If you run your business through a limited company, you are personally responsible for getting its accounts and confirmation statement to Companies House on time, the registrar said on 6 August as it revealed that 23 directors had been disqualified in the first six months of 2026 for “persistent or serious non-compliance” with their filing duties.
The bans ranged from six months to five years and added up to 70 years, according to figures published by Companies House. The bans came after the directors were convicted of criminal offences for not filing annual accounts or confirmation statements. The courts also fined the 23 directors £17,810 between them: £15,600 for not filing accounts and £2,200 for not filing confirmation statements, the registrar said.
Between January and March, 360 directors of 332 companies were convicted of filing offences. Companies House said 355 of those convictions related to accounts, carrying fines totalling £129,970, and 157 related to confirmation statements, with fines of £53,300, while the registrar received £31,075 in costs. The two sets of fines come to more than £180,000.
Martin Swain, Companies House’s director of intelligence and law enforcement engagement, said: “Limited liability encourages enterprise, giving businesses the confidence to start, invest and grow.”
He added: “In return, they are expected to be transparent and accountable. We encourage and support companies to comply with their legal obligations to file accounts and confirmation statements. Prosecution ensures that where there has been a serious breach of the law, individuals are held to account.”
What the law requires
Every company must file annual accounts and a confirmation statement under the Companies Act 2006. Where accounts arrive late, Companies House imposes an automatic penalty on the company. Failure to file is a criminal offence, and every director of the company risks prosecution for it.
Companies House said it takes enforcement decisions in line with its published enforcement policy, and that it prosecutes only where there is sufficient evidence and where doing so is in the public interest.
Wider changes to the register
The prosecutions come as the registrar introduces reforms under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, intended to make the register more accurate after years of criticism that it was open to abuse. Mandatory identity verification for new directors and people with significant control began in November 2025, and weekly company registrations then fell by around 30 per cent, according to Business Matters.
A further change for the smallest companies arrives in April 2028. From then, about two million small and micro companies, defined as those with up to 50 employees or revenues of up to £15m, will have to file profit and loss information at Companies House for the first time. After small firms and business groups objected to the plans, companies will be able to choose to keep that information out of public view.
The government has said the profit and loss statements would be available for review by “law enforcement and HMRC” to tackle “fraud, economic crime and tax evasion”. HMRC’s most recent tax gap estimate puts unpaid tax at £59.2bn for 2024-25, with small businesses making up the largest share.
