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Short answer (TL;DR)
Company law compliance means meeting the legal obligations that every UK limited company owes under the Companies Act 2006 and the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. In practice that comes down to a handful of recurring duties: filing an annual confirmation statement and annual accounts on time, keeping your registered office, email and statutory registers up to date, recording your people with significant control, and directors acting within their legal duties. Since 18 November 2025 there is also a new obligation for directors and PSCs to verify their identity with Companies House. Getting this wrong is not a paperwork problem. Late filing brings automatic penalties, a missed filing is a criminal offence, and persistent failure can lead to the company being struck off and directors disqualified for up to 15 years.
Below we set out exactly what UK company law compliance involves in 2026, the deadlines that matter, what changed this year, and how to stay on the right side of the rules.
What is company law compliance?
Company law compliance is the ongoing process of keeping a company legally in order: filing the right documents with Companies House and HMRC on time, maintaining accurate records, and making sure directors meet their statutory duties.
It is distinct from other kinds of compliance a business faces. Data protection compliance sits under UK GDPR, employment compliance under employment law, and sector rules under whichever regulator applies to you. Company law compliance is specifically about your obligations as a registered company, most of which flow from the Companies Act 2006, now heavily amended by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA).
The responsibility sits with the directors personally. You can delegate the filing to an accountant or company secretary, but the legal duty, and the liability if something is late or wrong, stays with you.
What are the main company law compliance requirements in the UK?
Most private limited companies have the same core obligations. The recurring ones are:
- File a confirmation statement (form CS01) at least once every 12 months. This confirms your registered details are correct: registered office, directors, shareholders, share capital, SIC codes, registered email and PSC information. You must file it even if nothing has changed.
- File annual accounts with Companies House. A private company must file within nine months of its accounting reference date (year end). First accounts are due 21 months after incorporation.
- File a Company Tax Return and pay Corporation Tax with HMRC. This is separate from Companies House. Corporation Tax is normally due nine months and one day after your year end, and the CT600 return within 12 months.
- Maintain a registered office and registered email address. Since March 2024 the registered office must be an “appropriate address” where post is genuinely received (no unstaffed PO boxes), and every company must keep an appropriate registered email address on file.
- Keep statutory registers and records. This includes your register of members, your PSC register, and accounting records that explain the company’s transactions.
- Report changes to Companies House promptly. New or resigning directors, a change of address, share allotments or a change of PSC must be notified, usually within 14 days.
- Confirm the company is operating for a lawful purpose. On incorporation and on each confirmation statement the company must confirm its intended activities are lawful.
The table below summarises the deadlines directors most often miss.
| Compliance task | Who to file with | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Confirmation statement (CS01) | Companies House | Every 12 months, within 14 days of the review date |
| Annual accounts (private company) | Companies House | 9 months after the financial year end |
| First accounts | Companies House | 21 months after incorporation |
| Corporation Tax payment | HMRC | 9 months and 1 day after year end |
| Company Tax Return (CT600) | HMRC | 12 months after year end |
| Notifying most changes (directors, PSC, address) | Companies House | Usually within 14 days |
What are directors’ legal duties under the Companies Act 2006?
Beyond filing, directors owe seven general duties set out in sections 171 to 177 of the Companies Act 2006. These apply to every director, including directors of small owner-managed companies:
- To act within their powers and the company’s constitution (s.171).
- To promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members (s.172).
- To exercise independent judgment (s.173).
- To exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence (s.174).
- To avoid conflicts of interest (s.175).
- Not to accept benefits from third parties (s.176).
- To declare any interest in a proposed transaction or arrangement (s.177).
Breaching these duties can make a director personally liable to the company. In an insolvency, a liquidator will look closely at whether directors met them, which is why good record-keeping and clear board decisions matter even in the smallest companies.
What is the new Companies House identity verification requirement?
This is the biggest change to UK company law compliance in a generation, and it is in force now. Under ECCTA, identity verification (IDV) became mandatory from 18 November 2025 for all new company directors and people with significant control.
Here is how it works:
- Every director and PSC must verify their identity with Companies House and receive a unique Companies House personal code that links their verified identity to the register.
- For new appointments made on or after 18 November 2025, verification must happen before the appointment is notified.
- For existing (in-post) directors and PSCs, the requirement is being phased in over 12 months, running into late 2026. Existing directors generally need to be verified before filing their first confirmation statement made after 18 November 2025.
- Verification is a one-time process. If you are a director of several companies, or both a director and a PSC, you only verify once.
- Failing to verify can lead to a fine of up to £5,000, and both the individual and the company can face criminal prosecution. A confirmation statement can also be delayed if a director’s code is not available.
If you have not yet verified, do it before your next confirmation statement is due. It is free and can be done through GOV.UK or an authorised agent.
What are the penalties for non-compliance?
