30 September filing deadline for accounts

It’s easier to file your accounts online.

Find out how to get your company authentication code, which you’ll need to file online. It’s sent by post to the company’s registered office and can take up to 5 days to arrive.

What are annual accounts?

You can watch our annual accounts video with captions on YouTube (1m 45s).

File early and file online

File online before your deadline and we’ll send you an email to confirm we’ve received your accounts. We’ll send you another email when we’ve registered your accounts.

It can take as little as 15 minutes from start to finish and you’ll know your accounts have been delivered on time.

If you’re a small company, you cannot file abbreviated accounts any more. Find out your accounts filing options for small companies.

You’ll still need to file accounts if your company is dormant.

Avoid rejections

Our online filing service has inbuilt checks to help you avoid mistakes.

Accounts filed on paper need to be manually checked. We can only check them during office opening hours, and they can take over a week to process.

If you have to file paper accounts, you may want to use a guaranteed next day delivery service. Send your accounts well before the deadline in case you need time to resubmit them. If your accounts are rejected and you need to resend them, you could be too late to avoid a penalty.

Postal delays will not be accepted as an excuse for late filing.

Our online services

Our online services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Check your company is registered for online filing and you’re able to file your accounts on the service.

Filing accounts at our offices

Our Cardiff office is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can receive documents during the holiday period. Our London and Edinburgh offices have a letterbox for out of hours deliveries. Our Belfast office can only accept documents during opening hours.

Further information

Find out more about our WebFiling service and the company authentication code you’ll need to file online.

GOV.UK has information about how to prepare your accounts.

We have further guidance on accounts and late filing penalties.

If you cannot file your accounts on time, email enquiries@companieshouse.gov.uk as soon as possible. Include your company name, number and the reasons you need an extension.