New Companies House fees announced

[eteb3]

Possibly well-trailed, but first time I'm seeing the figures:

Changes to Companies House fees

From 1 February 2026, some of our fees will be changing.

changestoukcompanylaw.campaign.gov.uk

Confirmation statement £34, so empty dormant companies just got a bit less attractive.

Guessing the other fees aren't going to make a huge difference to a profit-making business?

 

[Mark T Jones]

I welcome them, with the big caveat that Companies House actually up their game

 

[eteb3]

Absolutely agree. The new regs are great, might stop us being Europe's laundromat, but the dog needs to bite as well as bark.

 

[WaveJumper]

Pretty steep increases and not sure totally justified certainly with current level of service and pressures already on small businesses. £34 for an online confirmation statement seems way over the top if anything for the time it takes you to do it should be free

 

[Ozzy]

Pretty steep increases and not sure totally justified certainly with current level of service and pressures already on small businesses.

I have a different view in that if paying £34 once a year is a problem for the business then it has a problem, and they have new powers coming in that will change the way that Companies House interact and what they now can do comes at extra cost.
I also felt that starting a company in the UK was too cheap.

 

[DWS]

I have a different view in that if paying £34 once a year is a problem for the business then it has a problem, and they have new powers coming in that will change the way that Companies House interact and what they now can do comes at extra cost.
I also felt that starting a company in the UK was too cheap.

I agree with what you are saying but as an Accountant I include the confirmation statement as part of my services, the majority of the Ltd Companies that I look after pay me monthly and the existing £13 is just included as the fee is so low and it takes little time to do.
I now have the issue of an extra £21 per Company that I have to either raise the monthly fee or absorb the cost myself, I personally will probably just absorb the cost as I value my clients more than having to charge them an additional £21 per year but I will have to include this increase when taking on future clients.
There will be a lot of accountants who will be raising their fees.

 

[Newchodge]

I agree with what you are saying but as an Accountant I include the confirmation statement as part of my services, the majority of the Ltd Companies that I look after pay me monthly and the existing £13 is just included as the fee is so low and it takes little time to do.
I now have the issue of an extra £21 per Company that I have to either raise the monthly fee or absorb the cost myself, I personally will probably just absorb the cost as I value my clients more than having to charge them an additional £21 per year but I will have to include this increase when taking on future clients.
There will be a lot of accountants who will be raising their fees.

Possibly some by more than the £21 involved?

 

[Ozzy]

There will be a lot of accountants who will be raising their fees.

I envisage this too, and I see the issue with it but I also see the issue with many people starting businesses without enough planning and finance in place. With the cost of starting and running a business I expect there to be less speculative company formations, and companies being formed for birthday presents, etc. I don't think that is a bad thing as those that do start will be better prepared and planned, I think.

 

[Newchodge]

I envisage this too, and I see the issue with it but I also see the issue with many people starting businesses without enough planning and finance in place. With the cost of starting and running a business I expect there to be less speculative company formations, and companies being formed for birthday presents, etc. I don't think that is a bad thing as those that do start will be better prepared and planned, I think.

I agree, but you could achieve that rather better by having incorporation fees in the low hundreds, and annual renewals at a lower price.

 

[Mark T Jones]

I agree with what you are saying but as an Accountant I include the confirmation statement as part of my services, the majority of the Ltd Companies that I look after pay me monthly and the existing £13 is just included as the fee is so low and it takes little time to do.
I now have the issue of an extra £21 per Company that I have to either raise the monthly fee or absorb the cost myself, I personally will probably just absorb the cost as I value my clients more than having to charge them an additional £21 per year but I will have to include this increase when taking on future clients.
There will be a lot of accountants who will be raising their fees.

£2 per month, with visible justification - is that really a problem?

If accounts use it as an opportunity to raise fees further, it's a discussion between them and their clients. I'm struggling to see any problem at all with these numbers - Again with the caveat that CH actually delivers.

I'm anticipating that we will see a huge reduction in pointless registrations- whether that's ideas that never happen or tenuous name protection, plus a drift back to sole trader and partnerships, which is often the sensible option for start ups.

 

[eteb3]

I agree, but you could achieve that rather better by having incorporation fees in the low hundreds, and annual renewals at a lower price.

In France you have to take your business plan to the notaire publique, and convince him/her that it’s a viable business. The subscribers are also personally liable if the company goes belly up within a few years, iirc.

The French I’ve met over here can hardly believe their ears when you tell them how to form a company

 

[WaveJumper]

Agree for many a company not a problem, however for many a smaller business having several similar company names registered and laying dormant in a bid to ring fence their main business a rise in cost from £13 to £34 in my view is totally excessive.

What are CH actually doing for an online updated confirmation statement are they actually checking each application ?

 

[japancool]

ring fence their main business

Ring fence their main business how exactly?

 

[Ozzy]

What are CH actually doing for an online updated confirmation statement are they actually checking each application ?

They are meant to be checking all the people on the confirmation statement have had their ID checked to be real people, that they are not someone else who has had their ID stolen, that the company activities are legitimate and the company is trading lawfully in the trade sector it claims to be in.

 

[japancool]

They are meant to be checking all the people on the confirmation statement have had their ID checked to be real people, that they are not someone else who has had their ID stolen, that the company activities are legitimate and the company is trading lawfully in the trade sector it claims to be in.

So what's going to happen when the next confirmation statements are filed? All the people who are currently on confirmations statements won't have had their IDs checked yet.

 

[Ozzy]

So what's going to happen when the next confirmation statements are filed? All the people who are currently on confirmations statements won't have had their IDs checked yet.

Correct. I don;t' know if the plan is for CH to work through the entire database in bulk or to do them as the CS01's come in. My advice to them and in my public consultation response was to work through the gradually as CS01's come in, but I think Government has said no do them all in bulk immediately (which will be a mare).
I don't know what they will do until they announce it, but it will be one of those.

 

[japancool]

but I think Government has said no do them all in bulk immediately (which will be a mare).

Aha. The government "taking action" and "cracking down on fraud".