Companies House has robust plans in place to maintain services for our customers and protect the welfare of our employees during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
From: Companies House
Contents
- Contacting Companies House
- How to send your documents to us
- How to get the company authentication code
- More time to file accounts and other information
- Changes to strike-off policy and late filing penalties
- Access to our offices
- Document orders
- Repurchase of shares (SH03) and schemes of arrangement
- Same day services
- Secure and suppression applications
- Suppliers
- More information
In response to the spread of the virus, we’re closely following government guidelines. The situation is dynamic and is changing quickly, and we’re continuing to monitor and adapt our services accordingly.
Contacting Companies House
Our telephone contact line will reopen from 8:30am on Friday 24 July.
You can also email [email protected] and we’ll answer as soon as possible.
How to send your documents to us
At Companies House, our priority is to protect the welfare of our employees during the coronavirus outbreak. We may not be able to process paper documents as quickly as we have done previously.
As part of our response to coronavirus, we’ve introduced a temporary service to send us your documents.
Upload a document to Companies House
Our latest release of the service allows users to upload:
- administration
- receivership
- liquidation
- company voluntary arrangement (CVA)
- winding up
See the full list of documents you can upload to Companies House.
We’re continually working to improve the service. As this service is updated, it will include more document types and features such as acknowledgments and payments.
For more information, see Sending your forms to Companies House during the coronavirus outbreak.
File online
You should use our existing online services to:
See the full list of documents you can send to us online.
How to get the company authentication code
You can request to have your code sent to your home address or your registered office address.
Send to a home address
If you are unable to access your company’s registered office address, you can request to have your authentication code sent to your home address instead.
This is a temporary service in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Send to a registered office address
Request your code now. It’s sent by post to your company’s registered office and can take up to 5 days to arrive.
Watch our video to see how easy it is to register and order your code.
If you’re new to the service, you’ll need to:
-
Select ‘Request an authentication code’.
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Enter your company registration number.
-
Select ‘Request code’.
For more information, see Company authentication codes for online filing.
More time to file accounts and other information
On 25 June 2020, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 received royal assent.
Some of the measures in the Act came into effect immediately on Friday 26 June. Other measures came into effect on Saturday 27 June when the secondary legislation came into force.
The measures introduced by the Act will relieve the burden on businesses during the coronavirus outbreak and allow them to focus all their efforts on continuing to operate.
Companies and other types of business registered at Companies House will get more time to file accounts and other information. We are in the process of updating all deadlines on Companies House service.
We’ll update your filing deadline automatically. You do not need to apply for an extension.
See our guidance on the temporary changes to Companies House filing requirements.
Changes to strike-off policy and late filing penalties
We understand that this is a difficult time and we’re committed to supporting businesses who may be struggling with their filing requirements during the coronavirus outbreak.
We’ll continue to write to companies who are late filing their annual accounts or confirmation statement and help them bring their record up to date.
For a temporary period, we will:
- ease strike off activity
- treat late filing penalty appeals sympathetically - if the late delivery of accounts was caused by the coronavirus outbreak
- provide a break for companies to pay late filing penalties
- provide additional support with payment plans for late filing penalties
From 1 June 2020, there will be an exception to the suspension of strike off activity. In cases where our law enforcement partners have concluded that companies are no longer in operation following an investigation, the registrar will continue with strike off action for those companies.
Applications for voluntary strike off (DS01)
This temporary measure will be lifted from 10 September 2020. From this date, we’ll restart the process for companies who have applied for voluntary strike off.
Strike off by the registrar
From 10 October 2020, we’ll resume the compulsory strike off process for companies we believe are no longer carrying on business or in operation.
Late filing penalties
If you do not apply for an extension before your filing deadline, and your accounts have been filed late, an automatic penalty will be imposed. The registrar has very limited discretion to not collect a penalty.
Paying your penalty
You can pay your penalty by BACS.
We’re not able to take credit card payments over the telephone.
LFP appeals
Each appeal is treated on a case-by-case basis, and we already have policies in place to deal with appeals based upon unforeseen poor health. We’ll consider appeals based upon coronavirus under these policies.
So we can process your appeals as quickly as possible - send your appeal form to us by email.
See our guidance on late filing penalties and appeals for more information.
