statement, all you have to do is make corrections where necessary and ensure the details on record are correct. You will learn how to file a confirmation statement next; brace yourself.
The steps required to file a confirmation statement at Companies House
1. Identify the information you need to fill
We would need first to identify the data a confirmation statement must contain. The list includes:
- Company’s name and enrollment number
- Registered office address
- Shareholders’ details
- Issued share capital
- LLP members’ details (Where necessary)
- Nature of business activities/SIC codes
- People with Significant Control (PSC) details
- SAIL address (where applicable)
- Directors and secretary details
- Location of statutory registers
2. Know where changes are required
You should check in your current registered information at the Companies House before filing. Depending on the events in your company you could make very few to several changes in these areas:
- Modifications to the company name
- Any change to your company’s registered address
- Appointments of new directors or secretaries
- Resignation or recent changes to the details of any director or secretary
- Changes related to People with Significant Control (PSC)
- Accounting reference date change
- Share structure alteration
3. Identify your company’s PSCs
People with significant control have massive decision power in your company, so you have to know their criteria. A few ways to identify a PSC are:
- A PSC possesses more than 25% of the company’s voting rights.
- Anyone who owns more than 25% of the company’s shares.
- An individual who possesses the authority to exercise rights and control over a company, someone with the potential to terminate or select the majority of the company’s board.
If you have no current PSC, you are advised to include the info in the confirmation statement.
We would paint three scenarios: In our example company #1, there are three shareholders; two have 40% each of the shares, while the third person has 20% of the shares (i.e., one percentage share equates to one vote). Since two out of them have more than 25% of the shares, we would divide this into two scenarios so you can understand better.
Case A
If the two people with 40% of the company’s shares are the only ones who fit the criteria we stated above. There are only two PSCs in this company.
Case B
Suppose the shareholder with 20% shares can terminate or select the majority of the company’s board. That makes it three PSCs in the company.
Case C
In our example company #2, every shareholder has 10% of the shares (ten shareholders). If no one fits into any of the criteria mentioned earlier, the company has no PSCs. If at least one person fits into the requirements, then the company would have at least one PSC.
4. Identify when to apply
You just need to identify the date your company was established. Then, 12 months after, you file a confirmation statement (i.e., if you started your company in January 2021, you must file a confirmation on or before 2022 January). You might choose to file before 2022 January; this simply means a new review time would be set (i.e., you have to submit the confirmation statement on or before a year after the time you recently filed). You can submit as many confirmation statements as you like at a 24 hour interval between submissions. Also, it is a must to submit confirmation statements whether your company experienced changes or not.
If there is a change in details of the registered address, you must file a separate form before submitting the confirmation statement. While in the case of changes in the areas of information about shareholders, SIC code, the statement of capital, etc., you can update them within the confirmation statement. What happens when you don’t file early? It is seen as a criminal offense, and as such, don’t take it lightly. It could result in prosecution of the director and even the secretary, so make sure you file it.
5. Knowing the cost of filing
To file a confirmation statement through the post, you will pay up to £40. While you file online, you pay £13. Filing online is cheaper and easier compared to using the post. However, you only have to pay the fee once a year, which means you can send in the confirmation statement as many times as you wish, but you won’t have to make payments again.
6. Apply for a confirmation form
You can file a confirmation statement at the company’s house using the methods.
Post
If you are to file by post, simply use the paper form CS01 (or LLCS01 for LLPs). Or, you can easily use this form at Gov.uk.
Online
You should consider filing using the web filing platform for a smooth online filing process.
Company Formation Business
You are hiring a service that will help you handle all your confirmation statement filing processes. This means you can focus on your business, but be sure to use a reputable formations company.
The Bottom Line
You must file the confirmation statement once in a year; filing a confirmation statement late or not filing one at all is a severe offense. Also, while noticing that the information in the confirmation statement is inconsistent, make the necessary corrections as soon as you can.
Join the conversation!