What to Do If You’ve Lost Your Company Authentication Code?

If you've lost your company authentication code, you have to request a new one, then wait for it to arrive by post to your registered office address. 

Losing your company authentication code is common, mostly because it’s only used once a year when the confirmation statement is due. By the time you need the code, the letter it arrived in has long since been recycled, filed somewhere you can’t find, or handed over to an accountant who's since moved on.

Here’s what to do if you lose your company authentication code, how long the replacement process takes, and what steps to take if a new code doesn't arrive.

Key points

• Losing your company authentication code isn’t uncommon
  Company owners rarely need it, and it's only sometimes officially required, so it’s easy to lose track of.
• You can request a replacement authentication code 📬
  If you've lost your company authentication code, you can request a new one through Companies House.
• Your formation agent might be able to help you recover the code 🔎
  If an agent set up your company, they may still have a record of the original code. Checking your formation documents or account could save you from waiting for a replacement letter.
• Your authentication code requires safe storage 🔐
  Treat the code as sensitive company information. If someone who isn’t currently employed by the company still has it, update the code and check your Companies House record for any unexpected changes.
• ANNA can take care of more than just your Companies House info 🚀
  ANNA brings your business admin, finances, and taxes into one place, helping you stay on top of your responsibilities without juggling multiple systems and deadlines. 

What is a company authentication code?

A company authentication code is a six-character password made up of letters and numbers. It works as the digital equivalent of a director's signature.

Companies House issues this code to every limited company when it's incorporated. You'll need it any time you file something online, whether that’s your confirmation statement, an update to your registered office, or your annual accounts through commercial software.

It's easy to confuse this code with other digits you'll pick up along the way, like your company registration number or your Companies House personal code. However, the authentication code is specific to your company, not you as an individual, and it remains the same until you change it or request a new one.

How can your company authentication code get lost?

Because you use it only a handful of times a year, your authentication code is one of the easiest bits of company admin to misplace. If your company was set up through a formation agent, there's also a decent chance you've never personally seen it, since some agents handle the first filings on your behalf.

The code arrives by letter to your registered office address shortly after incorporation. If that address has changed in the meantime, or if the letter went to an office you no longer use, you’ll likely reach the confirmation statement deadline with no idea where your code ended up.

Sole directors running their business from home are especially prone to losing their code, since the letter can get mixed in with other post and never be logged anywhere central.

💡 Did you know? 

If you're an ANNA customer, you don't deal with your company codes alone. ANNA is an authorised Companies House agent, so filing your confirmation statement through the service means the team can handle your submission directly, without requiring you to have your authentication code on hand every time.

How to request a replacement code

If your code is missing, expired, or no longer working, here's what to do:

• Sign in to Companies House WebFiling: This is a separate login from your company's Companies House public record. If you don’t have an account, you can also create one at this step.
• Select the option to recover your authentication code: You should be able to click on ‘Request an authentication code’ and follow the steps further once you're signed in.
• Confirm your company details: You'll need your company registration number, so make sure you find it beforehand.
• Check the address the code will be sent to: By default, the code goes to your registered office address. If you can't access post there, you can start a different process to have it sent to your home address instead.
• Wait for the letter: As per Companies House, delivery can take up to 10 working days, though the code often arrives sooner.

What if the replacement code doesn't arrive?

If your replacement code hasn't arrived after 10 working days, don't request another one straight away. 

First, check that Companies House has the correct registered office address and that post is being delivered there.

If the address is correct, check with anyone who receives the company's post, including a receptionist, office manager, landlord, or accountant. They might have picked up the letter but failed to pass it on to you.

If you've recently changed your registered office, make sure the change has been registered with Companies House. 

If you've checked all the details and the code still hasn't arrived, contact Companies House for guidance.

Changing your code to something you'll remember

Once you've got a working code, you can change it to something more memorable.

Companies House lets you do this through WebFiling, and it's a sensible step if the code you were issued feels like it’s easy to forget again.

If you opt for changing your code, make sure to:

• Mix letters and numbers so the code isn't easy to guess, rather than picking something too simple
• Avoid anything obviously tied to your company name or personal details
• Immediately notify anyone who files on your behalf, such as an accountant or bookkeeper, as the old code stops working as soon as it's updated

Can a formation agent help you recover your code?

If a formation agent registered your company for you, they may still have a record of your authentication code, particularly if it hasn't been changed since incorporation. 

Check your account with your agent before going through the Companies House recovery process, as it can sometimes save you from waiting for a new letter.

You can also ask whoever incorporated the company whether they kept a copy of the original letter, or whether it's noted anywhere in the paperwork you were handed at the time.

Many formation packs include a summary page with the company registration number, the registered office address, and the authentication code all in one place. If your formation agent follows this practice, it could save you the wait.

How to keep your company authentication code safe

Once you've recovered your authentication code, the simplest way to avoid losing it again is to store it securely and make it accessible only to the people responsible for company filings.

Don't leave the original Companies House letter as the only record of the code. Instead, store the code in your business's password manager or another secure system, and make sure there’s a clear process for who can access it when a filing is due.

It's also important to keep your registered office details up to date. The authentication code itself may stay the same, but future Companies House correspondence will still depend on the company's registered details being correct.

How ANNA can help with your Companies House admin

Losing an authentication code can be frustrating, especially when you only discover it's gone as a filing deadline approaches. ANNA can take some of the Companies House admin off your plate, so you don't have to keep track of every filing yourself.

Here’s what ANNA helps with:

• Confirmation statement filing: Submit your confirmation statement through ANNA without having to dig out your company authentication code each time.
• Company formation: Set up your limited company and complete the required Companies House steps in one place.
• Identity verification: Complete Companies House identity verification as part of ANNA's company formation process and get the personal code you’ll need for future filings.
• Business account: Keep your company finances and day-to-day cash management in the same place as your business admin.
• Automatic bookkeeping: Have transactions categorised automatically, reducing the amount of manual bookkeeping you need to keep up with.
• Tax and filing support: Handle your business tax admin in one place, from Corporation Tax and VAT returns to Self Assessment, so you don't have to keep track of different filing requirements and deadlines yourself.
• 24/7 UK-based support: Get help whenever you're stuck on a company or finance admin question.

Get started with ANNA today and spend less time chasing company records.