COMPANIES HOUSE
Technical Interface Specification
Electronic Filing of Company Data Using XML/XBRL
Companies Act 2006
Date of issue:
Version Number:
Status:
05/12/2013
v4.15 (2006 Act)
FINAL
QA Reviewers: Gareth Lewis, Lynette O’Flaherty, Steve Bowen, Alex Walters Marie Flowers
Final sign-off: Kean Jones
Table of Contents
DOCUMENT CONTROL ..................................................................................................................... 4

INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 7
PURPOSE OF THE XML ELECTRONIC FILING SERVICE .......................................................................... 7
1
STRUCTURE OF THE ELECTRONIC FILING INTERFACE ............................................. 9
1.1
OVERVIEW OF THE SYSTEM .................................................................................................... 9
1.2
MAIN ELEMENTS OF THE SYSTEM ......................................................................................... 16
1.2.1
Pre Requisites ................................................................................................................. 16
1.2.2
Message Initiation .......................................................................................................... 16
1.2.3
Message Transmission .................................................................................................... 16
1.2.4
Message Processing........................................................................................................ 17
1.2.5
Session Duration............................................................................................................. 19
1.2.6
Versioning ....................................................................................................................... 20
1.2.7
Authentication ................................................................................................................. 20
1.2.8
Error Handling ............................................................................................................... 20
1.2.9
Schemas .......................................................................................................................... 21
1.2.10
System Limitations ..................................................................................................... 21
1.2.11
Service Hours ............................................................................................................. 22
2
XML MESSAGE STRUCTURE ............................................................................................... 23
2.1
SUBMISSIONS ....................................................................................................................... 27
2.1.1
Well-Formed XML Envelope .......................................................................................... 28
2.1.2
Valid XML Envelopes ..................................................................................................... 28
2.1.3
Duplicate Submission Numbers ...................................................................................... 28
2.2
INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................... 30
2.3
COMPANYDATAREQUEST - REQUEST FOR COMPANY INFORMATION HELD BY CH .............. 30
2.4
FORMSUBMISSION - SUBMISSION OF TRANSACTIONS ........................................................... 31
2.4.1
Representation of Data in Schemas ................................................................................ 32
2.4.2
Filing Exceptions and Rules ........................................................................................... 34
2.4.3
Rules for each form type ................................................................................................. 35
2.4.4 Chargeable Transactions .................................................................................................... 39
2.5
GETSUBMISSIONSTATUS - REQUEST UPDATE ON PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED TRANSACTION .. 39
2.5.1
Status acknowledgement service ..................................................................................... 41
2.6
GETDOCUMENT - DOWNLOAD OF INCORPORATION CERTIFICATE OR CHANGE OF NAME OR
CHARGE CERTIFICATE ........................................................................................................................ 41
2.7
EREMINDERS ........................................................................................................................ 41
2.8
ERROR MESSAGES ................................................................................................................ 42
2.9
INCONSISTENCIES ................................................................................................................. 43
3
AUTHENTICATION MECHANISM (INCLUDING ACCOUNT APPLICATION) .......... 44
3.1
3.1.1
3.1.2
3.2
3.2.1
3.2.2
3.2.3
3.3
3.3.1
3.3.2
3.3.3
3.4
4
PRESENTER AUTHENTICATION ............................................................................................. 44
Applying for a Credit Account ........................................................................................ 44
Presenter_ID .................................................................................................................. 44
COMPANY AUTHENTICATION ............................................................................................... 45
Objective ......................................................................................................................... 45
Operation ........................................................................................................................ 45
Setting up/maintenance of Company Authentication codes. ........................................... 45
LENDER AUTHENTICATION .................................................................................................. 46
Objective ......................................................................................................................... 46
Operation ........................................................................................................................ 47
Setting up/maintenance of Lender Authentication codes. ............................................... 47
OFFICER CONSENT TO ACT .................................................................................................. 47
TESTING ..................................................................................................................................... 49
4.1
PURPOSE .............................................................................................................................. 49
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Final Version 4.15 (2006 Act)
4.2
4.3
4.3.1
4.3.2
4.3.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
5
SCOPE .................................................................................................................................. 49
APPROACH ........................................................................................................................... 49
Setting up a test account ................................................................................................. 52
Submitting Tests .............................................................................................................. 52
Final Authorisation ......................................................................................................... 52
FUTURE TESTING REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................................ 53
ADDITIONAL TESTING .......................................................................................................... 53
ERROR MESSAGES ................................................................................................................ 53
XBRL ACCOUNTS .................................................................................................................... 54
5.1
INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................... 54
5.2
WHAT IS XBRL? .................................................................................................................. 56
5.3
INLINE XBRL....................................................................................................................... 56
5.3.1
Account types ................................................................................................................. 57
5.3.2
Taxonomies .................................................................................................................... 57
5.3.3
2006 Companies Act accounts ....................................................................................... 58
5.3.4
XBRL tagged data .......................................................................................................... 59
5.3.5
Mandatory elements: ..................................................................................................... 59
5.3.6
Statements to the accounts: ........................................................................................... 60
5.3.7
Imaging .......................................................................................................................... 64
5.3.8
iXBRL Test System ........................................................................................................ 64
5.3.9
Rules governing the electronic filing of accounts ........................................................ 65
5.3.10
Other accounting information .................................................................................. 66
5.4
XBRL SUBMISSIONS ............................................................................................................ 66
5.4.1
The Companies House Audit Exempt Taxonomy ......................................................... 66
5.4.2
Other Information Available on XBRL......................................................................... 71
5.4.3
Rules governing which accounts can be submitted electronically ............................... 71
5.4.4
Accounting Rules/XBRL Instructions .......................................................................... 73
5.5
ADDITIONAL RULES GOVERNING DORMANT ACCOUNTS (DCA ACCOUNTS) ........................ 79
6
CONTACT DETAILS ................................................................................................................ 81
APPENDIX A - ALLOWABLE COMPANY NUMBER PREFIXES ............................................. 82
APPENDIX B - COMPANIES HOUSE XML GATEWAY ERROR CODES ............................... 83
APPENDIX C – PERMITTED CHARACTERS FOR USE IN ELECTRONIC FILING ............ 86
APPENDIX D – EREMINDERS EXAMPLE ACTIVATION EMAIL........................................... 90
GLOSSARY OF TERMS .................................................................................................................... 93
NOTE: There are two main pieces of documentation required in order to develop
software to communicate with Companies House using the Electronic Filing service,
this Technical Interface Specification and the XML schemas.
This document will describe the way the service will work, its scope, how to gain
approval from Companies House and how to apply for an account to use the service.
The XML schemas, referenced within this document, describe the layout and content,
where appropriate, of the data to be submitted.
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DOCUMENT CONTROL
Version Control:
Date Issued
October 07
March 08
March 08
May 08
Ver’n
0.1d
0.2d
0.3d
0.4d
Author
Gordon Rich
Gordon Rich
Gordon Rich
Gordon Rich
June 08
June 08
0.5d
0.6d
Gordon Rich
Gordon Rich
Sept 08
Dec 08
Jan 09
0.7d
1.0d
2.0d
Draft
2.1d
Draft
2.2d
Draft
Gordon Rich
Steve Bowen
Lee Street
Comments
Initial draft (issued to customers Oct 07)
Draft version issued to customers 4/3/08 (pre QA)
Comments from QA - see below
Comments from ‘walk through’ with internal
development and marketing staff and with sample
external customers.
Introduction of Acknowledgement service
See below
Minor corrections to references
Minor Corrections
Changed to use StatusAck in ‘Class’ element instead
of GetStatusAck
Change to Acknowledgement service where use not
required in all circumstances
Change to duplicate envelope notification process
Inclusion of a time limit for use of
Acknowledgement service
Minor corrections – see below
Clarification of Testing Approach Sect 6.3
Companies Act 2006 Amendments required
Kean Jones
Clarification of PCL Driver Compatibility
Feb 09
March 09
May 09
2.3d
Draft
July 09
2.4d
Draft
Dec 09
3.0d
XBRL amendments – June-2009 implementation
(see Chapter 7 change control)
Marie
And Correction to <CompanyCategory> Code
Connors
Value Table
Marie
Descriptions of those Authorised to file specific
Connors
form types
Further correction to <CompanyCategory> Code
Value Table
Marie
Provision of Company number with Jurisdictions
Connors and Annual Return company types and notes
Gordon Rich Inconsistencies
Lynette
Details of limitations being lifted for annual return
O’Flaherty
documents and details of new form types which can
be filed for Limited Liability Partnerships.
