Annual Compliance FAQs for Startup Founders

What every UK company must do each year 

What are my company's annual compliance obligations? 

Every UK company, including yours, has four core annual obligations regardless of size or trading status. 

Confirmation statement — filed with Companies House once every 12 months, confirming that your registered office address, directors, shareholders and people with significant control (PSCs) are accurate and up to date. Even dormant companies must file. 

Annual accounts — statutory accounts filed at Companies House, typically due nine months after your financial year-end. Most small companies and micro-entities qualify to file simplified accounts, although this is changing from April 2028. 

Statutory registers — your company's official legal records (registers of members, directors and PSCs) must be kept accurate year-round, not just at filing time. 

Event-driven filings — when something changes, such as appointing or resigning a director, issuing shares, or updating your registered office or company name, you must notify Companies House within 14 days. 

My company is dormant. Do I still need to file anything? 

Yes. Dormant companies are not exempt from compliance. You must still file a confirmation statement every 12 months and submit annual accounts to Companies House. The accounts for a dormant company are simpler, but the obligation to file exists regardless of whether you have traded. 

What happens if I miss a deadline? 

Late accounts filing triggers automatic financial penalties. The longer the delay, the higher the penalty, and penalties double if your accounts are late in two successive years. Directors can also be held personally liable for persistent filing failures. 

For the confirmation statement, failure to file is a criminal offence for which both the company and its directors can be prosecuted. Companies House also has the power to strike off companies that are not keeping up with their filing obligations. 

When is my confirmation statement due? 

Your confirmation statement is due every 12 months from either your company's incorporation date or the date of your last confirmation statement. You must file within 14 days of the review period end date. Companies House will send you a reminder, but the responsibility for filing on time is yours. 

What you file, and when 

When do my annual accounts need to be filed? 

If you are a private company, annual accounts must be filed at Companies House within nine months of your financial year-end. For a company with a 31 December year-end, that means filing by 30 September the following year. Your first accounts after incorporation have a slightly different deadline, so check the specific date with Companies House or your adviser. 

Bear in mind that you also need to file a corporation tax return with HMRC within 12 months of your year-end, and any tax owed is due within nine months and one day. Statutory accounts preparation and tax filing are related but separate obligations. 

As a small company, do I need to file full accounts? 

Currently, small companies (broadly those with turnover below £10.2m, fewer than 50 employees, and a balance sheet below £5.1m) and micro-entities can file simplified or filleted accounts, which reduces how much financial information appears on the public register. 

However, this is changing significantly from April 2028. The option to file filleted or abridged accounts is being removed entirely. From that date, all small companies and micro-entities will need to file their full statutory accounts, including a profit and loss account. See the section on 2028 changes for more detail. 

Can I shorten my accounting year to delay filing? 

From April 2028, shortening your accounting reference period will be restricted to once every five years, bringing it in line with the rules already in place for extending an accounting period. If you need to shorten more frequently than that, you will need to provide a business reason. This closes what had sometimes been used as a way to delay filing, in keeping with the wider transparency objectives of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA). 

What are statutory registers and why do they matter? 

Statutory registers are your company's official legal records. They include the register of members (shareholders), the register of directors, and the register of people with significant control. Companies are legally required to keep these records accurate and up to date at all times, not just at year-end. 

Inaccurate registers can cause practical problems, particularly when you are fundraising, completing due diligence, or dealing with a share transfer. Investors and acquirers will scrutinise these records, and gaps or errors can delay or derail a deal. 

IDENTITY VERIFICATION 

The new ECCTA requirement you may already be overdue for: ACTION REQUIRED NOW   

What is ECCTA identity verification and does it apply to me? 

Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, Companies House has introduced a requirement for directors, people with significant control, and certain other individuals to verify their identity. The voluntary window opened in April 2025, and the requirement is now in its transition phase for existing directors. 

If you are a director or PSC of a UK company and have not yet verified your identity, you should do so now. The regime is live for new appointments, meaning anyone newly appointed as a director must complete verification. Existing directors are in a transition period but should not treat this as a reason to delay. 

How do I verify my identity with Companies House? 

You can verify directly with Companies House using the GOV.UK One Login system, or you can verify through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). An ACSP is a firm registered with Companies House to carry out identity verification on its behalf. 

Verifying via an ACSP is particularly useful if you do not have a biometric passport, if you are based outside the UK, or if you have encountered difficulties with the One Login process. Law Debenture is a registered ACSP and can verify UK directors, PSCs and LLP members across more than 120 countries. 

Companies House data shows that only 47% of directors who received verification codes have actually included them in their confirmation statement filings. On-time filing compliance has dropped to 55%. If you have not yet verified, you are not alone, but you should act now. 

What changes for filing agents under the new rules? 

Under ECCTA, anyone filing on behalf of a company will need to be either a registered ACSP or a verified employee of the company. This changes how filing arrangements need to be organised and removes the ability to rely on informal or ad hoc delegated filing arrangements that many small companies have used historically. 

If someone other than a verified director currently manages your Companies House filings, you will need to review that arrangement to confirm it will remain compliant. 

