As part of the Companies House reforms, changes are being made to the confirmation statement filing process. Read on to find out more about one of the first of several changes to be introduced over the next few years.
What is a confirmation statement?
A confirmation statement, formerly known as the annual return, is an annual filing requirement for all companies which allows them to confirm whether all the information held by Companies House on the register is correct. As part of the filing process, you need to check the following:
- Registered office
- Appointments of directors and the secretary
- The address where your company records are kept
- Statement of capital and shareholder information
- Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code
- People with Significant Control
What changes have been made?
As part of its efforts to improve the company registration process and decrease the level of inaccurate data on the register, Companies House are introducing two changes to the confirmation statement filing process.
1. Registered email address
Any existing companies filing a confirmation statement will need to provide a registered email address from 5th March 2024. New companies will need to provide a registered email address upon incorporation a day earlier on 4th March 2024.
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This email address will be used as a point of contact between the company and Companies House but will not be published on the public register. You can use the same email address for multiple companies and Companies House are developing an email update service should you need to provide an alternative email address. Maintaining an appropriate and available registered email address will become part of the director’s duties and they may be committing an offence if they fail to comply.
Also Read: Registered Office: Requirement Update
2. Lawful purpose
From 5th March 2024, all companies will need to confirm that their company is conducting itself lawfully and that all future activities will remain lawful.
Subscribers of new companies will also need to confirm that a company is being formed for a lawful purpose upon incorporation. Filings will not be accepted without this statement being confirmed.
The purpose of this statement is to have all companies on the register accept their responsibility to operate lawfully, which will allow Companies House to take action against any companies that fail to do so.
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Interested in Companies House updates? Read our other blogs on Companies House reforms and fee increases at Companies House.
