Upload to Companies House or File Online? Every Form Listed

Every UK company has to keep Companies House up to date: new shares, new directors, changes of control, the annual confirmation statement. What founders often don't realise is that how you send each of those filings depends on the form. Some can go any way you like. Some can only be posted. And a growing group sit in between: they can't be filed online in the usual sense, but they can be uploaded as a PDF.

This guide explains the four routes, then gives a table showing which routes are open for each type of filing. It also explains how Shareflo simplifies this process, whether you use our Companies House integration or not.

The four routes at a glance

Route 1: Post

Every Companies House filing has a paper form, and posting it is the one route that is always available. It is also the slowest: Companies House says paper documents can take a week or more to process, so it can be a while before you find out whether your filing was accepted or rejected. Paper filings also cost more where there is a fee. A confirmation statement, for example, costs £50 online but £110 on paper.

Send paper forms to Companies House, Crown Way, Cardiff, CF14 3UZ. All documents now go to Cardiff, whichever part of the UK your company is registered in. Older forms still show Edinburgh and Belfast addresses, which are out of date.

If you post a filing close to its deadline, use a tracked or guaranteed delivery service. A postal delay is not an excuse for filing late.

Route 2: WebFiling

WebFiling is Companies House's own online service. You fill in the form on screen, and Companies House's built-in checks catch many mistakes before you submit. You get an acknowledgement almost immediately and an email when the filing is accepted.

To use it you need:

• A WebFiling account, connected to GOV.UK One Login (required since 13 October 2025).

• Your company authentication code, a six-character code Companies House posts to your registered office. Treat it like a password: anyone who has it can file for your company online.

Webfiling can be found at: https://ewf.companieshouse.gov.uk/ . It covers the everyday filings: confirmation statements, director and secretary changes, PSC changes, registered office changes, SH01 share allotments, and most small-company accounts. It does not cover most other share capital forms, articles or resolutions.

A subset of these filings, such as the confirmation statement and changes to PSCs, can also be made through Companies House's newer Find and update company information service. But that service is still being rolled out, and for the time being, all the filings that can be done there can also be done through webfiling, so we just focus on webfiling in this article.

Route 3: Upload a document

Upload a document to Companies House is a newer service, created during the COVID-19 pandemic to let companies send paper forms without posting them. You complete the form as a PDF, and upload it. A Companies House examiner then checks it as they would a posted form, and if it is accepted it is registered with the date you uploaded it.

This is the route for most share capital forms other than the SH01, including SH02 (share split or consolidation), SH06 (cancellation of shares), SH08 (renaming a share class), SH10 (varying class rights) and SH19 (reduction of capital). You can also upload amended articles of association and most resolutions.

Things to know:

• You need to sign in with a Companies House account at https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/efs-submission/start. You may need the company authentication code to do this.

• Upload one document at a time. If documents belong together, such as a resolution to vary the rights of a share class and the SH10 it approves, upload them one after another without delay, or they may be rejected for missing their supporting documents. Upload the resolution first and the form second.

• Files must be PDFs under 4MB. Merge any continuation pages into the form first. Cover letters can't be uploaded.

• Typed, digitally generated, scanned and handwritten signatures are all accepted. You can also just type the signatory’s name in the signature field, there’s no need for an actual signature. Don't attach a digital signature certificate: Companies House rejects the document if you do.

• There are certain documents which can’t be uploaded and must go by post, including: a resolution to change the company's name; a resolution to convert to a CIC (Community Interest Company); or an SH19 supported by a court order. In the case of a name change, it can also be sent through WebFiling.

The service is still labelled "Alpha", so expect it to change.

Route 4: Software filing through the XML gateway

The XML gateway is Companies House's connection for software. Instead of a person filling in a form, approved software sends the filing directly to Companies House as structured data. Companies House acknowledges it immediately. Later, once they have reviewed the submission, they send back an electronic acceptance or rejection.

Only approved providers can use it. A provider registers as a presenter with Companies House and must pass test submissions for each form type before Companies House approves that form for live filing. Each filing is still authorised with the company's own authentication code.

This is the route Shareflo uses. Shareflo is an approved Companies House presenter, so a filing generated from your cap table can be checked and submitted from inside Shareflo, without retyping it into WebFiling or printing and posting it. You can follow its status in Documents → Regulatory filings, and Shareflo emails you when Companies House accepts or rejects it.

The gateway can carry many statutory filings: incorporations, confirmation statements, director and secretary changes, PSC changes, registered office changes, SH01 allotments, charges and accounts. Like WebFiling, it does not carry other share capital forms such as SH02, SH06 or SH08. Those have to be uploaded or posted, no matter what software you use.

Which route can I use for which filing?

The table groups the most common filings and shows which of the four routes is open for each. The last column shows what you can file through Shareflo today.

✅ = available ❌ = not available

A few notes on the table:

• Share transfers don't need a form. Moving existing shares between shareholders is recorded in your register of members (your cap table) and reported on your next confirmation statement.

• These lists change. They were checked against Companies House guidance and the Registrar's Rules in October 2026. Companies House adds forms to its online services from time to time, so check its guidance if a form you need is marked ❌.

• Shareflo’s integration with Companies House XML service currently covers the rows marked with an asterisk. But we are adding new rows all the time.

Using Shareflo for your company filings

Shareflo helps you with your filings in three ways.

• First, Shareflo maintains your record of directors, PSCs and shareholdings, meaning that you always have up-to-date information available to complete the filing

• Second, for many filings, irrespective of how you submit, Shareflo creates the pdf form for you. For example, although an SH02 share split can only be filed by post or via the Companies House upload, Shareflo populates the form for you, so all you need to do is save it and upload it

• Third, Shareflo integrates into the XML Gateway so you can submit forms directly. We started our integration with the most common forms, such as SH01. But we are adding new ones all the time. If we don’t integrate for a particular form then the guidance above shows you how else it can be submitted

Things that apply whichever route you choose

The deadline doesn't change with the route. An SH01 or SH02 is due within one month of the allotment or share split, whether you post, upload or file it online. Posted and uploaded filings take longer to process, so leave time to correct a rejection.

Online routes need the authentication code. WebFiling, software filing (including Shareflo) and some uploads need your company authentication code. If you don't have it, request it early: it is posted to your registered office and takes several days to arrive.

You can prevent paper filings being made for your company. Companies House's free PROOF service (protected online filing) blocks certain paper forms for your company, so changes to your record have to come through an online route that needs the authentication code. It's worth considering if you're worried about fraudulent filings.

The filing goes on the public register. Whichever route you use, what you file becomes part of your company's public record and generally can't be removed later. Check it before you send it.

Common questions

Can I file an SH02 online? Not through WebFiling or software filing. You can upload the completed SH02 as a PDF through Companies House's Upload a document service instead of posting it.

Is uploading the same as filing online? Not quite. An upload is still a paper form, checked by hand by a Companies House examiner, so it is slower than WebFiling or software filing and has no built-in checks. It is, however, much faster than posting it.

Why can't Shareflo file my SH02, SH06 or SH08? Because the XML gateway doesn't accept those forms from any software provider. For those filings you upload or post the form yourself. However, Shareflo does help you to create the forms.