The UK government has confirmed a delay to several planned Companies House filing reforms that were originally expected to take effect from 1 April 2027.
The changes formed part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 and were intended to increase corporate transparency and modernise the accounts filing process.
According to the latest government update, a number of significant reforms are now paused and under review, with no revised implementation date currently confirmed. Businesses should therefore continue to follow existing filing requirements until further notice.
One of the most notable proposals was the removal of abridged and filleted accounts for small companies. Under the original plans, small companies would have been required to file a fuller set of financial statements at Companies House, including a balance sheet, profit and loss account, directors’ report and auditor’s report where applicable. This would have reduced the level of financial information that small companies could keep private.
The proposed reforms also included additional disclosure requirements for micro-entities. While micro-entities would still have been exempt from preparing and filing a directors’ report, they would have been required to submit a profit and loss account alongside their balance sheet.
A further major change related to the digitisation of company filings. The government had planned to introduce mandatory digital filing for all accounts submissions, including dormant company accounts. Under those proposals, paper filing and the current Companies House WebFiling service would eventually have been withdrawn, with all accounts submitted through commercial software and tagged using iXBRL (Inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language).
However, in early 2026 the government confirmed that these measures would not proceed on the previously expected timetable. The reforms are now being reconsidered, and any future implementation will be subject to at least 21 months’ advance notice.
While the delay provides businesses with additional time to prepare, it is clear that Companies House reform remains a key area of focus for the government. The wider objectives of improving corporate transparency, strengthening the integrity of the UK company register and tackling economic crime continue to underpin the proposed changes.
Businesses should therefore view this as a postponement rather than a cancellation and continue to monitor developments closely. In particular, companies may still wish to consider their readiness for future digital filing requirements and the potential impact of increased public disclosure of financial information.
Further details can be found in the government guidance here.
If you would like to discuss how these proposed reforms could affect your business or reporting obligations, please speak to your usual Hillier Hopkins contact.