Change of name for companies and limited liability
partnerships introduced.
Updates to sections 1.2.9 – length of reject text
1.2.11
system
limitations,
2.4.2
filing
exceptions/rules, 4.0 testing
Gareth Lewis
Gareth Lewis
Inline XBRL processing.
Adoption of UKGAAP 2009 taxonomy
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Mar 2010
3.1d
Steve
Torrance
Gareth Lewis
V4.so
May 2010
Gareth Lewis
May 2010
Marie
Connors
Gordon Rich
June 2010
V4.1d
Steve
Torrance
28th June
V4.2d
Lynette
O’Flaherty
22 July
V4.3d
Gordon Rich
Oct 2010
V4.4d
Lee Street
Feb 2011
4.5d
Lyn Smith
May 2011
Steve
Torrance
June 2011
4.6d
Gordon Rich
Jenny
Dargavel
June 2011
4.7d
Gordon Rich
Form type LLAR01 (annual return) for Limited
Liability Partnerships.
Updates to:
Section 2.4 – Include LLAR01; ref Summer
implementation.
Para 2.4.1 – Add LLAR01 to authorisation to file.
Para 2.4.3 – Add LLP company types for annual
return.
Final version approved by Marie Connors and
Lynette O’Flaherty
Inline XBRL – mandatory elements, additional
FRSSE statement, updated URLs.
Signed off by UNAA Project 25.03.10 – Project
Centre
Amendment to dormant company statement text
section 5.3.6 (page 50) – no version change.
AR01 Schema Limitations Page 18
Sect 2.4.3 (p.32) Paragraph explaining ‘reject
reference’ is no longer required by Companies
House for resubmissions of a rejected application.
Sect 2.4 (p.26) Remove reference to March 2010
implementation.
Sect 2.4.3 (p.33) Add reference to Change of Name
Resolution text and schema change.
Sect 2.4.1 (p.29) Correction to ‘authorisation to
file’ references.
Sect 1.1 (p.12 step 5/6) Update to clarify when
accounts parsing takes place
Sect 5.1
(p.47 para 6/7) Accounts parsing –
update to return error messages
Section 2.4.3 (Page 32) Removed LLPDES from
allowed options for <CompanyCategory> element
of AR and added explanation ‘Note’
Accounts type Audited added for Gateway
submissions (Chapter 5 – Page 47).
Remove both references to SIC Code descriptions
(Page 33). The option to input descriptions
<SicText> will no longer exist after 1st October
2011
Section 2.4.3 Annual Return – 2 bullet points added
relating to provision of information about whether
the company’s shares were traded on a market.
Addition of eReminders service
Issued for QA comment
updates to eReminders following QA
(pg 10,11,12,13,15,17, 38 and appendix D)
SIC code field size increasing (pg 33)
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June 2011
4.7so
July 2011
4.8
August 2011
4.9
Gareth Lewis
February
2012
4.10
Marie
Connors
July 2012
4.11
Gareth Lewis
November
2012
4.12
Kean Jones
December
2012
4.13
June 2013
4.14
Jenny
Dargavel
Marie
Connors
Jack
Mansfield
Gavin
Jenkins
Gareth Lewis
Marie
Connors
August 2013
4.15
Gareth Lewis
September
2013
4.15
Gareth Lewis
December
2013
4.15
Marie
Flowers
Issued as signed-off
Minor correction on Page 32 -Amendment to the
Annual Return text advice Question 2
Minor amendment on Page 76, 77 and 78 to replace
apostrophe ` with correct version ‘.
Section 5.3.1 – clarification of accounts types
accepted.
Section 5.3.6 – amendment to the statement
validation rules for audit exempt accounts.
Page 32 amendment to bullet points relating to the
annual return:
 On the annual return details for a maximum
of 5000 shareholdings can be supplied
 The number of share transfers on an annual
return is limited to 200
Page 35 - Update to Incorporations notes to refer to
Page 84 Annex E – Supply of Information to HM
Revenue and Customs for Corporation Tax
Page 57: Section 5.3.6 - iXBRL dormant accounts
validation enhancement
Page 19, 20, 34, 79
Sections added to notify that PDF versions 1.2
through 1.7 are now available for all incorporation
schemas using formsubmission 2.6 and above
Page 19 – Corrected file size limitations, 5mb
maximum, 1.2 million characters limit per Base64
encoded data element
Page 52 (Section 5.3.1) Clarification of Accounts
Types which can be submitted in iXBRL
Section 1.1 – Added information on Charge Codes
and updating existing charges
Section 1.2.10 - Added pdf system limitations
Section 2.4 – Added April 2013 new form
transactions
Section 5.3.2 – Added note on detailed Profit &
Loss taxonomies.
Section 4 Testing Page 51/52 Update to Testing
Requirements and AccountsImage retrieval
Section 5.3.6 – Added new section to describe
micro-entity category of accounts.
Section 5.3.6 – Page 63 Sample Statements
amended
Confirmation that the Micro-Entity Accounts
Regulations have received approval and transactions
can be filed.
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 INTRODUCTION
Purpose of the XML Electronic Filing Service
The objective of the Companies House eXtensible Markup Language (XML)
Electronic Filing Service is to provide a means of electronically transferring and
acknowledging receipt of company data between presenters and Companies House.
The XML Gateway provides online access over the internet into Companies House
databases for customers to submit as well as retrieve company information via their
own applications or web pages.
XML, which is controlled and monitored by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
is now the generally accepted mechanism for data exchange over the internet. It is
also the recommended e-GIF standard for use by Government agencies in web
applications.
The delivery mechanism will use the secure system, Hypertext Transfer Protocol
(Secure) – HTTPS – an encoded transfer protocol between client and web servers. It is
a requirement of the Companies Act 2006 that director’s private addresses are handled
in a secure and encoded manner. The HTTPS service will satisfy this requirement.
Certain company accounts can be submitted using the Electronic Filing Service using
the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) format. This is explained in
more detail in Section 5.
This document defines the interface between Companies House and presenters to
ensure that such an interchange of data is possible. The main components of the
system are defined in the following sections:
Section 1
Overall Structure of the Electronic Filing Interface:
Outlines the elements that make up the Electronic Filing system, and their
interconnections that will be used in the XML Electronic Filing system.
Section 2
Message Envelope Structure and Document Content:
Defines the overall structure of messages to be exchanged between Companies House
and presenters.
Defines the required representation of statutory data. The representation is defined in
terms of the metadata to be used for individual data items, the format in which these
are to be presented, and guidelines on the content of the individual document
messages.
Section 3
Authentication Mechanism:
Defines the authentication mechanism that will be employed, and the obligations on
both parties necessary to operate the mechanism including applying for and setting up
of an account.
Section 4
Testing Arrangements:
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Defines the scope of the Companies House testing service.
Section 5
XBRL Accounts:
Special rules for the delivery of accounts using eXtensible Business Reporting
Language (XBRL).
Section 6
Contacts:
Please note that Companies House is not able to offer advice to developers on any
detailed technical issues regarding XML. If you need help in these areas, you
must seek appropriate professional help.
ACKNOWLEDEMENTS
This Technical Interface Specification was produced over a number of months and
published in a number of draft versions to members of the XML Conversion Working
Group whose members reviewed and contributed to the document.
Companies House would like to thank members of the working group for their
feedback on its content and assistance in developing this specification.
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1
1.1
STRUCTURE OF THE ELECTRONIC FILING INTERFACE
Overview of the system
The overall objective of the Companies House (CH) Electronic Filing Service is to
provide presenters with an electronic method of delivering and receiving statutory
company information to and from Companies House. This provides a more efficient,
safer and faster method of filing company data for both presenter and Companies
House than existing paper-based process. This system, termed XML Software Filing,
allows for external organisations to develop their own software packages to send and
receive specific CH documents to and from Companies House. The service itself is
free though charges for fee bearing documents are collected through a credit account.
