Twenty three company directors were disqualified in the first 6 months of this year for persistent or serious non-compliance with their responsibilities
All companies must file annual accounts and a confirmation statement in accordance with the Companies Act 2006. Directors are personally responsible for ensuring these documents are delivered on time.
Where accounts are filed late, Companies House automatically imposes statutory late filing penalties. For persistent or serious non-compliance, Companies House has a range of enforcement powers, including financial penalties and criminal prosecution.
Enforcement Action in 2026
Companies House has successfully prosecuted hundreds of directors for non-filing offences between January and June 2026:
- following conviction, 23 directors were disqualified for persistent or serious non-compliance with their filing requirements
- these directors were disqualified for a combined total of 70 years, with disqualifications ranging from 6 months to 5 years
- courts also issued these 23 directors with fines totalling £17,810, including £15,600 for non-filing of accounts and £2,200 for non-filing of confirmation statements
Limited liability encourages enterprise, giving businesses the confidence to start, invest and grow.
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.
Background
Companies House offers guidance to support directors to understand their responsibilities.
Enforcement decisions are taken in line with Companies House’s published enforcement policy and a proportionate, risk-based compliance framework.
In England and Wales, Companies House will decide whether to proceed with some prosecutions.
We’ll refer others to the appropriate agencies. We use discretion when making this decision and consider both the evidential stage and public interest stage set down by the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Code for Crown Prosecutors.
No prosecution will go ahead unless:
- there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction, and
- prosecution is required in the public interest
Between January and March 2026, 360 directors of 332 companies were convicted for filing offences. These included:
- 355 convictions for accounts offences, with total fines of £129,970
- 157 convictions for confirmation statement offences, with total fines of £53,300
- Companies House was also awarded costs of £31,075.
Late Filing Penalties
All companies must file annual accounts with Companies House. If companies fail to do so, there is an active pursuit process to secure the filing of the overdue documents.
Where a company files accounts late the law imposes an automatic penalty; the late filing penalty. The level of the penalty depends on how late the accounts reach Companies House and whether it is a private company or a public company.
Late filing penalties are applied against the company, not the directors.
Failure to deliver accounts however is also a criminal offence and all the directors of a company risk prosecution.
Companies House publishes management information annually. This includes:
- compliance rates for confirmation statements and annual accounts
- civil penalties for late filing of annual accounts
- prosecutions under the Companies Act 2006
The Companies House disqualified directors register includes details of disqualifications given by:
- the courts
- The Insolvency Service
- the Competition and Markets Authority
- the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
- HM Treasury through the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI)