Guidance

Confirmation statement for LLPs

Updated 31 December 2020

The confirmation statement replaced the annual return on 30 June 2016. This is a guide on filing a confirmation statement for your limited liability partnership (LLP) and the information that you can provide with it.

If you wish to change the name of an existing LLP, please see our LLP Incorporation and Names guidance.

This guide applies to all LLPs registered in the United Kingdom (UK) i.e. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

1. Introduction

This guide tells you about the confirmation statement that replaces the annual return. Your LLP must deliver a confirmation statement to us at least once a year. If you do not do this, there could be serious consequences. We might assume your LLP isn’t carrying on business or in operation and take steps to strike it from the register. If we strike an LLP off the register, it ceases to exist and its assets become Crown property.

If your LLP’s in operation, the designated members could be prosecuted if they fail to submit the LLP’s confirmation statement on time.

By complying with your filing requirements, and keeping your LLP public record up to date, you will avoid any action against the LLP or its designated members for a failure to file and it will give searchers an up to date picture of your LLP.

The guide covers the following topics:

Confirmation statement: This is a statement you must file with us confirming the information that we hold for your LLP is up to date.

LLP Register (Part 1): covers the types of records an LLP must keep and your duty to notify Companies House of their location.

LLP Register (Part 2): covers alternative method of record keeping. How to opt out of keeping certain statutory registers, and instead send the information to us for placing on the public record at Companies House.

Legacy Filings: annual return covers the legacy requirement to submit an annual return.

Quality of documents and further information: These chapters give you some useful information about how to deliver the required documents to Companies House and point out some of the general quality requirements that all documents must meet.

Glossary of terms In this chapter, the terms listed have the following meanings:

‘Act’ means the Companies Act 2006.

‘Confirmation date’ - the date at which the LLP is confirming all the required information is up to date. This must be no later than 12 months after the last confirmation date.

‘Confirmation period’ - the period beginning with the day after the confirmation date of the previous confirmation statement (or the day of the LLP’s incorporation, as appropriate) and ending with the confirmation date of the next confirmation statement.

‘Confirmation statement’ - a statement which must be delivered to us at least once a year. The statement confirms all information required to be delivered by the company under Section 853A(2) of the Companies act 2006 (as applied to LLPs) , for the confirmation period, has either been delivered or is being delivered with the confirmation statement.

‘Relevant event’ - the events in the life of the LLP that we need to be notified about.

‘Review period’ means a period of 12 months beginning (i) with the day of the LLP’s incorporation or (ii) the day after the last review period, as appropriate. See Chapter 1 section 4 for more information.

2. Confirmation statement

2.1 Confirmation statement

The confirmation statement replaced the annual return on 30 June 2016. Every LLP must confirm the information we hold about it is correct by delivering a confirmation statement. If the information we hold is out of date the LLP must file the information needed to update its records before or at the same time that it delivers the confirmation statement.

The statement confirms that all the information that the LLP is under a duty to tell us about under section 853A(2) of the Companies Act 2006 (as applied to LLPs) for a relevant confirmation period has been delivered or is being delivered at the time the statement is made. This statement must be made at least once a year, but the LLP may choose to make a statement more regularly.

It’s a criminal offence to not file your confirmation statement within 14 days of the end of the review period. If you do not do this, we may prosecute the LLP and its designated members.

2.2 Making a confirmation statement

A confirmation statement can be made via our WebFiling or software filing systems or by completing a paper form LL CS01. The statement must contain the LLP’s name, number and the confirmation date. The filing must be signed or authenticated on behalf of the LLP.

2.3 Checking your LLP’s information

You can check the information currently held on the register for your LLP by searching our Find and update company information.

2.4 Determining an LLP’s review period

For new LLPs, the review period covered by an LLP’s first confirmation statement begins on the date of incorporation and ends twelve months later. For existing LLPs, the review period is the period of 12 months beginning the day after the last review period.

For instance, if an LLP is incorporated on 1 January 2017, its first review period ends on 31 December 2017. The LLP’s next review period will begin the following day, 1 January 2018, and will end on 31 December 2018.

The confirmation statement must be delivered within 14 days of the end of the review period at the latest. This is a shorter period than the 28 days allowed for the annual return.

2.5 Making a confirmation statement before the end of the review period

An LLP can make a confirmation statement at any time during the review period. The period covered by a specific confirmation statement is known as the confirmation period. A confirmation period can be shorter than the review period, but it cannot exceed the review period. It cannot be longer than 12 months. If an LLP makes a confirmation statement early, its next review period will start the day after the date of that confirmation statement.

For instance, if your LLP’s review period ends on 31 December 2017 it cannot file a confirmation statement with a confirmation date later than this. But your LLP can choose to file a confirmation statement with an earlier confirmation date at any time before the end of a given review period. For example, if you choose to file an earlier confirmation statement on 5 July 2017, for a confirmation period ending on 30 June 2017 (instead of 31 December 2017), your next review period will start on 1 July 2017 and end on 30 June 2018. Your next confirmation statement must have a confirmation date no later than 30 June 2018.

2.6 Making a ‘no change’ confirmation statement

You must make a confirmation statement even if there haven’t been any changes during the review period.

2.7 Relevant events we must be notified of

To make a confirmation statement, you must have notified us of changes to the:

• LLP’s registered office
• LLP’s members (appointments, terminations of appointments, and details – e.g. service address, surname, etc.)
• LLP’s PSCs and their details 

An LLP which has elected to keep certain information on the public record at Companies House also needs to ensure its notified us of any changes to the information concerning:

• the LLP’s member’s and their details
• the LLP member’s usual residential addresses
• the LLP’s PSCs and their details

2.8 Fee

The annual fee for a confirmation statement filed electronically is £13. The annual fee for a confirmation statement filed on paper is £40. You need to pay the relevant amount along with the first confirmation statement you file for each twelve month period. If you file more than one confirmation statement in a 12 month period, you’ll only need to pay the fee once.

2.9 Filing multiple confirmation statements in a year

LLPs only have to file one confirmation statement every 12 months. However, you can choose to file a confirmation statement early, or more frequently than once a year. If you file more than one confirmation statement in a twelve month period, you’ll only need to pay the fee once.