Quick summary
The annual return (form AR01) was replaced by the confirmation statement (CS01) on 30 June 2016. They are not two different filings, and you do not have to do both. If your building's paperwork, articles or handover notes still refer to an annual return, they predate the change and are describing the same annual obligation under its old name.
Old paperwork in freehold companies has a long half-life. A folder assembled when the building was converted in 2009 will confidently instruct the next generation of directors to file an annual return, and there is no annual return to file.
It is the same job under a different name, with a few real differences underneath.
What actually changed in 2016
The annual return was a snapshot: you restated the company's details in full every year, whether or not anything had moved.
The confirmation statement is a confirmation: you are telling Companies House that what it already holds is correct. If something has changed, you file the specific form for that change, then confirm.
That sounds like a small distinction. In practice it changes the order you do things in, which is the bit people get wrong.
The order that trips people up
Under the old annual return you could report a new director as part of the return itself. Under the confirmation statement you generally cannot.
A director appointment goes on an AP01. A resignation goes on a TM01. A change of address goes on an AD01. You file those first, and the confirmation statement then confirms the corrected picture.
The exception is shareholder and PSC information, which is still reported through the confirmation statement rather than a separate form. Share transfers in particular are not filed at Companies House at the time they happen; they surface on the next confirmation statement, which is why the register of members has to be right before you file. See transferring a share when a flat is sold and the one register you still have to keep.
What has been added since
The confirmation statement has picked up requirements the annual return never had:
- A registered email address, mandatory since March 2024.
- A lawful purpose statement, confirming the company's intended future activities are lawful.
- Identity verification for directors and PSCs, with an 11 character personal code, under the ECCTA reforms. We covered that in what ECCTA means for share of freehold directors.
So a handover note from 2015 gets more than the name wrong. It is missing three things that will stop you filing.
If your articles mention the annual return
Plenty of freehold company articles drafted before 2016 refer to it. That does not create an obligation to file something that no longer exists, and it does not make your articles invalid.
It is a dated reference, not a live requirement. Put a note in the board minutes so the next person does not go looking for a form that was retired a decade ago.
What you actually file now
One confirmation statement a year, £50 digitally, within 14 days of your review period ending. The mechanics are in how to file a CS01 for a share of freehold company, the timing is in when is your confirmation statement due, and the separate question of annual accounts, which is a genuinely different filing, is in confirmation statement vs annual accounts.
Frequently asked questions
Do I still need to file an annual return?
No. The annual return was abolished on 30 June 2016 and replaced by the confirmation statement. There is no separate annual return to file, and Companies House will not accept one.
Is the confirmation statement the same as the annual return?
It serves the same annual purpose but works differently. The annual return restated the company's details; the confirmation statement confirms that the details Companies House already holds are correct, with changes filed on their own forms first.
Our company's articles still refer to the annual return. Does that matter?
No. It is a dated reference in a document drafted before the change, not a live obligation. Your company files a confirmation statement.