A private company that files its annual accounts late gets an automatic late filing penalty from Companies House. The amount runs from £150 to £1,500, depending on how late the accounts arrive. It is doubled if you are late two years in a row. Appeals succeed only where the circumstances were exceptional and outside your control.
This guide covers who is liable, what each penalty costs, what happens if you ignore the notice, and how to appeal in the order Companies House requires.
What the late filing penalty applies to
The late filing penalty applies only to accounts. It covers UK registered private companies, public companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs). Size does not matter. Large or small, trading or non-trading, every company must send accounts to Companies House each year. The penalty is automatic. Nobody decides whether to charge it.
A few terms are worth fixing in your mind:
- Accounts are the company's annual financial statements, filed on the public record.
- Accounting reference period is the company's financial year. Your deadline runs from the end of it.
- Delivery means actual receipt at Companies House in the correct format. Posting something is not delivering it.
- The registrar is the registrar of companies. Only the registrar has discretion over whether to collect a penalty.
The directors of a company, or the designated members of an LLP, are personally responsible for delivering the accounts before the time runs out. The penalty itself is imposed on the company.
How this differs from confirmation statements and tax
The penalty scale in this article is for accounts only. A confirmation statement is a separate annual filing, and a late one can bring its own financial penalty and put the company at risk of being struck off. Our guide to the confirmation statement (CS01) covers that filing.
Corporation Tax is a separate matter again. The government guide notes that penalties apply if you do not file your accounts and tax return with Companies House and HMRC on time. The amounts and rules for HMRC's side are set by HMRC, so check them there. Our note on corporation tax rates in 2026 covers the tax itself.
When your accounts are due
You cannot tell whether you are late without knowing the deadline.
| Company | Subsequent accounts | First accounts covering more than 12 months |
|---|---|---|
| Private company or LLP | 9 months after the end of the accounting reference period | 21 months after incorporation, or 3 months after the accounting reference date, whichever is longer |
| Public company | 6 months after the end of the accounting reference period | 18 months after incorporation, or 3 months after the accounting reference date, whichever is longer |
Changing your accounting reference period can shorten the time you have. If you are unsure of your date, Companies House points you to its "Find and update company information" service, which shows when your accounts are due.
Two points catch people out. A deadline that falls on a Sunday or Bank Holiday still stands. And first class post does not guarantee next day delivery, so if your deadline is close, file online or use a guaranteed delivery method.
How much the penalty is
The amount depends on how late the accounts reach Companies House, measured from the date they were due. Here is the scale set out by Companies House:
| How late | Private company or LLP | Public company |
|---|---|---|
| Not more than 1 month | £150 | £750 |
| More than 1 month, up to 3 months | £375 | £1,500 |
| More than 3 months, up to 6 months | £750 | £3,000 |
| More than 6 months | £1,500 | £7,500 |
The doubling rule
If your accounts are late in two successive financial years, the penalty is doubled. That makes a second year of lateness expensive. A private company that is more than six months late for the second year running faces £3,000 rather than £1,500.
A worked example
Take a private company with a year end of 31 December. It has nine months, so the accounts are due on 30 September the following year.
- Accounts delivered on 15 October: about two weeks late, which is within the first month. The penalty is £150.
- Accounts delivered on 15 December: about two and a half months late. The penalty is £375.
- Accounts delivered the following April: more than six months late. The penalty is £1,500.
If the company was also late the year before, each of those figures is doubled: £300, £750 and £3,000.
Companies House gives its own example. A private company with an accounting period ending 30 September 2019 had to deliver by 30 June 2020. Delivered on 15 July 2020, it received a £150 penalty.
Rejected accounts still count
Companies House cannot accept accounts until they meet the requirements of the Companies Act. If the balance sheet is not signed, for example, the accounts are returned for correction. If the corrected version then arrives after the deadline, the company gets a late filing penalty. File as soon as the accounts are complete, and well before the last date, so there is time to fix a mistake.
How you find out and how to pay
If you deliver late, Companies House automatically issues a penalty notice to the company's registered office address. The notice shows the last date for filing, the date your accounts were filed and the level of penalty.
That detail matters for a practical reason. Post sent to a registered office is easy to miss, especially if the address is an accountant's or a former home. Make sure someone checks it.
For penalties that arose on or after 30 March 2020, you can usually pay online through Companies House. If you cannot pay in one go, Companies House will normally accept monthly instalments over a short period. You must contact them, explain why you cannot pay immediately, and ask. Do not simply stop paying.
What happens if you do not pay
Unpaid penalties are passed to debt collection agencies, and Companies House's legal representatives can take the matter on. The case is decided in the County Court or, in Scotland, the Sheriff Court. You can file a defence. If the court finds in favour of the registrar, Companies House may seek to recover its legal costs on top.
