Companies House filings explained: a non-accountant’s guide

The UK register is not designed to be read. Companies House publishes over 12 million filings a year in a filing-code shorthand — AA, CS01, TM01, MR04 — and lets you download the PDFs for free. The information is all there. The interpretation is not.

This guide translates every filing you are likely to see on a live UK company, in the order of how much they actually tell you. If you are running credit checks, onboarding suppliers, or trying to work out whether a company is quietly winding down, this is the reading order.

The one-minute mental model

Every UK limited company has to do three things on the register each year:

1. Confirm who it is — the confirmation statement (CS01).
2. Show the numbers — the annual accounts (AA / AA02 for dormant).
3. Report change — director, address, shareholder, PSC, charge, share issue, name change.

Everything else is either a variation on those three or an insolvency event. The pattern of filings — timing, frequency, gaps — tells you more than any single form ever will.

Confirmation statement (CS01)

An annual snapshot of who runs and owns the company, plus the SIC codes it trades under. Every UK company must file one within 14 days of the anniversary of its incorporation (or the previous statement).

What to look for:

• Overdue CS01 — Companies House will begin strike-off proceedings after roughly 6 months, but the company is legally non-compliant from day one.
• SIC code changes — a "management consultancy" that quietly adds "wholesale of alcoholic drinks" is worth a question.
• Shareholder shuffles just before a large contract or a bank facility.

Annual accounts (AA, AA02, full accounts)

The deadline is 9 months after the accounting reference date for a private company (6 months for public). Late filing triggers an automatic penalty:

How late	Private company fine	Public company fine
Up to 1 month	£150	£750
1–3 months	£375	£1,500
3–6 months	£750	£3,000
More than 6 months	£1,500	£7,500

Penalties double if accounts are late in two consecutive years. Persistent lateness ends in a compulsory strike-off notice in the London Gazette.

Reading a set of micro-entity accounts

Around 70% of active UK companies file micro-entity accounts. They are legally allowed to be almost useless: a balance sheet, the notes required by FRS 105, and nothing else — no P&L, no turnover, no employee count. What you can still learn:

• Net assets — if this line is negative, the company owes more than it owns.
• Cash at bank — sometimes disclosed as part of current assets.
• Called-up share capital — a company trading on £1 of capital has no buffer.
• Comparatives — the previous year sits next to the current one. Direction of travel matters more than any single number.

Officer changes — AP01, TM01, CH01, AP03, TM02

• AP01 — appointment of a director (AP02 for corporate directors).
• TM01 — termination of a director (resignation or removal).
• CH01 — change of a director's details (usually address).
• AP03 / TM02 — the same, for company secretaries.

The classic warning pattern: two or three TM01s within a month, an AP01 appointing a single new director with no prior UK filings, then radio silence. This is often a control transfer ahead of an insolvency or a phoenix.

PSC filings (PSC01–PSC09)

PSC = Person of Significant Control — anyone holding more than 25% of shares or voting rights, or otherwise exercising significant influence. There are nine filing variants:

• PSC01 — notice of an individual PSC.
• PSC02 — a relevant legal entity as PSC.
• PSC04–PSC06 — changes to existing PSCs.
• PSC07 — ceasing to be a PSC.
• PSC08 — company has no PSCs.
• PSC09 — company has not yet completed PSC investigation.

A live trading company still sitting on PSC09 a year after incorporation is a red flag — it says either the beneficial owner is unclear or the paperwork is being deliberately delayed.

Charges — MR01, MR02, MR04

A charge is security registered over the company's assets, usually for a loan or an invoice-finance facility.

• MR01 — a charge has been created.
• MR02 — extension of the 21-day registration period.
• MR04 — the charge has been satisfied (paid off) in full or part.

Why this matters if you are extending credit: registered charges give the lender priority over unsecured creditors (you) in an insolvency. A company with multiple outstanding charges plus late accounts is one you invoice with a much shorter payment window.

Share capital — SH01, SH02, SH03

• SH01 — allotment of new shares. Usually a capital injection, occasionally a founder issuing themselves more equity to dilute a co-founder.
• SH02 — sub-division or consolidation of shares.
• SH03 — buyback of a company's own shares.

Insolvency and strike-off

• DS01 — voluntary strike-off application by the directors.
• Gazette first notice — Companies House publishes a compulsory strike-off intent in the London Gazette after persistent non-filing. You have two months to object.
• NOTICE, LIQ02, LIQ13 — appointment of liquidators, statements of affairs, meetings of creditors.

A DS01 filed while the company still owes money is a criminal offence for the directors. If you spot one on a supplier who owes you an invoice, object at Companies House immediately.

A quick reference table

Filing	What it is	Deadline
CS01	Confirmation statement	14 days after review date
AA / AA02	Annual accounts	9 months after year-end (private)
AP01 / AP02	Appoint director	14 days
TM01 / TM02	Remove officer	14 days
CH01	Director details change	14 days
PSC01–09	PSC changes	14 days
MR01 / MR04	Charge created / satisfied	21 days from creation
SH01	Share allotment	1 month
DS01	Voluntary strike-off	N/A

Reading a filing history in five minutes

1. Scroll to the earliest filings. Is incorporation recent? Under two years of trading history is a real risk factor.
2. Look for CS01 and AA cadence — one of each per year, roughly on time. Gaps or clusters are the story.
3. Count officer changes in the last 24 months. More than three is unusual for a small company.
4. Check for outstanding MR01s with no matching MR04. Search "mortgages" on the filing page.
5. Scan for anything with the word "strike-off", "notice", "liquidation", or "administration".

Frequently asked questions

How long does Companies House keep filings?

Indefinitely for active companies. Dissolved company records are retained for 20 years, then transferred to The National Archives.

Can I trust Companies House data?

Broadly yes for structural data (dates, filings, officers) which is time-stamped and evidenced. Content data (addresses, PSCs, accounts figures) is self-reported and only lightly checked. The 2024 Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act gave Companies House new powers to reject and remove suspicious filings, but the register still contains errors and outright fraud.

What does "accounts overdue" actually mean for creditors?

It is the single strongest public signal that a company is in trouble. HMRC, banks, and credit-reference agencies all downgrade a company the moment accounts pass the deadline. If a supplier's accounts are overdue, tighten your terms immediately.

What is the difference between a confirmation statement and annual accounts?

The confirmation statement is about who — the directors, shareholders, PSCs, and registered address. The accounts are about what — the financial position. They are separate filings with separate deadlines and separate penalties.

How do I object to a strike-off?

Email enquiries@companieshouse.gov.uk with the company number, the reason (unpaid debt, ongoing legal action, ongoing employment), and any evidence. Companies House will pause the strike-off while the objection is live.

Stop translating filings in your head

CompanyCheckr labels every filing on the timeline in plain English — "director resigned", "charge registered", "accounts overdue", "PSC unknown" — and colour-codes the ones that historically precede failures. Cross-reference this guide with the accounts red-flags guide and how to spot a phoenix company.

Run a free check on any UK company to see the timeline for yourself, or create a watchlist account to get an email the moment a filing you care about lands on the register.