The service is made available to presenters subject to an application for such an
account (see section 3 for further details).
The XML Software Filing Service enables presenters to file data for a company
electronically as formatted data constituting an electronic submission. Not all
statutory forms are included in the service at present, but the high volume transactions
are included and additional transaction types will be added to the service as demand
and resources dictate. A list is shown in paragraph 2.4.
In addition to submitting data additional services allow presenters to:
 determine the status of submissions, whether the data has been accepted,
rejected or has been received (i.e. waiting asynchronous action)
 obtain a copy of data currently held by Companies House.
 obtain certificates
 sign-up and update details for the eReminders service
It is envisaged that rejection rates will be minimised due to the fact that users will
directly access CH pre-structured data formats and will also be able to retrieve
existing company data content which can then be modified and re-submitted. The
main elements of the system are listed at 1.2.
Transactions submitted electronically do not require to be submitted on paper. The
existing paper-based document submission will continue to operate in parallel with
the XML Electronic Filing Service, but a set of data need only be submitted via either
method once only.
Presenters will need specific software to submit Company data to Companies House
which conforms to Government-set standards. Companies House does not provide
software to enable presenters to access the XML service but is looking to presenters to
modify their own software if they have developed an in-house solution, or to obtain
updated software from their software package supplier. As an alternative to
developing or purchasing software, most documents covered by XML software filing
service can be submitted via the WebFiling service available on the Companies House
website. WebFiling is aimed at small presenters or individuals and may not therefore
be suitable for customers submitting large quantities of transactions.
In order to submit transactions via the Software Filing Service using the Companies
House XML Gateway it will be necessary for the presenter to apply for a Software
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Filing account. This will consist of a Presenter_ID and Presenter authentication code
and a credit account for the collection of payments from fee-bearing transactions.
NOTE: Separate XML Gateway logins (and credit accounts) are required for input
and output products even though they use the same portal. (See below for presenters
who may have a software filing account for previous TAG=DATA email system
which operated prior to October 2009.)
An application form for the Software Filing Credit Account is available from the
Companies House web site (under software filing). It will take up to five working
days to set up an Electronic Filing account. The IP address used to access the service
will be provided upon successful acceptance of the credit application. Presenters who
apply for a Lender Authentication Code will be able to apply for a Software Filing
Credit Account at the same time.
Software developers who do not themselves submit ‘live’ data will not require an
account but can set up a test account which is explained in section 6.
Companies House will allocate a Presenter_ID and presenter authentication for each
account. The Presenter_ID will be the main identifier for each presenter and
should be used in all communication with Companies House. Software developed
by third parties should apply the lowercase MD5 Hash algorithm to the Presenter_ID
and presenter authentication in order to convert it to the Software Filing user_id and
authentication used to access (login to) the XML Gateway service. This algorithm
should be hidden from end users.
The XML Gateway is capable of receiving and understanding complete HTTP 1.1
POST requests and initiating entire HTTP 1.1 RESPONSE messages. All traffic will
be encoded using the UTF-8 standard. The server application will be capable of
negotiating a 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connection with the client.
(Note: The server will not require client certificates for client authentication. Instead
the server will present a server side certificate in order to establish the SSL
connection.)
eReminders
eReminders service allows companies to opt out of receiving non-statutory paper
reminders for Annual Returns and accounts and to receive an email reminder instead.
Presenters are able to register to use the service by providing new email addresses,
retrieve details of the email addresses already registered against a company and to
update them if required.
Updating a Charge (Mortgage)
As of 6th April 2013, registration and updating details of charges can be performed
electronically. Charges that have been registered with a Creation Date or Acquired
Date on or after 6th April 2013 will have a unique charge code that must be supplied
when updating that charge (e.g. when satisfying the charge). Older charges registered
before this date will not have a unique code so need to be identified appropriately
using data such as the creation date and prescribed particulars. In order to process
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Final Version 4.15 (2006 Act)
these documents efficiently and to minimise rejection rates it is strongly advised to
perform a ChargeSearch request which will return details of all unsatisfied charges for
a company including either the Charge Code or an ExistingChargeKey that is unique
to that charge. Using the key when submitting a ChargeUpdate form where possible
will ensure identification of the particular charge to be updated. As well as the
ExistingChargeKey, all other data required by the ChargeUpdate schema should be
submitted as returned by the ChargeSearch reply.
The diagram below gives a simple representation of the elements of the Electronic
Filing System relevant to presenters. The Companies House XML Gateway will
consist of a document submission protocol equivalent to, but not fully utilising, the
UK Government Gateway Document Submission Protocol.
Each session will not consist of all the steps but use the steps required for that
operation. E.g. To request an update on a previous submission (service
GetSubmissionStatus) steps 8, 9, 10, and 11 would be used.
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Final Version 4.15 (2006 Act)
Presenter Application
CH XML Gateway
Web Service
Step 1 - Data Request
Company
Data
Request
X
M
L
P
A
R
S
E
Step 5 - Form submit
Step 2 - Obtain data
Step 3 - Data
Step 4 – Data Returned
Form
Submit
CH Internal System
X
M
L
P
A
R
S
E
Step 6 - Form Data
Asynchronous
processing
Step 7 - Form Acknowledgment
and poll period
Step 8 - Transaction Tracking
Get
Submission
Status
X
M
L
P
A
R
S
E
Step 9 - Search Request
Step 10 - Transaction Status
Step 11 - Transaction Result
Get
Status
Ack
Step 12 - Acknowledgement
Step 14 - Cert Request
Get
Document
Step 17 -Certificate
X
M
L
P
A
R
S
E
X
M
L
P
A
R
S
E
Step 13 – Database Update
Step 15 - Request Document
Step 16 - Document
Note: The above assumes successful parsing of any submission to the XML gateway.
If a submission fails parsing then processing will cease and an appropriate error
returned to the presenter without further processing by Companies House. This
applies to steps 1, 5, 8, 12 and 14.
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Step
Action
Step 1
CompanyDataRequest. Presenter reqests a session and supplies
authentication details within the GovTalk Envelope with the company
number and authentication code for the company data required within the
<Body> element.
Step 2
Internal CH. Following successful parsing the CH Web service requests
data from database.
Step 3
Internal CH. Data returned to web service
Step 4
CH returns requested data to presenter embedded within GovTalk
envelope.
Step 5
FormSubmission. Presenter reqests a session and supplies
authentication details within the GovTalk Envelope with the submitted
data within the <Body> element. XML/XBRL(for accounts) is parsed for
‘correctness’ and internal consistency. If errors are found the data is
rejected at this stage
Step 6
Internal CH... If format is correct the data is sent for asynchronous
validation against The Company Register.
Step 7
Receipt of submission (Date and Time) is acknowledged providing XML
Parse is successful, otherwise an error is returned (with no further
processing by CH).
Step 8
GetSubmissionStatus. Presenter reqests a session and supplies
authentication details within the GovTalk Envelope with the appropriate
data required for each poll request type within the <Body> element.
Step 9
Internal CH. Following successful parsing Web service requests update
Step 10
Internal CH. Internal systems replies
Step 11
CH returns status of requested submission(s) including a reference to the
Certificate if an Incorporation or change of name or Charge Registration.
Up to a maximum of 20 submissions for which CH has completed
processing will be returned.
Step 12
GetStatusAck. If GetSubmissionStatus used then successful receiept of
returned data is acknowledged
Step 13
CH updates internal database records to show completion of poll process
for previous poll.
Step 14
GetDocument. Presenter requests a session and supplies authentication
details within the GovTalk Envelope with the certificate reference
supplied during step 11 within the <Body> element.
Step 15
Internal CH. Following successful parsing certificate requested from
database
Step 16
Internal CH. Certificate returned to Web service
Step 17
Incorporation or change of name or charge certificate returned to
Presenter
Note: It is not necessary to undertake a CompanyData (step 1) prior to submitting
every form type e.g. incorporations and accounts. It is hoped the use of this service
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Final Version 4.15 (2006 Act)
will reduce the number of rejected transactions for transactions that must match data
already held by Companies House so its use prior to these transactions is encouraged.