Access to our offices
There are restrictions to public access to our offices and the delivery of paper documents. It’s also taking longer than usual to process paper forms because of coronavirus.
Use our online services to update your information as quickly as possible.
Belfast office
You can deliver any paper documents, in a sealed envelope, to the reception desk on the ground floor of The Linenhall (Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm excluding holidays). We are still accepting deliveries from Royal Mail.
We cannot produce receipts or proof of delivery.
Edinburgh office
You can deliver any paper documents to the Companies House letterbox next to the office building.
We are still accepting deliveries from Royal Mail (except Wednesdays) and DX post. Documents are still being processed daily.
London office
There is no public access or letterbox at our London office.
You must send all mail directly to our Cardiff office:
Companies House
Crown Way
Cardiff
CF14 3UZ
Document orders
We have suspended our service to order:
- older documents, which are not shown on Companies House Direct (CHD)
- DVD-ROM and archived documents
Repurchase of shares (SH03) and schemes of arrangement
HMRC has introduced an electronic service to temporarily replace their usual Stamp Duty process.
Find out how to pay Stamp Duty and more information about Stamp Duty on shares.
Your SH03 form is normally sent to HMRC for stamping if the purchase is above the duty payable threshold. You’ll still need to send your form to HMRC - they will issue your company with a letter instead of stamping the form.
Companies House will accept and register an unstamped SH03 form if it’s accompanied by the letter from HMRC confirming that the correct duty has been paid.
We will also accept and register court orders sanctioning schemes of arrangement which are accompanied by either:
- the letter from HMRC confirming that the correct duty has been paid
- a letter from HMRC confirming that no duty is payable
The letter will not appear on the public register.
Same day services
We have suspended all our same day services until further notice.
Secure and suppression applications
Removing your home address from the public register (SR01)
To register your application as quickly as possible, you can:
- pay the correct fee online
- email your completed form and payment reference to [email protected]
See the form SR01 page for full instructions on how to complete your application.
You can still send your application by post with a cheque or postal order - but there may be a delay.
Restricting the disclosure of your information
So we can protect your details as quickly as possible, you must apply online to protect your details from being disclosed on the Companies House public register.
For more information, see our guidance on restricting the disclosure of your information.
Suppliers
Do not send us paper invoices by post. It’s taking longer than usual to process paper invoices because of coronavirus.
Email your PDF invoices to [email protected] - this will help us process your invoices as quickly as possible.
More information
Guidance: Online filing and email reminders for companies
Guidance: Filing your company’s accounts
Coronavirus (COVID-19): what you need to do
COVID-19: guidance for employers and businesses
Coronavirus (COVID-19): Business support
Published 18 March 2020
Last updated 10 August 2020
Companies House to resume the compulsory strike off process from 10 October 2020.
Our telephone contact line will reopen from 8:30am on Friday 24 July.
Upload a document service updated with the latest release to allow a selection of insolvency forms.
Users can request to have the authentication code sent to a home address instead of the company's registered office. This is a temporary service in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
From 10 September 2020, we’ll restart the process for companies who have applied for voluntary strike off.
The latest release of the Upload a document service is now live. It will allow users to upload more form types, including Scottish limited and qualifying partnerships, articles and resolutions.
Link added to guidance for private companies and other company types on the changes that came into effect on Saturday 27 June.
The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 came into effect on 26 June 2020. Companies and other types of business registered at Companies House will get more time to file accounts. Link added to guidance.
Users can now file their change of constitution forms using the temporary Upload a document to Companies House service.
From 1 June 2020, there will be an exception to the suspension of strike off activity. In cases where our law enforcement partners have concluded that companies are no longer in operation following an investigation, the registrar will continue with strike off action for those companies.
Changes to strike-off policy and late filing penalties to be reviewed from 1 June 2020.
Emergency filing service v1 now available. LLP versions of registrar's powers forms added to the service.
Emergency filing service now available for a selection of registrar's powers documents.
Guidance added about changes to strike-off policy and late filing penalties.
New HRMC process for SH03 stamp duty.
Contact centre closed. Advice for accounts extensions updated.
Guidance for secure and suppression applications.
Belfast office closing to the public from 5pm on Wednesday 18 March.
First published.
