Companies House deadlines
Annual accounts, confirmation statements, and the filings that keep your limited company in good standing.
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The two filings every company makes
Annual accounts, due nine months after your accounting reference date, and a confirmation statement, due at least once every 12 months. Everything else Companies House asks for is event-driven; these two recur for every company, every year, trading or not.
A first-year company's accounts run on a different clock: 21 months from incorporation rather than nine months from year end.
The confirmation statement
A snapshot confirming the company's registered details are correct — directors, registered office, shareholders, people with significant control, and SIC codes. It is due within 14 days of the end of your 12-month review period, and it must be filed even if nothing changed.
It is also the filing businesses forget most, precisely because it feels like admin about admin. The consequences say otherwise — persistent failure is grounds for striking the company off the register.
Event-driven filings
Appointing or removing a director, changing the registered office, share allotments, and changes to people with significant control each carry their own notification window — typically 14 days, with a month for share allotments.
These are the filings that slip because they attach to a business event, not a calendar date. The habit that works: whenever something changes at board level, ask what Companies House needs to know.
Late accounts are penalised automatically
Private company penalties run from £150 for up to a month late to £1,500 for more than six months — and they double if accounts are late two years in a row. There is no discretion in the scale; it applies by statute.
Every RR company client's accounting reference date, accounts deadline, and confirmation statement date are tracked in Deadline Lock with advance notification. The nine-month window is generous — used deliberately, it is also a tax-planning window.
Frequently asked questions
When are a new company's first accounts due?
21 months after incorporation. Incorporate in March 2026 and the first accounts are due by December 2027, covering a first period that usually runs slightly past 12 months. After that, the standard nine-months-after-year-end rhythm applies.
Can I extend my accounts filing deadline?
Only by applying to Companies House before the deadline with a genuinely exceptional reason. Extensions are not automatic, and pressure of work does not qualify. If an extension is needed, the application has to go in early.
Does a dormant company still file?
Yes — dormant company accounts (a simplified form) and the confirmation statement, on the normal deadlines. Dormancy changes what you file, not whether you file.
What happens if I miss the confirmation statement?
There is no automatic fine, but the company stops being in good standing, and continued failure is grounds for Companies House to begin strike-off — which, for a trading company, is an emergency. File it late rather than never, and quickly.