The following diagram represents the eReminders service
Presenter Application
SetE
Reminders
Request
CH XML Gateway
Web Service
Step 1 – email Submit
Step 3 - Acknowledgment
GetE
Reminders
Request
Step 4 - Data Request
Step 7 - email Addresses
returned with status
Step
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
Step 7
X
M
L
P
A
R
S
E
X
M
L
P
A
R
S
E
CH Internal System
Step 2 – Update Database
Asynchronous
processing
Step 5 – Obtain Data
Step 6 - Data Returned
Action
SetERemindersRequest. Presenter requests a session and supplies
authentication details within the GovTalk Envelope with the company
details and up to 4 email addresses to whom reminders should be
sent.(used to register for the first time, add new email addresses or
change existing email addresses)
Internal CH. Following successful parsing data passed to database for
processing.
Acknowledgement - receipt of email addresses is acknowledged by
returning the supplied email addresses with their current status
GetERemindersRequest. Presenter requests a session and supplies
authentication details within the GovTalk Envelope with the company
details for which the information is required.
Internal CH. Following successful parsing the CH Web service requests
data from database.
Internal CH. Data returned to web service
CH returns requested data (up to 4 email addresses registered) to
presenter embedded within GovTalk envelope.
The following diagram represents the ChargeUpdate service
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Final Version 4.15 (2006 Act)
Presenter Application
Charge
Search
Request
CH XML Gateway
Web Service
Step 1 - ChargeSearch
Request
X
M
L
P
A
R
S
E
Step 5 - Form submit
Step 7 - Form Acknowledgment
and poll period
Step 2 - Obtain charges
for a company
Step 3 - Charges
Step 4 – Charges Returned
Form
Submit
CH Internal System
X
M
L
P
A
R
S
E
Step 6 - Form Data
Asynchronous
processing
Submission status and acknowledgement
as per standard form submission process
Step
Step 1
Action
ChargeSearchRequest. Presenter requests a session and supplies
authentication details within the GovTalk Envelope with the company
number and authentication code for the company whose unsatisfied
charges required within the <Body> element.
Step 2
Internal CH. Following successful parsing the CH Web service requests
details of each unsatisfied charge from database.
Step 3
Internal CH. Charge details returned to web service
Step 4
CH returns requested data to presenter embedded within GovTalk
envelope.
Step 5
FormSubmission. Presenter requests a session and supplies
authentication details within the GovTalk Envelope with the submitted
data within the <Body> element. Details of the charge to be updated are
included exactly as provided by the preceding ChargeSearch
Step 6
Internal CH... If format is correct the data is sent for asynchronous
validation against The Company Register.
Step 7
Receipt of submission (Date and Time) is acknowledged providing XML
Parse is successful, otherwise an error is returned (with no further
processing by CH).
Acknowledgment process as described above for standard form submission
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1.2
Main elements of the System
1.2.1 Pre Requisites
It is essential that anyone wishing to use the Software Filing Service via the XML
Gateway has sound experience in developing software that uses HTTPS and XML.
Companies House cannot provide any advice and support on developing your own
software.
1.2.2 Message Initiation
1.2.2.1 Transport
The Companies House XML Gateway exchanges XML over HTTPS. Requests are
submitted via the HTTPS POST method, with a Content-Type of text/xml.
Example XML showing typical requests and responses to and from the XML
Gateway are available on the Companies House Website.
Schemas are available at:
http://xmlgw.companieshouse.gov.uk/SchemaStatus
Electronic Filing messages are initiated by presenter applications in the format
defined in Section 2 (XML Message Structure). Each of these electronically filed
messages (envelopes) will contain one of five message types:
1. Request the current company information as held by Companies House.
2. Transmit a range of electronically filed documents, the XML format of which
is specified in Section 2.2 (XML Documents Content). Note that all
submissions are limited to one document per message and use a XML format
set by Companies House.
3. Request the status of a previous transmission (and acknowledge receipt)
4. Retrieve Incorporation or Change of Name or Charge Certificate.
5. eReminders, GetERemindersRequest or SetERemindersRequest
1.2.3 Message Transmission
1.2.3.1 Message Envelope and Govtalk
Service specific requests and responses are encapsulated within a common envelope
that carries the essential routing and authentication details. This envelope is a subset
of the UK GovTalk Message Envelope (http://www.govtalk.gov.uk) as the Companies
House XML gateway is designed to allow data exchange between Government
Departments that already use the GovTalk XML Messaging standard.
The envelope used by the Companies House XML Gateway may be found at
http://xmlgw.companieshouse.gov.uk/SchemaStatus
with documentation at http://xmlgw.companieshouse.gov.uk/msgenv.html.
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Electronic Filing of standard company documents will be done via a front-end
HTML-generated web service, known as the XML Gateway. Presenters will request a
session, authenticate themselves and upload one GovTalk envelope, containing one of
the services in 1.2.2.1 above.
1.2.3.2 Gateway URL and Request Routing
Requests are submitted to a single Gateway entry point:
https://xmlgw.companieshouse.gov.uk/v1-0/xmlgw/Gateway
The submission will be parsed against the appropriate schemas to check for errors or
inconsistencies within the XML and the presenter authenticated. If any errors are
found at this point the submission will be immediately rejected and the connection
dropped, and no further processing undertaken. Submissions rejected at this point
will be deemed not to have been delivered to the Registrar and no record of the
attempted submission will be made by Companies House against either the
presenter or the company.
The content of the ‘class’ element within the GovTalk envelope will enable the XML
Gateway to route the request to the appropriate internal Companies House service.
1.2.4 Message Processing
Each message will be processed depending on the service or message type requested
as follows:
1.2.4.1 Download company information (CompanyDataRequest).
This service will be similar to the current output XML Gateway service where data
held by Companies House for a company can be requested. Information will only be
available to presenters for companies that they file on behalf of. The company
authentication code will be required as part of the request and the service will be free
of charge. Only one type of search is available and that will return the data equivalent
to that required in the Annual Return. Assuming the correct authentication code is
received for the company requested the data held will be returned synchronously
within the same HTTPS connection in the format set out in section 4.
1.2.4.2 Submit Transaction Data (FormSubmission).
This service allows presenters to submit transactions to Companies House. The
transaction will be deemed to be signed by the inclusion of a company authentication
code which must be agreed with Companies House prior to submitting data (see
section 3 for further details).
Messages received by Companies House will be ‘Parsed’ against the appropriate
XML schema (see section 2) for that transaction type. If there are problems within the
parsing process, the envelope will be rejected at this point with a suitable reject
message within a GovTalk envelope.
If the submission passes parsing, a receipt confirmation message contained within the
GovTalk envelope will be returned by Companies House indicating the date and time
of receipt.
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Whether accepted or rejected, at this point the HTTPS connection will be terminated.
Transactions that have passed this point will then be processed asynchronously
against the Companies House database. The data will be passed to the corporate
database for validation of content. Validation can take up to 5 days though the vast
majority are processed within 24 hours. If accepted, the receipt of the Company data
will be shown as a received transaction on Companies House records.
If any inconsistencies are found, the transaction will be rejected with appropriate error
messages. See 1.2.4.3 below for further information on how these will be obtained.
Documents requiring additional data to be supplied (such as Memoranda or Articles
or supporting data) will have this data supplied as a ‘base 64 encoded string’ (binary
object) within the XML. See Section 2. Accounts will also be supplied in their
entirety as one ‘file’ embedded within a single XML element. (Accounts are
formatted in XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) or iXBRL (Inline
eXtensible Business Reporting Language) which is a form of XML. See section 5 for
further information.
1.2.4.3 Status of Previous Transaction (GetSubmissionStatus).
Presenters will need to request an update for previously submitted transactions. There
are 3 services available.:
i) specific transaction (<presenter id> and <SubmissionNumber>)
ii) all transactions for a presenter.
iii) all transactions for a company for a presenter.
On receipt of a request, Companies House will reply with an update for the requested
transactions synchronously within the HTTPS connection. The connection will then
be terminated. The reply will show if the transaction was accepted, rejected (with
appropriate error messages) or is still being processed. Up to 20 previous submissions
could be responded to. Full details are shown in section 2. Where an accepted
incorporation or change of name or charge registration is indicated a code will be
supplied allowing the presenter to obtain the PDF incorporation or change of name
certificate using the GetDocument service.
