The lawful purpose declaration: the confirmation statement question Arab directors must now answer

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 added a new requirement to every confirmation statement: a lawful purpose declaration. Every person filing a confirmation statement must confirm that the company's intended future activities are lawful. This applies to every UK limited company, regardless of size, trading status, or where its directors are based. It has been required since 4 March 2024.

What the declaration means in practice: you are confirming that the company's planned activities — the things it intends to do in the coming period — are legal under UK law. This is not a statement about the company's past conduct, and it is not a broad character declaration about the directors. It is specifically about the company's future purpose. A company formed to trade in goods, provide services, hold property, or carry out any lawful business activity satisfies the declaration. A company formed to commit fraud, evade sanctions, or carry out any criminal activity would not.

Why Companies House added this: the Economic Crime Act's broader aim is to reduce fraud and abuse on the UK companies register. Tens of thousands of UK companies have historically been used as vehicles for financial crime. The lawful purpose declaration creates a legal record — tied to the person who filed the statement — that the director understood the company's purpose at the time of filing. Making a false declaration is a criminal offence under the Companies Act 2006.

The practical impact for Arab directors: if you are running a legitimate UK company for legitimate business purposes, the declaration is a tick-box. The WebFiling portal and any accountancy practice software will prompt you to make it — you cannot submit the confirmation statement without it. If you are a Fileminder client, we include it as a standard part of every confirmation statement filing and confirm it with you when we prepare the filing.

If the declaration is absent, Companies House can reject the confirmation statement, so the filing is not counted as received. Late filing is an offence; Companies House may issue a financial penalty and can pursue strike-off for persistent non-compliance. The declaration is part of the form and cannot be skipped.