Separately, not filing accounts or a confirmation statement is a criminal offence. Directors or LLP designated members can be personally fined in the criminal courts. Companies House is clear that criminal proceedings are separate from, and in addition to, the late filing penalties. The registrar can also take steps to strike the company off the register.
If a struck-off company is restored to the register, it does not pay penalties for the period it was dissolved. It does pay unpaid penalties on accounts delivered late before dissolution, and penalties on accounts delivered on restoration if they were already overdue when the company was dissolved.
Can you appeal?
Yes, but be realistic. Companies House says an appeal will only succeed if the circumstances are exceptional. The registrar has very limited discretion. It may apply when an unforeseen event happens at a critical time, such as a fire destroying your records a few days before the deadline.
To appeal, you need to:
- give a specific reason for filing late
- include every relevant detail, including dates and times
- prove the circumstances were out of your control
Reasons that usually fail
Companies House says an appeal is unlikely to succeed if it rests on these alone:
- the company is dormant
- you cannot afford to pay
- your accountant was ill, or you relied on your accountant
- these are your first accounts
- you are not familiar with the filing requirements
- the company or its directors have financial difficulties, including bankruptcy
- the accounts were delayed or lost in the post
- the directors live, or were travelling, overseas
- another director or LLP member was responsible for the accounts
- the company is a charity or a flat management company
That last point matters for charity-run companies. Charitable status is not a reason to cancel a penalty. A company that is a charity must meet the same filing deadline as any other.
An honest reading of that list is that most real-life reasons for lateness are on it. Directors tend to be busy, and accountants do fall ill. The rule exists because the duty to file sits with the directors, whoever does the typing.
How to appeal, step by step
- Find the penalty notice. Note the penalty reference on it. You should quote it.
- Write down what happened. Set out the specific event, with dates and times, and why it was outside your control.
- Attach evidence. For a fire, that might be an insurance claim or a fire service report. Think about what would convince a stranger who has never heard of your company.
- Send it in writing. Companies House says the safest and quickest way is email to enquiries@companieshouse.gov.uk. You can also post it to the address on the notice. If you cannot apply in writing, you can phone 0303 1234 500.
- Wait for the decision. Companies House will not collect the penalty while it considers your appeal.
If you have a disability or a health condition that makes appealing hard, Companies House can provide accessibility support.
This guide cannot tell you how long the decision will take for your case, so keep your notice and your correspondence together.
If your appeal is rejected
There is a set order, and you must follow it. Otherwise the registrar will not review your appeal.
- Senior casework manager. If you have additional information to support your case, write to the senior casework manager in the Late Filing Penalties Department. This is at the Companies House office that deals with your account, in Cardiff, Edinburgh or Belfast.
- Independent adjudicators. If that fails, ask the independent adjudicators to review the case. Do not contact them until you have heard from the senior casework team.
- The registrar. If the adjudicators also refuse, you can make a final application to the Registrar of Companies at the office that deals with your account.
Be clear about the limits. Parliament decided that discretion rests solely with the registrar. The adjudicators cannot force the registrar to reverse a decision to collect a penalty. A fresh appeal with no new information is unlikely to change the outcome.
How to avoid the next penalty
- Put the deadline in your diary with a reminder well ahead of it.
- Register for email reminders from Companies House.
- Instruct your accountant early and remind them of the filing date. They prepare the accounts, but the legal duty remains yours.
- File early. Deliver accounts as soon as they are complete, so a rejection for a simple error does not turn into a penalty.
- Ask for more time before the deadline, not after. If an unforeseen event may make you late, you can apply for an extension while the deadline has not yet passed. Companies House grants one only if the reasons are exceptional.
If you are a director, also bear in mind that new identity checks for directors are part of staying in good standing with Companies House.
For contractors running their own limited company, we prepare accounts and tax for contractor limited companies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the late filing penalty the same for every company?
No. A private company or LLP pays £150 to £1,500. A public company pays £750 to £7,500. The amount rises the later the accounts arrive, and it doubles if you were also late the year before.
Does a dormant company have to pay it?
Yes. Being dormant is on the list of reasons that are unlikely to win an appeal on their own.
Will Companies House collect the penalty while my appeal is considered?
No. Companies House says it will not collect the penalty while it considers your appeal.
Can I pay in instalments?
Usually, yes. Companies House will normally accept monthly instalments over a short period, but you must contact it and explain why you cannot pay at once.
Is my accountant responsible if they filed late?
Not as far as Companies House is concerned. Blaming your accountant is on the list of reasons unlikely to succeed. The directors are personally responsible for delivering the accounts.