SimpleReturns

The Companies House annual return: what replaced it

Updated 31 July 2026
The short answer

The annual return, form AR01, no longer exists. Companies House swapped it for the confirmation statement, form CS01, on 30 June 2016. You file the confirmation statement once a year for £50 online, and it is not a tax return: your tax return is a separate job that goes to HMRC.

Official source. This guide is a plain-English summary of official GOV.UK guidance, not advice. The authoritative source is File an annual return (AR01) on gov.uk. Always rely on that over our summary.

Does the annual return still exist?

No. The confirmation statement replaced it on 30 June 2016. The only annual returns Companies House still takes are ones covering a date of 29 June 2016 or earlier. Every year since then, your company has owed a confirmation statement instead.

If you are reading a template, a checklist or a letter from an old accountant that says "annual return", the document is out of date. Nothing has gone wrong with your company. The name on the form changed ten years ago, and GOV.UK still writes "confirmation statement (annual return)" on its own filing page, which is why the old phrase keeps coming up.

What is the confirmation statement?

A short yearly message to Companies House saying the details it holds about your company are still right. Your registered office, your directors, your shareholders, the codes describing what you do, and the people who ultimately own or control the company.

Our guide The confirmation statement: what it is and isn't walks through the contents, the dates and how to file it. This page sticks to the swap and what it means for you.

What changed between the two?

The old annual return made you write out your company's details from scratch every year, whether anything had moved or not. You copied the same names and the same address onto the same form, year after year.

The confirmation statement asks you a different question: is what we hold still correct? You look at what Companies House already has, tick that it is right, and send only the bits that have changed. If nothing changed, you confirm and you are done.

One more difference catches people out. Changes to your directors, your secretary, your registered office, your registered email and the people who ultimately own or control your company get filed when they happen, not saved up for the yearly statement. The things you can still change on the statement itself are your shareholders, your share capital and the codes for what your company does.

Is any of this my tax return?

No. Two different offices want two different things from your company.

Companies House gets your accounts and your confirmation statement. The confirmation statement carries no figures about how the business did. Your sales, your costs, your profit and your tax bill appear nowhere on it. (The one money figure it can carry is the value of your shares, which is about who owns the company, not how it traded.)

HMRC gets your Company Tax Return, the CT600, and that is where every figure lives. Profit, allowances, the tax you owe. Filing your confirmation statement does nothing about your tax, and filing your tax return does nothing about your confirmation statement. Our guide Companies House vs HMRC lays out the full split if you want the map.

What does it cost?

£50 to file online, or £110 on paper. You pay it once in each 12-month payment period, so a second statement filed inside that same period costs you nothing extra.

That price went up on 1 February 2026. If you are looking at an older guide quoting £34, or a much older one quoting less, it is out of date.

For example

A worked example. Your company files its confirmation statement online in March and pays £50. In August you issue new shares to a business partner, so you file another statement to record the change. That second one costs £0, because the £50 already covers the payment period. Your total for the year: £50. Had you sent the first one in on paper instead, you would have started at £110.

What happens if I ignore it?

Companies House can fine your company and can strike it off the register, which closes it down. Directors carry that responsibility personally. Filing takes a few minutes online once a year, so this is a cheap thing to stay on top of.

Dormant companies are included. A company that has never traded still confirms its details every year.

How do I file one?

Sign in to Companies House online, read back what they hold, correct anything wrong, and confirm. The step by step, the dates, the reminder emails and the deadline all sit in our guide The confirmation statement: what it is and isn't.

Where SimpleReturns fits

We do the side with the figures: your year-end accounts and your Company Tax Return. Your confirmation statement stays with you at Companies House, and we would rather tell you that than pretend it is included. It costs £50 and takes minutes.

Common questions

Do I still have to file an annual return?

No. It stopped on 30 June 2016. Your company files a confirmation statement instead.

Is the confirmation statement the same as the annual return with a new name?

Close, and the job is smaller. The annual return made you restate your details every year. The confirmation statement asks you to confirm the details are right and send only what changed.

What was form AR01, and what replaced it?

AR01 was the paper annual return form. CS01 is the paper confirmation statement that took its place, and most companies now file the same thing online instead.

Does my confirmation statement tell HMRC what I earned?

No. It goes to Companies House and carries no figures about how your business did. Your earnings go to HMRC on your Company Tax Return.

What does a confirmation statement cost?

£50 online, £110 on paper, paid once in each 12-month payment period. A second statement inside that period is free.

My company is dormant. Do I still file one?

Yes. Every company on the register confirms its details each year, trading or not.

Ready to do the tax side the easy way?

Your confirmation statement is a five-minute job you do yourself. The return with the figures on it is the one people dread, and that is the one we take off you: we read your year's money in and out, work out the tax, and show you every figure before anything is sent, for £99, once, no subscription.

Start your return

If your company is more complex, like a group, an accountant may be the better fit, and that's an honest call to make.

General guidance, not advice. This guide explains how the rules generally work for small UK limited companies. It isn't tax advice for your specific situation, if you're unsure, check with us or an accountant.