Skip to main content

Appeal a penalty for filing your company accounts late

Use this service to appeal a penalty from Companies House for filing a company’s annual accounts late.

Before you start

You’ll need:

  • the company number
  • the penalty reference
  • the reason for the appeal
  • any documents that support the appeal

Any documents you upload, such as a doctor’s note or an insurance claim, must include:

  • the full name of the person or company affected
  • any relevant dates

The maximum file size for each document is 4MB.

Reasons for appealing

You can usually only appeal because either:

  • there were unexpected circumstances (for example serious illness or death) that happened close to the filing deadline
  • Companies House made an error

Your appeal is not likely to be successful if you’re appealing because:

  • your company is dormant
  • you cannot afford to pay
  • you relied on your accountant (it’s the director’s responsibility)
  • these are your first accounts

Start your appeal

It can take up to 30 minutes to apply. You’ll be signed out after 60 minutes if you pause your application and your answers will not be saved.

You can only appeal once against a penalty notice.

Start now

Read the guidance on late filing penalties.

After you appeal

Wait for Companies House to contact you with their decision.

If you have not paid the penalty, you may be contacted by a debt recovery agency or solicitors asking for payment. Reply to them explaining you have appealed the penalty.

Other ways to appeal

Companies House can provide accessibility support if you need help to appeal because of a disability or health condition.