Backdating a change in Inform Direct is sometimes possible, but it can affect filings you've already made at Companies House — here's what to check before you do it.

This guide brings together the rules on backdating across directors, PSCs and shares, and sets out the main risk to be aware of: that a backdated change can make a document you've already filed with Companies House incorrect, which may then need a separate correction filing directly with Companies House.

1. The standard date restrictions

Inform Direct applies a number of date restrictions by default, to stop a change being recorded with a date that would conflict with something already on the public record:

• CS01 pending: while a confirmation statement is pending with Companies House, no changes can be dated at all — you must wait for it to be accepted or rejected.
• CS01 made up to date: once your confirmation statement's made up to date has passed, no further changes can be dated after that date until the confirmation statement is filed. You can still backdate changes to before it.
• Officer or PSC appointment date: you cannot terminate or change officer/PSC details before their official appointment date.
• Company incorporation date: you cannot make any change dated on or before the company's incorporation date.
• Imported shareholder dates: for an imported company, Inform Direct only knows who held shares from the last CS01 date at the point of import — backdating a share transaction earlier than this may need the imported shareholder dates updating first.

See Date Restrictions When Editing Records in Inform Direct - Overview for the full detail on each of these.

2. Overriding the restrictions for share transactions

For share transactions specifically (such as transfers and allotments), Inform Direct allows you to override the date restriction and backdate the transaction. To do this, you type the date directly into the field rather than using the calendar picker, and you'll be shown a warning and asked to tick a confirmation box acknowledging that you're filing outside the current confirmation period.

This option exists because the restriction is there to protect filings you've already made — not to stop you doing something that's not possible. Overriding it is a deliberate choice, and it comes with the risk covered in section 3 below.

See Can I Override the Date Restrictions? for the full walkthrough.

3. The main risk: making an already-filed document incorrect

If you backdate a share transaction to before the made up to date of your last confirmation statement, the statement of capital (and/or shareholder details, depending what's changed) on that already-filed CS01 may now be wrong. Companies House won't automatically know this — you'll need to correct it yourself with a separate filing direct to Companies House. This is often referred to as a "second filing" or "replacement" filing, and the correct route depends on how serious the error is:

• RP04 (second filing): for minor, trivial inaccuracies only — for example a typo — where the original document was otherwise valid.
• RP01 (replacement): for anything more substantive, including most statement of capital corrections, share allotment errors and officer/PSC detail corrections. This is the route needed in most cases arising from a backdated share transaction or allotment.

RP01 corrections to a CS01 (parts 1–4), SH01, AP01 or PSC01 can be filed online via Companies House WebFiling; most other forms need a paper RP01 posted to Companies House, alongside a corrected replacement of the original form and a covering letter. RP01 only covers filings dated on or after 1 October 2009 — for anything earlier, you'll need the old paper route (e.g. form 288a/288c), since RP01 doesn't apply and these forms are no longer hosted on gov.uk.

More than one filing may need correcting — if several confirmation statements have been filed since the backdated event, check each one.

For the full breakdown by filing type, see How Do I Second File at Companies House Using the RP01 Form? and How to Correct Mistakes on Company Filings at Companies House. Inform Direct does not generate or submit RP01/RP04 forms — these corrections are made directly with Companies House.

Remember: a share transfer is never reported to Companies House until your next confirmation statement — there's no need to notify Companies House of a transfer at the time it happens, and no requirement to file early, though some companies choose to for reassurance. See When Will Companies House Update Their Records for a Share Transfer?

4. Director, secretary and PSC detail errors from the outset

Backdating works differently for personal details that were wrong from the moment someone was appointed (for example, a name or date of birth entered incorrectly at incorporation or appointment) — this is a correction, not a backdated change, and Inform Direct's normal edit workflow can't be used to backdate it. Instead it must be corrected directly with Companies House, and which form you need depends on the appointment date (RP01 for appointments on or after 1 October 2009; the old paper forms, e.g. 288a/288c, for anything earlier).

This is different from a genuine later change (e.g. marriage, deed poll) — that's filed with the real effective date through the normal Inform Direct workflow, not backdated. See Back-Dating a Director's or Company Secretary's Name Change to Their Appointment Date for the full detail, which applies equally to similar PSC detail corrections.

5. Sequencing multiple share allotments around a confirmation statement's made up date

A common situation: you have more than one share allotment to record, and your confirmation statement's made up to date has already passed but the CS01 hasn't been filed yet — some allotments are dated before that made up date, and at least one is dated after it.

Following the date restriction in section 1 above, the correct order is:

1. Record and file the allotment(s) dated before (or on) the made up to date first.
2. File the confirmation statement (CS01) next, so it captures the correct statement of capital and shareholder details following those allotments.
3. Only then record and file the allotment(s) dated after the made up to date — Inform Direct won't let you date a change after the made up to date until the CS01 covering that date has been filed.

Doing it out of this order (for example, trying to record the post-made-up-date allotment first) will hit the date restriction in section 1 — you'd need to either wait until the CS01 is filed, or override the restriction and accept the risk of needing a correction filing described in section 3.

6. Before you override a date restriction

• Check which confirmation statement(s) have already been filed since the date you want to backdate to, and whether the change will affect their statement of capital or shareholder details.
• Be prepared that you may need a separate RP01 (or occasionally RP04) filing directly with Companies House to correct any affected document.
• If the issue is a personal detail wrong from the outset (not a later change), don't use the backdating override at all — follow the direct Companies House correction route in section 4 instead.
• If you're not sure whether a backdated change will affect a previous filing, it's worth checking with Companies House or your own professional adviser before proceeding, rather than after.

If you have any questions about whether backdating is right for your situation, our Support Team is happy to help you think it through.

Can I resign a director when the confirmation statement is overdue and can't be filed because another director has no personal code?

Yes. Inform Direct won't let you date a change after the CS01's made up to date until that CS01 has been filed, so you can't record the resignation with a later date while the CS01 is blocked. You have two options:

1. Backdate the resignation in Inform Direct to a date before the made up to date (see section 1 above). A director doesn't need to have completed identity verification to resign (see Can a Director Resign Without Completing Identity Verification?).
2. If you don't want to backdate it, file the resignation directly through Companies House WebFiling instead. The made up to date restriction only applies in Inform Direct, not in WebFiling. Once Companies House has accepted it, contact us and we can sync the officer removal into Inform Direct.

Also known as: can't resign director overdue CS01, resignation blocked late confirmation statement, can't file CS01 no personal code.