1.2.4.4 Acknowledgement (GetStatusAck).
Immediately following the use of GetSubmissionStatus the presenter should use this
service to acknowledge receipt of the updates. Without a GetStatusAck Companies
House will include the responses again in any subsequent poll. There is no need to use
this service when using option 1 above (specific transaction).
1.2.4.5 Incorporation or Change of Name or Charge Certificate (GetDocument).
Confirmation of acceptance by Companies House of Incorporation or Change of
Name or Charge will include a <DocRequestKey>. This key should be included in
this service to obtain a PDF version of the Incorporation certificate.
1.2.4.6 eReminders (SetERemindersRequest & GetERemindersRequest)
These services will enable companies to opt out of receiving non-statutory paper
reminders and to receive email reminders instead. Presenters will be able to enquire
which email addresses are registered for an individual company and to update the
email addresses registered. To register to use the service for the first time simply
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submit the email addresses you wish to register. Full details of the service will then be
emailed to each email address. Up to 4 emails addresses can be registered to receive
eReminders for each company. Full details of this service can be found from the
Companies House website. See section 2.7 for further information.
1.2.4.7 Email Prompting System
It is expected that software will poll Companies House at regular intervals for updates
on submissions until a final accept or reject message is received. With regular polling
all transactions should be finally acknowledged soon after Companies House has
accepted or rejected the submission.
As a back up in case a transaction becomes ‘lost’ within the polling software and to
advise customers of a potential problem with their software they may not be aware of,
Companies House will offer an email prompting service described below.
Each working day, Companies House will scan its database for:
 any submissions that it has completed processing, and for which
 the presenter has not polled and received details of the processing, and
 24 hours has passed (excluding weekends and bank holidays).
If any transactions are found an email advising that completed transactions are
waiting, will be issued to the last email address advised in element <EmailAddress>
of the GovTalk envelope Only one email per presenter per submission type (accounts,
charges and other submissions) regardless of the number of outstanding transactions
will be issued on any one day. The email will not list the outstanding transaction(s)
though will include an extra prompt where one of the outstanding transactions is a
rejected set of accounts or a change of Accounting Reference Date.
Only one email will be sent for each transaction, regardless of whether a poll is
subsequently received. As it is expected that this facility will be used in exceptional
circumstances Companies House will contact any software developers/presenters if it
is found that this facility is being constantly used.
1.2.5 Session Duration
All submissions will be acknowledged by Companies House using an appropriately
completed gateway envelope.
 CompanyData,
GetSubmissionStatus,
GetStatusAck,
GetDocument
GetERemindersRequest,
SetERemindersRequest
and
ChargeSearch
submissions (request for company data, update on document submission and
eReminders) and authentication or parser failures will be acknowledged
synchronously.
 Receipt of FormSubmission submissions will be acknowledged synchronously
(including a timestamp of the receipt) though further processing against the
Companies House corporate database will occur asynchronously.
Full details of the response are shown in the appropriate schemas and section 2. By
keeping each connect to a minimum in this manner it will allow all presenters equal
access to the service and stop any one presenter from keeping one connection open
and thereby stopping other presenters from obtaining a connection. A number of
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concurrent connections will be available at the Companies House server according to
the demand for the service. Each presenter will be limited to a maximum of 2 sessions
per second.
1.2.6 Versioning
The XML Gateway, service handlers and schemas are explicitly versioned. The XML
Gateway URL contains this version number so that clients may continue to use an
older version of a Gateway service when it becomes superseded. This allows
customers to upgrade to a new service version in a controlled manner. Superseded
versions will usually remain available for a period of 3 months. New implementations
should comply with the latest schema/service versions.
Schemas will have a date as part of their address enabling each version to be
identified and correctly referenced from within any submitted transaction.
1.2.7 Authentication
On opening a credit account a presenter authentication (and a presenter_id) will be
issued by Companies House. The lowercase MD5 hash algorithm should be applied to
the presenter authentication and this included in the GovTalk envelope within element
<Authentication>. On receipt of a session request, Companies House will confirm that
the <SenderID> and <Authentication> match those held for that presenter. If
inconsistencies are found then an appropriate error message will be returned (within a
GovTalk envelope) and the connection terminated. No further processing of the
submitted data will occur.
Company, officer and lender authentication is described in more detail in Section 3.
1.2.8 Error Handling
Errors fall into one of two types, transportation and business. Transportation errors
occur during an HTTPS connection and indicate an issue with that HTTPS
connection. All ‘transport’ errors are returned in the <GovTalkErrors> element. These
errors could include errors found during authentication of the presenter or during the
parse process of the submitted XML. These errors are not recoverable and indicate
that processing was unsuccessful.
Business errors are those detected during the asynchronous process when submitting a
document. These indicate that a document has been rejected even though it was
successfully received. This type of error will be reported during a subsequent poll
using the GetSubmissionStatus service and will be contained within the <Body>
element of the GovTalk envelope returned during the HTTPS poll connection.
The description element which contains reject text has been increased to 4000
characters for each reject reason.
Warnings may be returned with transportation errors that can contain useful
information which should be noted by the originator even though processing was
successful.
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A complete list of error codes and descriptions may be found at
http://xmlgw.companieshouse.gov.uk/errors.html.
Error messages will be made up of two components, an error code and error text.
When business errors are reported the error text could be specific to that submission,
the text should therefore be viewable to users. In addition some business errors may
have a third element. Where the error has occurred in a repeating element e.g. list of
directors etc., this additional element will identify the iteration where the error
occurred.
1.2.9 Schemas
W3C schemas for the services provided by the Companies House Electronic Filing
Service are available from the URL shown below. Also provided below is
comprehensive documentation detailing schema content (e.g. elements, complex types
etc.)
http://xmlgw.companieshouse.gov.uk/SchemaStatus
If you wish to develop software to submit document types for Companies Act 1985 documents ie to
notify Companies House of events that occurred prior to 1/10/2009 please contact customer care
(mconnors@companieshouse.gov.uk) for advice.
1.2.10 System Limitations
Companies House can accept Company data as detailed within this Technical
Interface Specification within certain size/system limits. These limits are detailed
below:
 The total size of the message can be no more than 10.0 mbytes.
 The total Base64 encoded size of any individual data element must be a
maximum of 1.2 million characters
 Portable document Format (PDF) copies of deeds for the registration of charges
can be a maximum of 10.0 mbytes
If any of the supporting data or memorandum and articles are supplied these form part
of the total message size of 10.0 mbytes.
Printer drivers supported:
 PCL-4
 PCL-5
 PCL-5e
 Companies house support some variations of PCL-XL, although
submissions may be accepted in this format it is recommended that the
above PLC drivers are used in preference.
 Companies house do not support Colour PCL-5e or the colour aspects
of PCL-XL.
 PDF’s are supported using formsubmission version 2.6 onwards
 PDF Maximum file size is 1.2 million characters once Base64 encoded
PDF versions supported:
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






PDF Version 1.2 through 1.7 inclusive
XBRL and iXBRL accounts can be a maximum of 2 mbytes.
Only one document per envelope.
The body of the XML and the envelope header should be encoded using UTF-8
Standard.
Each presenter is limited to a maximum of 2 request/submission sessions per
second.
Information on permitted characters, which can be used within data submitted, can
be found at Appendix C. Please note that schema validation will take place for
2006 Act forms. However, the rules pertaining to the permitted characters will
apply to 1985 Act forms at database level
Schema limitations occur from Draft Vs 2.3.1 as follows:
AR01 Shareholding limit of 5000
AR01 Increase of Share Transfer limit from 3 to 200
AR01 - New functionality: Subsidiary & Associated Undertakings limit 1000
AR01/SH01 - Capital fields on statement of capital all defined as 'positive integer
1.2.11 Service Hours
The XML Gateway service is available 24 hours a day unless otherwise notified.
Any document transaction submitted (FormSubmission) will be acknowledged as
received 24 hours a day but will only be processed against the central corporate
database during normal office hours.
