To a large extent a Confirmation Statement (Companies House form CS01) can be considered equivalent to the Annual Return (Companies House form AR01) which it superseded from 30th June 2016.
All UK companies are required to check and confirm that all information previously submitted to Companies House is up to date and accurate. When you file a Confirmation Statement you are confirming that all necessary filings since the last Confirmation Statement have been correctly made. It is also the opportunity to report any share transfers that occurred in the confirmation period. What is a confirmation period?
If there are any unreported changes to any of the following then the relevant filing must be made at the same time as the Confirmation Statement:
- The location of the company's registered office address
- The company Registered Email Address
- The location of any Single Alternative Inspection Location (SAIL)
- Where various statutory records are kept (only if the company uses a SAIL)
- Trade classification codes (also known as SIC codes)
- Directors and their details (including residential addresses)
- Any company secretary and their details
- Share capital
- Shareholders
- Share transfers in the confirmation period
- Whether any of the company's shares are admitted to a public trading market
Correcting Errors from Previous Confirmation Statements
If you discover an error in a previous Confirmation Statement (e.g., incorrect share transfer details), you must file an amended CS01 for the relevant period. This can be done on WebFiling or on paper with an RP01 & CS01 form.
For more information see the below relevant guide(s):
A Confirmation Statement must be filed at least once every 12 months although can be filed more frequently if needs be. When do I file a Confirmation Statement?
How much will it cost to file a Confirmation Statement?
How do I use Inform Direct to File a Confirmation Statement?
Note: The hope of HM Government is that companies will file more frequently than annually and so the information publicly held for each company will become much more current.
Do all the directors need to sign the confirmation statement?
No — a confirmation statement doesn't require anyone's signature, whether filed on paper or electronically, regardless of how many directors the company has. When filing electronically, the company's Companies House authentication code acts as a kind of digital signature — submitting the confirmation statement using that code is what authorises it, standing in for a physical signature. It just needs to be submitted by someone authorised to act for the company (typically a director or officer), and since November 2025, the Companies House personal code for each director also needs to be entered before it can be filed. There's no requirement for directors to individually sign or approve it as a matter of Companies House process — though your own company's articles or internal governance might have you seek board agreement before filing, that's a separate, internal matter.