Three months in: The Companies House fee shock continues to sting

The new arithmetic of company formation

Three months after Companies House doubled its digital incorporation fee from £50 to £100, the compliance landscape has settled into its new reality. The confirmation statement fee climbed from £34 to £50, while paper filings now carry such punitive premiums that they've become the regulatory equivalent of ordering wine at airport prices.

What this means for your Monday morning: if you filed anything before 1 February, you caught the last train. Everyone else is living in the new normal.

Considering fees were £12 just 18 months ago, the trajectory resembles London property prices circa 2005. The justification remains unchanged from last year's increases: funding enhanced investigative and enforcement capabilities under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.

The strike-off silver lining

Amid the carnage, one fee actually dropped. Form DS01 now costs just £13 digitally, down from £33 - a 60% reduction that makes closing dormant companies considerably more palatable. This isn't charity; it's housekeeping. Companies House clearly wants fewer zombie entities cluttering the register.

The logic is sound. Better to encourage clean exits than maintain a graveyard of forgotten incorporations, each requiring annual confirmation statements at the new £50 rate.

Professional services adapt

Formation agents have absorbed the increases with minimal margin compression, but the mathematics of startup advice have shifted. Where £50 was negligible in most business plans, £100 concentrates the mind. Startup ecosystem observers wonder if further increases lie ahead.

The paper penalty deserves particular attention. Paper filings carry significantly higher fees and are increasingly discouraged under reforms. Digital transformation isn't optional; it's the only economically sensible path.

Identity verification: The hidden multiplier

November 2025 introduced mandatory identity verification under ECCTA, with a 12-month transition window. Existing officeholders have until 18 November 2026 to complete verification, but new appointments require immediate compliance.

Authorised Corporate Service Providers can handle verification on clients' behalf, creating another professional services touchpoint. The process isn't complex, but it's mandatory and non-compliance carries enforcement action.

What's next on the horizon

Companies House commits to annual fee reviews aimed at cost-recovery without profit generation. Translation: expect regular adjustments as operational costs evolve.

Future transparency requirements may mandate full profit and loss statements for all businesses, alongside directors' reports for small companies. These aren't fee increases, but they represent expanded compliance obligations with associated professional costs.

For practitioners managing client portfolios, the February changes mark a watershed. The era of minimal incorporation costs has ended. Forward-thinking advisers brought incorporations forward to January 2026 where commercially sensible, capturing £50 per entity in savings.

Now we adapt to the new baseline. The next significant deadline approaches: confirmation statements filed after November require identity verification for any outstanding officeholders. Miss that window, and enforcement action beckons from 18 November 2026.

Factor the new fees into your client budgets, ensure digital filing processes are robust, and remember: at £100, UK incorporation remains internationally competitive. Small comfort, perhaps, but accurate nonetheless.