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2
XML MESSAGE STRUCTURE
The structure of a message follows the UK GovTalk Message Envelope
(http://www.govtalk.gov.uk) structure. This is used for communication in both
directions i.e. presenter to Companies House and Companies House to presenter.
The schema for the envelope used by the Companies House XML Gateway may be
found at http://xmlgw.companieshouse.gov.uk/SchemaStatus
http://xmlgw.companieshouse.gov.uk/msgenv.html
The following are the main elements of the GovTalk envelope used when submitting
an envelope to Companies House.
GovTalkMessage
The <GovTalkMessage> element is the root element of every GovTalk message and
therefore Companies House XML Gateway messages.
EnvelopeVersion
The <EnvelopeVersion> element takes a numeric or blank value and specifies the
version of the message envelope being used.
This is currently ignored by the Companies House XML Gateway.
Header
Every document submitted to the Companies House XML Gateway must contain a
<Header> envelope section. The header contains routing, process and authentication
information. It is split into two distinct sections; <MessageDetails> giving message
specific information, and <SenderDetails> giving details of the message sender,
including authentication.
MessageDetails
The <MessageDetails> element provides the Companies House XML Gateway with
information about the message.
Once a document has been submitted to the XML Gateway then the XML Gateway
populates some of the other elements within the <MessageDetails> element, and
returns them with the response. For example, the XML Gateway will populate the
<GatewayTimestamp> element
Class
The <Class> element describes the content of the <Body> element within the
GovTalk envelope. It is through this element that the XML Gateway decides on
appropriate routing and processing. It should contain the name of the schema used in
this submission. (with the exception of CompanyData where CompanyDataRequest
should be used and GetStatusAck where StatusAck should be used)
The acceptable values for the Class element are
 CompanyDataRequest - Download data held by Companies House for a
company (used with CompanyData schema)
 GetDocument - Request PDF certificate following successful incorporation
 GetSubmissionStatus - Request an update on a previously submission.
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





StatusAck – Acknowledge receipt of data from previous GetSubmissionStatus.
(used with GetStatusAck schema)
ChargeSearch – Request details of unsatisfied charges of a company
To submit a document to Companies House one of the following should be
used:
o AnnualReturn
o ChangeAccountingReferenceDate
o ChangeRegisteredOfficeAddress
o CompanyIncorporation
o IncreaseNominalCapital
o OfficerAppointment
o OfficerChangeDetails
o OfficerResignation
o RegisterOfDebentureHolders
o RegisterOfMembers
o ReturnOfAllotmentShares
o ChangeOfName
o ChargeRegistration
o ChargeUpdate
If submitting accounts then use ‘Accounts’
GetERemindersRequest
SetERemindersRequest
The actual data is supplied in the <Body> element.
Qualifier
For a submission this should be set to ‘request’. When Companies House replies it
will be set to either ‘acknowledgement’ or ‘response’ accordingly.
TransactionID
The <TransactionID> element is a unique transaction identifier allocated by the
presenter and used for tracking purposes. This identifier will only be used to track
communication with the XML Gateway. A different <TransactionID> should be used
for each session requested with the XML Gateway. This reference needs to be unique
and each number should also be greater than the last.
Once a transaction has been parsed and accepted (ie a gateway header is returned by
Companies House containing a receipt date and time) the <SubmissionNumber>
contained in the base data at the start of each transaction schema will be the reference
used in any communication. The <SubmissionNumber> together with the
<Presenter_ID> will enable Companies House to uniquely identify submissions.
Both identifiers, the <TransactionId> and <SubmissionNumber> should be visible to
the user for use in communication with Companies House and the appropriate one
used depending on if the submission has passed the Parse process.
ResponseEndPoint and PollInterval
The <ResponseEndPoint> element may be added by the Companies House XML
Gateway in a request acknowledgement, indicating to the originator that any further
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communication regarding this document must be directed to a different location from
that to which the original document was sent.
The <ResponseEndPoint> element contains the new address that the originating
application must poll to receive any subsequent replies on that message. It is the
responsibility of the application developer to ensure that the originating application
polls for any subsequent replies at this new URL instead of at the original address.
NOTE: It is unlikely that Companies House will use this mechanism, at least in the
first version, but it has been included to be compatible with the Government Gateway
and for possible future use.
The <PollInterval> element specifies the recommended poll interval, in seconds that
the originating application should leave between submitting a transaction and polling
the Gateway for an update on this specific transaction. The figure is configurable by
Companies House. It is expected that most software will use the general poll services
which will include the transaction status of all transactions where Companies House
has completed asynchronous processing (up to a max of 20). The <PollInterval> is
therefore only included as guidance should presenters wish to use the more specific
poll service for that particular submission (<SubmissionNumber>). A poll interval of
0 indicates that no further polling should be carried out for that
<SubmissionNumber>.
GatewayTest
The <GatewayTest> element is used to indicate a test message. It should be set to
‘true’ when using the test service. Please see Section 4 for details of the test service.
GatewayTimestamp
The <GatewayTimestamp> element is added by the XML Gateway in response
messages to indicate when the document was received for processing by the Gateway.
This time will be the legal receipt date of the transaction.
SenderDetails
The <SenderDetails> element encapsulates the sender’s details.
IDAuthentication
The <IDAuthentication> element contains the elements that identify the sender and
enables the XML Gateway to confirm they have appropriate authentication to carry
out the requested service contained within the GovTalk envelope.
SenderID
The <SenderID> element identifies the originator of the document being submitted
and is equal to the Software Filing user_id (xml). This is the result of passing the
Presenter_ID assigned to the presenter on registering to use the Companies House
Software Filing service via the XML Gateway, through the lowercase MD5 Hash
algorithm to produce the Software Filing user_id (xml). The <SenderID> element
must be present in every submission submitted to the Companies House XML
Gateway.
Authentication
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The <Authentication> element encapsulates the authentication elements and must be
present in every submission submitted to the Companies House XML Gateway. Its
child elements identify the sender and guarantees that the sender really is who they
claim to be.
Method
The <Method> element describes the authentication method that has been used within
this submission. The only allowed value is ‘clear’
Value
The <Value> element gives the sender's ‘password’. It is the equal to the presenter
authentication code passed through the lowercase MD5 Hash algorithm. The presenter
authentication code is given by Companies House to the presenter on application for a
credit account.
EmailAddress
It is recommended that each presenter has a central email address to act as a point of
contact. This email address should be advised in the <EmailAddress> element.
Companies House will always use the email address supplied in the last successfully
received session and so the <Emailaddress> element should always be supplied.
Companies House may use this address for:
 Email prompting system (see 1.2.4.6)
 For issues regarding the XML Gateway service (e.g. planned maintenance)
 Exceptionally, issues with a document submission that Companies House
cannot resolve in the normal manner.
 Exceptionally, as a final emergency contact should Companies House not be
able to contact the presenter via other mechanisms eg letter or telephone.
GovTalkDetails
The current release of the Companies House XML Gateway uses the
<GovTalkDetails> element as a response only element. The elements encapsulated
within it indicate the success or failure of a connection request and appropriate error
conditions.
GovTalkErrors
The <GovTalkErrors> element is added by the Gateway under error conditions to
indicate where the failure occurred. The GovTalkErrors element may contain one or
more Error elements.
Only errors detected during the actual HTTPS session (ie presenter authentication and
Parser errors) will be shown here. If the transaction is acknowledged as received at
this point then any errors detected during asynchronous processing will be returned
within <body><GetSubmissionStaus> of the separate polling request.
Error
The <Error> element encapsulates several sub-elements that together identify the
cause of the failure. There may be multiple occurrences of this element.
RaisedBy
Identifies the system that raised this particular failure.
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Number
The <Number> element contains the error code that describes the failure.
Type
The <Type> element describes what type of failure was detected:
fatal - processing cannot continue
business - processing cannot continue
warning - processing continued, but note should be taken of this error
Text
The <Text> element gives a human readable description of the failure.
Location
The <Location> element describes where in the XML document the failure occurred.
This is not currently used by the Companies House XML Gateway.
Body
The <Body> element encapsulates the XML being submitted by the presenter and is
dependant on the submission type identified in the <class> element. This is described
in more detail in section 2.2.
