United KingdomGOV.UK
Companies House sets Christmas cut-offs for same-day and SH19 filings
Same-day name changes and software incorporations must beat 12pm on 24 December or 2pm on 31 December; SH19 reductions must be uploaded by 11am on 24 December.
By Taxxa AI OyPublished 6 November 2026
Industry: Across industries
Companies House has set its Christmas and new year service limits, with fixed cut-offs for same-day work and capital reductions over the holidaysGOV. Anyone using a same-day service to change a company name online or incorporate a company by software must apply before 12pm on Thursday 24 December
GOV, failing which the application may not be processed until Tuesday 29 December — and a second window applies before 2pm on Thursday 31 December
GOV, after which processing may wait until Monday 4 January.
Capital reductions need still earlier action. A statement of capital on reducing capital (form SH19) with supporting documents must be filed through the upload-a-document service before 11am on Thursday 24 DecemberGOV; anything arriving after 11am may not be processed until Tuesday 29 December. Certified-copy orders on the express dispatch service must be placed before 11am on Friday 18 December or Thursday 31 December to meet posting dates
GOV — late orders are still produced, but dispatch is no longer guaranteed.
Routine online filing carries on throughout: accounts, confirmation statements, company changes and dissolutions can all be submitted online at any point, though anyone needing a company authentication code should request it early because codes go out by post. Paper accounts demand extra care — send them well before the deadline by guaranteed next-day delivery, because postal delays are not accepted as grounds for appealing a late-filing penalty.
The contact centre keeps shorter hours than last season. It opens 8:30am to 2pm on Thursday 24 December, closes from Friday 25 December through Monday 28 December, reopens 8:30am to 6pm on Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 December, opens 8:30am to 4pm on Thursday 31 December, closes from Friday 1 January through Sunday 3 January, and returns to 8:30am to 6pm on Monday 4 January.
The cut-offs sit in the published Christmas and new year opening-times timetable; online services remain available throughout the period.
Diary the 18, 24 and 31 December cut-offs for any same-day, SH19 or express-dispatch work and file paper accounts by guaranteed next-day delivery.