File accounts at Companies House: routes and deadlines

Ways to file accounts at Companies House

Most limited companies and LLPs can use commercial software to file accounts, and many limited companies can also file online. ^[2]

Whether the accounts are ready to file may depend on in-house bookkeeping or on business accounting services that prepare them for the directors.

From 1 April 2028, a company that currently files using WebFiling will need to use commercial software to file accounts with Companies House. The same applies from 1 April 2028 to a company that currently files on paper, and paper accounts can no longer be filed by post from that date.

A dormant company that has not traded since incorporation can also file a paper form AA02, but paper documents take much longer to process and the form is not suitable for every dormant company.

What the accounts contain, who approves them and who signs the balance sheet is covered in the guide to preparing company accounts.

When must accounts be filed at Companies House?

Unless it is filing its first accounts, a private company normally has 9 months from its accounting reference date to deliver acceptable accounts to Companies House, and a public company has 6 months. ^[1]

For example, a private company with an accounting reference date of 4 April has until midnight on 4 January of the following year to deliver its accounts (not 31 January).

It does not matter if the filing deadline falls on a Sunday or bank holiday, because the accounts still have to be filed by that date. A company can check when its accounts are due by searching for it on Find and update company information, and it can register for email reminders from Companies House.

The Company Tax Return goes to HMRC separately, and the guide to the Company Tax Return deadline covers it.

How the accounting reference date sets the year

A financial year is usually a 12 month period for which accounts are prepared. For an existing company, the financial year starts on the day after the previous financial year ended.

A company can choose to make up its accounts to the accounting reference date or to a date up to 7 days either side of it.

For a company incorporated on 6 April 2025, the first accounting reference date would be 30 April 2026 and 30 April for every following year.

Filing a new company's first accounts

First accounts that cover more than 12 months follow a different period from later years. A private company must deliver them within 21 months of the date of incorporation, or 3 months from the accounting reference date, whichever is longer.

For example, a private company incorporated on 1 January 2025 with an accounting reference date of 31 January has until midnight on 1 October 2026 to deliver its accounts.

For a public company with first accounts covering more than 12 months, the period is 18 months from the date of incorporation, or 3 months from the accounting reference date, whichever is longer.

If the first accounts cover a period of 12 months or less, the normal times allowed for delivering accounts apply.

What if the accounting date changes?

A company can change the current or the immediately previous accounting reference date to extend or shorten the period. It can file the change online, use software or send a paper form AA01 to Companies House, and it must do this before the filing deadline of the accounts for the period it wants to change.

If the accounts are already overdue, it is too late to change the date. If the new filing deadline has already passed when the change is made, the company gets an automatic late filing penalty, and any extension to the filing deadline for the changed period no longer applies.

Currently, a company can shorten an accounting reference period as often as it likes, and by as many months as it likes. From 1 April 2028, it will need to give a business reason to shorten the period more than once in 5 years.

A period cannot be extended so that it lasts more than 18 months from the start date of the accounting period, unless the company is in administration. If the accounting reference period is changed, the filing time may be reduced, so a company may want to check the effect on its filing date first.

Can a company get more time to file?

A company can apply to extend its accounts deadline if it cannot send its accounts because of an event outside its control, for example an unexpected illness or a fire that has destroyed company records a few days before the filing deadline. ^[3]

The application, or the filing of the accounts, has to be made before the filing deadline, otherwise a late filing penalty may follow.

A company may not be eligible if it has already extended its accounts deadline, because the law only allows a maximum filing period of 12 months.

Can an accountant file the accounts?

Companies do not have to use a professional accountant to prepare accounts, but directors must be aware of their legal responsibilities.

A company can give its accountant or tax adviser its Companies House authentication code so that they can file the accounts, and it can appoint an agent to file its Company Tax Return. ^[4]

Late filing penalties and director responsibility

A penalty is automatically imposed if the accounts are late. The level of the late filing penalty depends on how late the accounts reach Companies House, and delivery means actual receipt at Companies House in the correct format.

The late filing penalty will be doubled if accounts are filed late in 2 successive financial years (beginning on or after 6 April 2008).

A director is personally responsible for delivering the accounts before the time allowed runs out. Not filing accounts or confirmation statements is a criminal offence, and directors could be personally fined.