How to Update Your Business Activity Classification

When your company starts doing something new, the business activity on the public register should change with it. The activity is recorded as SIC codes, and there is only one way to change them. This guide explains how to update business activity with Companies House step by step, what it costs, and the other places you should update at the same time.

When you should update business activity

Update your codes whenever the main thing your company does has changed, or when it has taken on a significant new line of work. Typical moments are:

• a dormant company starting to trade, which means replacing 99999
• a change of direction, such as a design agency becoming a software business
• adding a new activity that brings in real income, such as property lettings alongside consultancy
• dropping an activity the company no longer does

Our guide on why SIC codes matter explains what can go wrong when the register does not match your business.

Step 1: find the right codes

Companies House uses a condensed list of SIC codes. Search it for words describing what you do, and read the descriptions of nearby codes before you choose; similar activities are often split between several codes. Put your main activity first, then add up to three more. A company can have between one and four codes.

Step 2: file a confirmation statement

SIC codes can only be changed on a confirmation statement. You do not have to wait for your yearly one: you can file a statement early, at any time, just to update your codes.

1. Sign in to the Companies House online service with your GOV.UK One Login, or ask your accountant or formation agent to file for you.
2. Start a confirmation statement and go through each section. The service shows what is on the register now.
3. At the business activity section, remove the codes that no longer apply and add the new ones.
4. Check the rest of the details shown. Shareholder details and share capital can be updated on the statement too, but a new registered office, director or person with significant control has to be filed separately first.
5. Confirm the statements, pay the fee if it is due, and submit.

Online filings are usually accepted the same day, and the new codes show on the register once the statement is accepted.

What it costs

The Companies House fee for a confirmation statement is £50 online, or £110 on paper. You pay it only once in each 12-month payment period, which starts from your date of incorporation. So:

• if you have already filed and paid in the current payment period, an extra statement to update your codes costs nothing in Companies House fees
• if you have not filed one yet this period, you pay £50, and that statement also counts as your yearly one

Filing early also moves your next confirmation statement date to a year from the date you filed, so it does not cost you an extra yearly filing.

Update everything else too

The register is the official record, but it is not the only one. When your activity changes, tell:

• Your insurer. Cover for one activity rarely covers another, and an undisclosed change can void a claim.
• Your bank. Banks review accounts whose activity changes, and telling them first avoids a frozen account.
• HMRC, if VAT is affected. A new activity can change your VAT rate, your flat rate percentage or whether you need to register at all.
• Licensing bodies. Some activities, such as food, alcohol, financial services or care, need a licence or registration before you start.

If the new activity changes the company's name or branding, see our guide to changing a company name.

Common mistakes

• adding new codes but leaving the old ones in place, so the register describes several businesses
• leaving the dormant code 99999 after the company has started trading
• picking a broad "other" code when a precise one exists
• filing the statement but forgetting to tell the insurer

Let us update it for you

Our update business activity service finds the codes that fit what you now do, checks the rest of your confirmation statement and files it with Companies House. If you also want your yearly filing handled, our confirmation statement service covers both.