Pay a penalty to Companies House

Printable version

1. Pay online

Use this service to pay a penalty you鈥檝e received from Companies House.

You鈥檒l need:

  • the information on your penalty notice (this was sent to you in the post)
  • a credit or debit card

You must pay the full amount.

It takes around 5 minutes to pay. You鈥檒l get a receipt emailed to you after you鈥檝e paid.

You鈥檒l need to sign in to use this service. If you do not already have sign in details, you鈥檒l be able to create them.

Other ways to pay

You can also pay by bank transfer or cheque, depending on the penalty you鈥檝e received.

If you鈥檝e lost your penalty notice

You can email Companies House with the subject line 鈥楲ost penalty notice鈥�.

Companies House
enquiries@companieshouse.gov.uk

Appeal a penalty

How you appeal depends on the penalty you鈥檝e received.

If you have a late filing penalty

If your penalty is for filing your accounts late, you can appeal through Companies House. You must prove the circumstances were out of your control, for example a fire destroyed your records a few days before your accounts were due.

If you have any other penalty

You need to make an appeal through the courts.

You have 28 days from when the penalty was issued to make an appeal. If you submit an appeal to the courts, you need to tell Companies House by email or in writing within 7 days of submitting the appeal.

You can get advice about making an appeal through the courts from . If you need legal advice, you can find a legal adviser.

2. Other ways to pay

You can also pay for your penalty by bank transfer or cheque, depending on the type of penalty you鈥檝e received.

What you鈥檒l need

You鈥檒l need the penalty reference that鈥檚 on your penalty notice to check which bank account to use. Your penalty reference will start with either A, P or U.

If you鈥檝e paid Companies House by Bacs before, your bank may automatically use the same bank account and it might not be correct. You must check you鈥檙e paying your penalty to the correct bank account for your penalty reference.

If your penalty reference starts with A

You have a late filing penalty for filing your accounts late.

You can pay for this type of penalty by bank transfer or cheque.

Pay by Bacs

Account name - Companies House
Sort code - 60 70 80
Account number - 10031154
Payment reference - you must use your penalty reference

If you鈥檙e paying from an overseas account

Account name - Companies House
Account number (IBAN) - GB79NWBK60708010031154
Swift code - NW BK GB 2L
Payment reference - you must use your penalty reference

Pay by cheque

You can pay by cheque through the post. Make the cheque payable to 鈥楥ompanies House only鈥� and send it along with the slip on the penalty notice (鈥榬emittance advice鈥�) to Companies House.

Companies House
PO Box 710
Crown Way
CF14 3UZ

Write the company name and number on the back of the cheque. The company number is on your penalty notice.

If your penalty reference starts with P or U

If it starts with P, you have a penalty for failure to file a confirmation statement.

If it starts with U, you have an overseas entity penalty.

Pay by Bacs

Account name - Companies House
Sort code - 60 70 80
Account number - 10033599
Payment reference - you must use your penalty reference

If you鈥檙e paying from an overseas account

Account number (IBAN) - GB24NWBK60708010033599
Swift code - NW BK GB 2L
Payment reference - you must use your penalty reference

What happens next

Your payment may take up to 4 working days to process.

If you have any questions, you can contact Companies House.