Increased Companies House Fees – effective 01 May 2024

Following our article covering the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA 2023), Companies House fees have increased from Wednesday 01 May 2024.

The ECCTA 2023

To briefly recap our previous article, the ECCTA gives greater powers to Companies House concerning identity verification, record keeping and increased transparency, aimed at increasing transparency on company ownership, bolstering legitimate business and reducing economic crime.

Companies House Fees

The increased powers and responsibilities of Companies House have led to a need for the registrar’s fees for its services to increase. These changes are significant and are available on the Companies House website at Changes to Companies House fees – Changes to UK company law.

Some notable changes are as follows:

• Online incorporation fees increased from £10 to £50 (or £78 for same-day incorporations) – an increase of over 300%;
• Change of name fees increased from £8 (digital) or £10 (paper) to £20 (digital) or £30 (paper) (and from £30 to £83 for same day name changes);
• Confirmation statement filing fees have increased from £13 to £34 for online filings – an increase of over 100%; and
• Same-day share capital reduction filings increased from £50 to £136 – an increase of over 100%.

How will these changes affect your business?

Some of these fee changes are significant and could increase costs associated with a number of corporate transactions, which you should be aware of to ensure the correct fee is paid when making the relevant application to avoid rejected applications.

Please note that this information is for general guidance only and should not substitute professional legal advice. If you have specific concerns, we recommend consulting one of our legal experts.