Examples of the GovTalk envelope, both from presenter to Companies House and
Companies House to presenter can be found at
http://xmlgw.companieshouse.gov.uk/SchemaStatus
If you wish to develop software for forms submitted under the 1985 companies act please contact
Customer Care (mconnors@companieshouse.gov.uk)
2.1
Submissions
The GovTalk envelope, described above, acts as a ‘wrapper’ (or transport envelope)
to the actual service being requested. It is uniquely identified by the <TransactionID>
element.
The service being requested is embedded within the <Body> element of the GovTalk
envelope. This will contain data that conforms to one of the following schemas
depending on which service is required:
CompanyDataRequest
FormSubmission
GetSubmissionStatus
GetStatusAck
GetDocument
eReminders
When submitting data to update a company record, embedded within
<FormSubmission>, within the <Form> element, will be data that conforms to one of
the allowed document submission schemas. Each <FormSubmission> is identified by
the <SubmissionNumber> element found within the FormSubmission schema. THE
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<SUBMISSIONNUMBER> (TOGETHER WITH THE PRESENTER_ID) WILL BE
THE MAIN IDENTIFIER USED BY COMPANIES HOUSE TO IDENTIFY AN
INDIVIDUAL DOCUMENT SUBMISSION. Each presenter/software is responsible
for allocating their own unique <SubmissionNumber> to each document submission
they make. NOTE a new <SubmissionNumber> is only required when using the
FormSubmission option, other services will either reference a previously submitted
<SubmissionNumber> or not require one.
The <FormIdentifer> element of <FormSubmission> should contain the same
indicator used in the <Class> element of the GovTalk envelope described above.
2.1.1 Well-Formed XML Envelope
The whole GovTalk envelope, including any embedded ‘schemas’, without exception
must be presented in a well-formed manner. Well-formed means that the envelope
follows rules which allow the data to be read by a commercial XML parser. If the
envelope doesn’t follow the correct XML syntax, the envelope will be rejected. World
Wide Web Consortium (W3) recommendation for well-formed documents can be
found at: http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-xml/
On receipt of a connection request Companies House will parse the GovTalk
envelope, and embedded data if appropriate, against the appropriate schemas. This
will include Business rules described in the schemas, including rules described in the
‘comments’. It will then validate the presenter’s authentication details. Any errors
found up to this point will result in the submission being rejected as containing
‘transportation’ errors with no further processing by Companies House. These
‘transportation error’ submissions will be deemed not to have been delivered to
Companies House. Errors messages will be returned within <GovTalkErrors>.
2.1.2 Valid XML Envelopes
Once a GovTalk envelope has been parsed as well formed and the presenter
authenticated the embedded request will be processed. Schemas, CompanyData,
GetSubmissionStatus, GetStatusAck and GetDocument requests will be actioned
synchronously with the data required returned within the HTTPS same connection.
‘FormSubmissions’ will be validated against the Companies House XML Schema for
that document type and if successful Companies House will respond with an
‘acknowledgment’ reply detailing the date and time of receipt. Processing of valid
submissions will then continue asynchronously. If the document data fails parsing
then the transaction will be rejected at this point with messages explaining the reason
for the failure.
2.1.3 Duplicate Submission Numbers
Developers must ensure that their software cannot send in the same
<SubmissionNumber> twice. Where this does occur Companies House will reject the
submission. Any errors found up to this point will result in the submission being
rejected as containing ‘transportation’ errors with no further processing by Companies
House. These ‘transportation error’ submissions will be deemed not to have been
delivered to Companies House. Errors messages will be returned within
<GovTalkErrors>.
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Should a poll be made for a <SubmissionNumber> which has been used twice then
Companies House will respond to the original as would be expected (ie accepted or
rejected).
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DOCUMENT CONTENT
2.2
Introduction
Company data submitted electronically must use XML (eXtensible Markup
Language). No other format of electronic submission will be allowed.
This section describes the data submitted encapsulated within the <Body> element of
the GovTalk envelope. This is in effect the data being submitted and falls into 5
categories.
1. Request for company data held by Companies House.
2. Submission of transaction (a document)
3. Request update on previously submitted transaction.
4. Document download (Incorporation Certificate).
5. eReminders
Each is described in detail below.
Only Limited companies with a company number starting with a 0 (zero), SC, NI or
R0 are allowed to file electronically. Limited liability partnerships with numbers
starting OC, SO or NC can also file electronically. In addition, there a number of
additional filing exceptions associated with each transaction type. These are detailed
below.
2.3
CompanyDataRequest - Request for Company Information held by CH
This service allows presenters to request a company’s record as held by Companies
House. Prior to submitting a document presenters will be able to check the details held
at Companies House to ensure that their submission is correct. This should reduce the
amount of rejections due to erroneous data. The company authentication code is
required in order to obtain the data. If the authentication code is missing or different
to that held by Companies House then the request will be rejected with an appropriate
error message and no data returned.
The data that can be requested is equivalent to the information required for the Annual
Return and includes basic company information, officer details and share information
where Companies House has recorded the information. Whereas there is no
compulsion to use this service prior to submitting data to Companies House,
presenters are encouraged to use it in order to reduce the number of rejections that
occur. This information will be returned synchronously embedded within the <Body>
element.
Schemas detailing the interface are available at:
http://xmlgw.companieshouse.gov.uk/SchemaStatus
It may not be possible for Companies House to return all of the information for every
request. In these circumstances it will still be possible to submit data.
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2.4
FormSubmission - Submission of Transactions
The following transactions can be filed electronically under the Companies Act 2006
AR01 – Annual Return
AD01 – Change of Registered Office
AD02 – Notification of Single Alternative Inspection Location
AD03 – Change of location of company records to SAIL
AD04 – Change of location of company records to RO
AP01 – Appointment of Natural Director
AP02 – Appointment of Corporate Director
AP03 – Appointment of Natural Secretary
AP04 – Appointment of Corporate Secretary
TM01 – Termination of Director
TM02 – Termination of Secretary
CH01 – Change of Natural Director
CH02 – Change of Corporate Director
CH03 – Change of Natural Secretary
CH04 – Change of Corporate Secretary
SH01 – Allotment of Shares
AA01 – Change of Accounting Reference Date
EINC – Incorporation
AA – Annual Account
Form types added for summer 2010 are:NM01 – Change of name with resolution
NM04 – Change of name by means provided for in the articles
LLAR01 – Annual Return
LLAD01 – Change of Registered Office
LLAD02 – Notification of Single Alternative Inspection Location
LLAD03 – Change of location of company records to SAIL
LLAD04 – Change of location of company records to RO
LLAP01 – Appointment of Natural Member
LLAP02 – Appointment of Corporate Member
LLTM01 – Termination of Member
LLCH01 – Change of Natural Member
LLCH02 – Change of Corporate Member
LLAA01 – Change of Accounting Reference Date
LLIN01 – Incorporation
LLNM01 – Change of name
Form Types added for Spring 2013 are:MR01 – Registration of a Charge
MR02 – Registration of an Acquisition of a Charge
MR04 – Satisfaction of a Charge
MR05 – Release or Cease Property From a Charge
LLMR01 – Registration of a Charge
LLMR02 – Registration of an Acquisition of a Charge
LLMR04 – Satisfaction of a Charge
LLMR05 – Release or Cease Property From a Charge
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General Information concerning limited liability partnerships can be found on the
Companies House website although this site has several references to filings being
made via paper. http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/about/guidance.shtml
All transactions except Accounts should be submitted using XML according to the
schema for that transaction type. Accounts should be submitted as eXtensible
Business Reporting Language (XBRL) – a form of XML – as a ‘Base 64 encoded
string’ in the <Document><Data> element of <FormSubmission>. Full details of
XBRL and how to submit accounts can be found in Section 5.
Once submitted and following initial parsing of the data, Companies House will
acknowledge receipt by returning a GovTalk envelope detailing the receipt date and
time, synchronously. Processing will then continue against the Companies House
database asynchronously and if accepted a record entered on the register. A TIF image
of the data submitted will then be created and this made available on the public
record.
The status of a submission (whether accepted, rejected or pending) can be obtained
using the GetSubmissionStatus service detailed in 2.5 below.