Company law compliance is enforced, and the penalties escalate quickly. The most common is the automatic late filing penalty for accounts, which a private company incurs the moment the deadline passes.
| How late the accounts are | Penalty (private company) |
|---|---|
| Up to 1 month | £150 |
| 1 to 3 months | £375 |
| 3 to 6 months | £750 |
| More than 6 months | £1,500 |
These penalties double if you file late two years in a row. Beyond fines, the consequences of ignoring your obligations get serious:
- A missed confirmation statement or accounts filing is a criminal offence. Directors can be prosecuted and personally fined.
- Company strike-off. If Companies House believes a company has stopped trading or ignored its filings, it can start the strike-off process and dissolve the company, which can freeze bank accounts and pass assets to the Crown.
- Director disqualification. Persistent or serious non-compliance can lead to a director being banned for up to 15 years.
The practical point: the cost of staying compliant is tiny next to the cost of getting it wrong.
What changed for company law compliance in 2025 and 2026?
This area is moving fast, and several changes have landed recently:
- Identity verification is now mandatory (from 18 November 2025), as set out above.
- Companies House fees rose again on 1 February 2026. The confirmation statement fee increased from £34 to £50 for digital filing (£110 on paper), with other fees also increasing.
- Company size thresholds rose from 6 April 2025. The monetary thresholds that define a “micro”, “small” or “medium” company were uplifted, so more businesses now qualify for simpler accounts and reporting.
- The planned 2027 accounts reforms have been paused. Proposals to move small and micro companies to software-only filing and to require them to file full profit and loss accounts (removing abridged and filleted options) were paused in January 2026 and are under review, with no replacement date. For now, existing filing options and the Companies House online service remain in place.
Keeping track of these moving parts is exactly where many directors slip up, because the rules they learned when they incorporated may no longer be current.
How can a company law compliance solicitor help?
Accountants handle much of the routine filing, but a commercial solicitor adds value where the legal risk is highest: getting your constitution and statutory registers right, advising directors on their duties, handling share allotments and transfers correctly, resolving PSC and governance questions, and stepping in when Companies House raises a query or threatens strike-off.
At Nouveau Legal we help UK companies stay compliant without the guesswork through our company law compliance service, covering company secretarial support, directors’ duties, shareholder governance and Companies House filings. If you are changing your setup, our guidance on changing the legal structure of your business works hand in hand with keeping your filings in order. For a wider view of how this fits together, see our guide on what commercial solicitors do.
Compliance is not only about Companies House. Two neighbouring obligations trip up UK businesses constantly: data protection, covered in our GDPR compliance checklist for UK small businesses, and having the right paperwork in place, covered in 10 essential legal documents every business needs. Companies with more than one shareholder should also read our guide to the shareholders agreement, which underpins good governance.
Company law compliance checklist
Use this quick reference to sanity-check your position:
- Confirmation statement filed within the last 12 months.
- Annual accounts filed within nine months of year end.
- Corporation Tax paid and CT600 filed on time with HMRC.
- Registered office is an appropriate address and the registered email is current.
- All directors and PSCs have verified their identity with Companies House.
- PSC register and register of members are accurate and up to date.
- Any changes of director, address, shares or PSC reported within 14 days.
- Board decisions and statutory registers properly recorded.
If you cannot tick every box, you have a gap worth closing before a deadline or a penalty finds it first.
Ready to get compliant?
Company law compliance is manageable once someone competent is watching the deadlines and the detail. If you would rather spend your time running the business than tracking Companies House rule changes, talk to Nouveau Legal. We offer clear, fixed-fee commercial legal support for UK startups, SMEs and established companies. Book a call on 0333 335 1235 and we will help you get, and stay, compliant.
Frequently asked questions
What is company law compliance in simple terms? It is keeping your company legally in order: filing your confirmation statement and accounts on time, keeping your registered details and statutory registers up to date, recording your people with significant control, and directors meeting their duties under the Companies Act 2006. The legal responsibility rests with the directors, even when an accountant does the filing.
How often do I need to file a confirmation statement? At least once every 12 months. It is due within 14 days of the end of your review period, and you must file it even if none of your details have changed. From 1 February 2026 the online filing fee is £50.
What happens if my company does not comply? Late accounts trigger automatic penalties from £150 up to £1,500, doubled for a second consecutive year. A missed filing is a criminal offence, the company can be struck off the register, and directors can be disqualified for up to 15 years.
Do directors have to verify their identity with Companies House? Yes. Since 18 November 2025 identity verification is mandatory for new directors and PSCs, and existing directors and PSCs are being brought in over a 12-month transition running into late 2026. Verification is a one-time process, and failing to do it can lead to a fine of up to £5,000 and criminal liability.
Is company law compliance the same as tax compliance? No. Company law compliance covers your obligations to Companies House under the Companies Act 2006 and ECCTA. Tax compliance covers your Corporation Tax and returns to HMRC. Both apply to a limited company, and both have their own deadlines.
Can a solicitor handle company law compliance for me? Yes. A commercial solicitor can manage company secretarial work, advise directors on their duties, handle share and governance matters, and deal with Companies House on your behalf, which is particularly useful when a filing is disputed or a strike-off is threatened.