---
title: "Companies House Late Filing Penalty: Amounts (£150 to £1,500) and How to Appeal"
description: "Companies House late filing penalties for private companies (£150 to £1,500, doubled if late two years running), the appeal reasons that work and the ones that fail, and how to appeal online."
url: https://filingchecker.com/companies-house-late-filing-penalty
---

UK companies · checked 29 October 2026

# Companies House late filing penalty: amounts and how to appeal

A private company that files its accounts late gets an automatic penalty from £150 to £1,500, doubled if it was also late the year before. You can appeal once, online, but only a few reasons usually work.

## Penalty amounts (private companies)

| How late | Penalty |
| --- | --- |
| Up to 1 month | £150 |
| 1 to 3 months | £375 |
| 3 to 6 months | £750 |
| More than 6 months | £1,500 |

The penalty **doubles** if the accounts are late two years in a row. Public companies have a different, higher scale.

## Reasons that can work

- **Unexpected events close to the deadline**, such as serious illness or a death, with evidence and dates.
- **A Companies House error.**

## Reasons that usually fail

- The company is dormant.
- You can't afford to pay.
- Your accountant was late. Filing is the director's responsibility.
- These were your first accounts.

## How to appeal

- Use the **Companies House online appeal service** on GOV.UK. Have the company number and penalty reference ready.
- Explain what happened, with dates, and upload evidence (up to 4MB per file) showing the person affected.
- Wait for the decision. If a debt collector contacts you meanwhile, reply that you've appealed.

You can only appeal once against each penalty notice, so make it complete.

## Watch for fakes

Scammers phone and email about "penalties" and give bank details to pay. Real Companies House emails end in.gov.uk. [How to spot a fake penalty demand](https://payeeguard.pages.dev/companies-house-penalty-scam).

[Check everything my company owes](https://filingchecker.com/#checker)

Next: [UK director ID verification](https://filingchecker.com/uk-director-id-verification). Sources: GOV.UK, "Appeal a late filing penalty" and "Penalties for late filing" (annual accounts). Read 29 October 2026. General information.