CHANGES FROM 2028 

What is coming and why you should plan now: EFFECTIVE: 1 APRIL 2028   

What is changing for small company accounts from April 2028? 

Three significant changes come into effect for small companies and micro-entities from 1 April 2028, all flowing from ECCTA. 

Profit and loss accounts must be filed. Small companies will be required to file a profit and loss account at Companies House. You can opt out of having it visible on the public register, but it will remain accessible to government bodies and law enforcement. Opting out is not automatic; it must be actively exercised once the process is confirmed. 

Filleted and abridged accounts will no longer be available. Small companies must file full statutory accounts going forward, including a balance sheet, profit and loss account, and (unless exempt) the full auditor's report. 

All accounts must be filed using commercial software in iXBRL format. iXBRL (Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language) is a digital tagging standard that makes financial data machine-readable. The existing web-filing route and paper-based submission will close for accounts from April 2028. 

What is iXBRL and why does it matter for me? 

iXBRL is a digital tagging standard that labels each element of your accounts so the data is machine-readable as well as human-readable. Companies House is moving to this format to improve the quality and reliability of financial data on the register. 

For most small companies, the practical impact is that you will no longer be able to file accounts directly through the Companies House web portal. You will need commercial accounting software that supports iXBRL tagging and direct API submission to Companies House. If your accountant currently files on your behalf, you will need to confirm that their software supports this. 

iXBRL tagging is a skilled process that takes time to apply, review, and validate. It needs to be built into your accounts preparation timeline, not added at the last minute. If your board currently approves accounts close to the filing deadline, that timeline will need to move. 

Companies House has published a tool to help you find suitable software for your type of accounts: gov.uk/software-company-accounts. Check this early and do not assume your current software will handle iXBRL submission without additional set-up. 

Will my profit and loss account become publicly visible? 

Not automatically. You will be able to opt out of having your profit and loss account visible on the public register, which means competitors and the general public will not be able to see it. However, opting out is not the default position; you will need to actively exercise the opt-out once Companies House confirms the process for doing so. 

Even if you opt out of public disclosure, your profit and loss account will still be accessible to HMRC, Companies House, and law enforcement. Your board should discuss whether to use the opt-out and make sure that decision is properly recorded before April 2028. 

Do small companies still need to file a Directors' Report? 

No. Although ECCTA originally included a requirement for small companies to file a Directors' Report, the government has confirmed that this requirement will not proceed as part of its Modernising Corporate Reporting programme. Small companies will continue not needing to produce a Directors' Report. 

What should I do now to prepare for the April 2028 changes? 

Twenty-one months sounds like a long runway. It is not, particularly once you account for iXBRL tagging lead times. Five steps to take now: 

1.  Review how your accounts are currently prepared and filed. If you or your accountant use web-filing or paper submission, that route closes in April 2028. Confirm your arrangements now rather than assuming they are compliant. 

2.  Check your software. Verify that your accounting software supports direct API submission to Companies House and iXBRL tagging. Not all products do, and not all providers will have completed their integrations in time. 

3.  Bring your sign-off date forward. iXBRL tagging takes time to apply, review, and validate. If your board currently approves accounts close to the statutory deadline, build in additional time. 

4.  Discuss the profit and loss opt-out with your board. Decide whether to opt out of public disclosure, understand the process for doing so once it is published, and record the decision. 

5.  Complete identity verification. If your directors have not yet verified their identity under ECCTA, address this now. It is a separate obligation with its own deadline pressure. 

GETTING HELP 

How Law Debenture can take this off your plate 

What does a company secretarial service actually do for me? 

A company secretarial service takes your statutory compliance obligations off your plate so you can focus on building your business. Law Debenture's annual compliance service covers confirmation statement filing, statutory register maintenance, annual report and accounts filing at Companies House, and preparing and submitting event-driven filings such as director appointments or share issuances. 

In practical terms, that means we track your deadlines, chase the information we need, and file on your behalf. You will not need to remember when your confirmation statement is due or what form to file when you appoint a new director. 

Can Law Debenture help with identity verification? 

Yes. Law Debenture is a registered Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) under ECCTA. We provide identity verification for UK directors, PSCs and LLP members across more than 120 countries, so there is no requirement to be physically present in the UK. This is particularly useful for international founders or directors based outside the UK who may face difficulties using the GOV.UK One Login system directly. 

Is annual compliance something I can just hand off entirely? 

Much of it, yes. The filing work, deadline management, register maintenance, and Companies House submissions can all be handled by a professional company secretarial service. As a director, you remain legally responsible for ensuring your company meets its statutory obligations, and you will need to approve certain documents such as your annual accounts. But the administrative burden and the risk of missing a deadline or filing incorrectly can be significantly reduced by working with the right team. 

Talk to our compliance team 

Law Debenture's company secretarial team works with businesses of all sizes on statutory compliance across the UK, Ireland, Hong Kong and the USA. Contact us at lawdebenture.com or speak to your usual Law Debenture contact to discuss your annual compliance requirements.