Late Confirmation Statement? Here’s Exactly What to Do

What does an overdue confirmation statement mean for your business?

An overdue confirmation statement means you’ve missed the 14-day filing window after your review period ended, and your company now shows as non-compliant on the public Companies House register.

That overdue status is visible to anyone who searches your company, including lenders, clients, and suppliers running due diligence. It’s a small black mark, but a public one.

What is the deadline for filing a confirmation statement?

Your confirmation statement is due within 14 days of the end of your 12-month review period. The review period itself depends on whether you’re a new or established company.

New companies

For a brand new company, the first review period starts on your incorporation date and runs for 12 months. You then have 14 days after that to file.

So a company incorporated on 1 March 2026 has a review period ending 28 February 2027, with a filing deadline of 14 March 2027.

Existing companies

For an existing company, each new review period begins the day after your last confirmation statement date. It again runs 12 months, with the same 14-day filing window on the end.

You can check your exact confirmation date and deadline anytime on the Companies House register. It’s the most reliable way to confirm where you stand.

Here’s a quick tip: the deadline catches people out because it isn’t a fixed calendar date like 31 January for Self Assessment. It moves every year based on when you last filed, so set your own reminder rather than relying on memory.

What happens if I file a confirmation statement late?

Filing late now carries a real financial risk, which is a genuine change from how this filing worked for years. Companies House gained the power to issue civil penalties for late confirmation statements under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act.

For a long time, the standard advice was that a late confirmation statement carried “no automatic fine.” That advice is now out of date, so it’s worth understanding the current escalation properly.

The typical sequence looks like this:

A few points worth knowing. The statutory maximum civil penalty under the reforms is £10,000, though in practice Companies House has indicated it is not currently issuing penalties above £2,000. GOV.UK’s own guidance warns you can be fined up to £5,000 for failing to file your confirmation statement.

Failure to file also remains a criminal offence for directors, separate from any penalty against the company. That can mean prosecution, personal fines, and in serious cases director disqualification. For the full picture on monetary consequences, see our guide to HMRC and Companies House fines.

One reassuring point: filing late does not change your review period. Unlike filing early, a late submission leaves your next deadline exactly where it already was.

How should a late confirmation statement be filed?

A late confirmation statement is filed exactly the same way as an on-time one, through Companies House online filing. There’s no separate “late” process or form, so you simply file the outstanding statement as normal.

Filing online costs £50, while a paper form CS01 costs £110. Online is faster, cheaper, and gives you instant confirmation, so there’s rarely a reason to file on paper.

Here’s the process step by step:

1. Log in to Companies House WebFiling using your company number and authentication code. If you’ve lost the code, request a new one, but allow up to five working days for it to arrive by post.
2. Check your company details are correct before you confirm. Update your registered office, directors, and people with significant control if anything has changed.
3. Confirm director identity verification. Since November 2025, all directors must verify their identity and supply a Companies House personal code before a statement is accepted.
4. Work through the pre-populated sections covering your registered office, directors, PSCs, and statement of capital.
5. Confirm your records are accurate and that the company’s future activities are lawful.
6. Pay the £50 fee by debit or credit card and save the filing acknowledgement for your records.

If your details are already up to date, the whole thing usually takes 10 to 15 minutes. Identity verification is the step most likely to slow you down if directors haven’t completed it yet, so check that first.

How can I avoid a late confirmation statement in future?

Avoiding a late confirmation statement comes down to knowing your deadline and building a reminder system you actually trust. Most companies miss it simply because they forget the date, not because they meant to.

A few practical habits make a real difference:

• Sign up for free email reminders directly through Companies House WebFiling.
• Set your own alerts as well, at 60, 30, 14, and 7 days before the deadline.
• Keep your director and PSC identity verification done in advance, so it never blocks a filing at the last minute.
• If you run more than one company, track each deadline separately rather than as a single date.

For some directors, the simplest answer is to hand the whole thing off. A managed compliance service tracks your deadlines, completes the filing, and removes the risk of an overdue statement entirely. It also keeps related obligations like annual accounts and your confirmation statement filing process running on schedule.

How Sleek helps with late confirmation statements

If your confirmation statement is already overdue, the priority is filing it correctly and fast, and that’s where it helps to have someone who does this every day. Sleek can file an overdue statement on your behalf and make sure your director and PSC details are properly verified first.

Beyond the immediate fix, we set up ongoing monitoring so future deadlines are tracked and met automatically. That turns confirmation statements from a recurring worry into something you never have to think about. Explore Sleek’s company compliance and formation package to see how we take it off your plate.