Asynchronously processing of data could take up to 5 days but it is anticipated that
the vast majority will take less than a day.
Please note: The way company numbers are submitted changed on 1/10/2009.
The following example may help clarify:
If the company is incorporated in England & Wales, you should put the company
number into the company number element, and put ‘EW’ in the company type
element. The same rule applies for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Therefore, if a
Scottish company number is ‘SC123456, it should be ‘123456’ in the company
number and choose ‘SC" in the company type element.
2.4.1 Representation of Data in Schemas
Each transaction type (or document) is described in a separate XML schema. The
XML schemas pertaining to each document to be submitted can be obtained from the
CH web site as listed below. The link will take you to the relevant schema structure
and allow downloading of data values for use in software development. Parsing can
therefore be carried out at the presenter’s local server thus negating the need to
validate at Companies House receiving server. XBRL schemas for accounts
submission are explained in Section 5.
http://xmlgw.companieshouse.gov.uk/SchemaStatus
It has not been possible to include all the rules that apply to individual elements where
the element occurs in more than one transaction type (and therefore more than one
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schema) and the rules differ between those transactions. Therefore elements may have
‘comments’ associated with them in order to convey the rules that apply to that
element for that transaction type.
For example, the designation of the person allowed to sign a document will only apply
to incorporations. These rules must be taken into account by software developers
as they will be tested for as part of the initial parsing process during submission.
If failed, the transaction will not be accepted as a valid submission and no record
of the submission attempt made against either the presenter or company
concerned.
The following list outlines the authorisation to file that the end user MUST be
aware of but that does not need to be specified in the submission
Authorisation to file - The following list indicates who is authorised to submit
particular transactions:
AP01,Director , Secretary, Person authorised ,Administrator, Administrative Receiver, Receiver,
Receiver manager, Charity commission receiver and manager, CIC manager, Judicial factor
AP02,Director , Secretary, Person authorised ,Administrator, Administrative Receiver, Receiver,
Receiver manager, Charity commission receiver and manager, CIC manager, Judicial factor
AP03,Director , Secretary, Person authorised, Administrator, Administrative Receiver, Receiver,
Receiver manager, Charity commission receiver and manager, CIC manager, Judicial factor
AP04 Director , Secretary, Person authorised ,Administrator, Administrative Receiver, Receiver,
Receiver manager, Charity commission receiver and manager, CIC manager, Judicial factor
CH01, Director , Secretary, Person authorised , Administrator, Administrative receiver, Receiver,
Receiver manager, Charity commission receiver and manager, CIC manager, Judicial factor.
CH02,Director , Secretary, Person authorised ,Administrator, Administrative Receiver, Receiver,
Receiver manager, Charity commission receiver and manager,CIC manager, Judicial factor
CH03,Director , Secretary, Person authorised ,Administrator, Administrative Receiver, Receiver,
Receiver manager, Charity commission receiver and manager,CIC manager, Judicial factor
CH04 Director , Secretary, Person authorised ,Administrator, Administrative Receiver, Receiver,
Receiver manager, Charity commission receiver and manager,CIC manager, Judicial factor
TM01, Director , Secretary, Person authorised , Liquidator, Administrator,
Administrative receiver, Receiver, Receiver manager, Charity Commission receiver and manager, CIC
manager, Judicial factor
TM02 Director , Secretary, Person authorised , Liquidator, Administrator,
Administrative receiver, Receiver, Receiver manager, Charity Commission receiver and manager, CIC
manager, Judicial factor
AD01, Director , Secretary, Person Authorised , Liquidator, Administrator,
Administrative receiver, Receiver, Receiver manager, Charity commission receiver and manager, CIC
manager, Judicial factor
AD02,Director , Secretary, Person authorised , Liquidator, Administrator,
Administrative receiver, Receiver, Receiver manager, Charity Commission receiver and manager, CIC
manager, Judicial factor.
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AD03,Director , Secretary, Person authorised , Liquidator, Administrator,
Administrative receiver, Receiver, Receiver manager, Charity Commission receiver and manager, CIC
manager, Judicial factor.
AD04 Director , Secretary, Person authorised , Liquidator, Administrator,
Administrative receiver, Receiver, Receiver manager, Charity Commission receiver and manager, CIC
manager, Judicial factor.
AA01 Director, Secretary, Person authorised, Administrator, Administrative Receiver, Receiver,
Receiver manager, Charity commission receiver and manager, CIC manager, Judicial factor
SH01 Director , Secretary, Person authorised , Administrator, Administrative receiver, Receiver,
Receiver manager, CIC manager
AR01
Director , Secretary, Person authorised , Charity commission receiver and manager, CIC manager,
Judicial factor.
NM01/NM04
Director, Secretary, Person Authorised, Liquidator, Administrator, Administrative receiver, Receiver,
Receiver manager, Charity Commission receiver and manager, CIC manager.
IN01
Agent, Subscriber
LLAD01
Designated member, Judicial factor
LLAD02/LLAD03/LLAD04
Designated member, Member, Administrator, Administrative receiver, Receiver, Receiver manager,
Judicial factor
LLAP01/LLAP02/LLCH01/LLCH02/LLTM01
Designated member, Judicial factor
LLAA01
Designated member, Member, Administrator, Administrative receiver, Receiver, Receiver manager,
Judicial factor
LLAR01
Designated member,Judicial factor
LLNM01
Designated member,Judicial factor
LLIN01
Designated member, Solicitor
MR01/MR02/LLMR01/LLMR02
A person with an interest in the charge
MR04/MR05/LLMR04/LLMR05
A person with an interest in the charge
2.4.2 Filing Exceptions and Rules
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General limits on the use of the service are given at paragraph 1.2.10 In addition there
are a number of filing restrictions depending of the transaction type and these are
listed here.


On the SH01 form there is a limit of 6 different share classes per form
For an annual return there is a limit of 10 joint shareholders per shareholding.
2.4.3 Rules for each form type
The following rules are specific to the Electronic Filing service only. General
Business rules for each form type as specified in the Companies Act are not included.
These can be obtained from guidance notes available from the Companies House Web
Site.
Certain elements have limitations as to what data can be supplied within them. These
are shown in the appropriate schemas.
Rules Common to several forms





When appointing an officer or declaring subscribers (Incorporation) in order to
confirm the person’s willingness to act as an officer, the necessary personal
authentication data should be provided. Please see 3.3 below for further
information.
If a member of a limited liability partnership is changing to a designated
member (or vice versa) then personal authentication must be provided.
If the appointee is a corporate body, an officer of that corporate body needs to
be named and provide personal authentication details.
When declaring share class for shares in currencies for which there is no
symbol, the currency should be spelt out. Eg ordinary £1, preference $2,
ordinary 1 yen etc.
Share Currency should use code according to ISO 4217 e.g. GBP USD etc.
Change of Officer Details
Where new details are being supplied all required details must be input eg if an
address change involves a move from one street to another within the same town, the
town must be entered in ‘new post town’ otherwise it will not form part of new
address. Similarly for new surnames, the forename(s) must still be supplied.
Annual Return
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
The following codes should be used <CompanyCategory>
COMPANY TYPE
CODE VALUE
ACT
Public limited company
Private company limited by shares
Private limited company by guarantee
Private limited company by guarantee
Private company limited by shares exempt under section 60
Private company limited by shares exempt under section 30
Private company limited by guarantee exempt under section 60
Private company limited by guarantee exempt under section 30
Private unlimited company with share capital
Private unlimited company without share capital
Limited liability partnership
PLC
BYSHR
BYGUAR
BYGUARWOSHRCAP
BYSHREXUNDSEC60
BYSHREXUNDSEC30
BYGUAREXUNDSEC60
BYGUAREXUNDSEC30
UNLCWSHRCAP
UNLCWOSHRCAP
LLP
Both
Both
2006
1985
2006
1985
2006
1995
Both
Both
N/A
Note – You do not have to specify on the LLAR01 if the LLP has designated
members only. Therefore LLPs that were incorporated using the type LLPDES
(Limited liability partnership which has designated members only) should use LLP
when submitting an annual return.







You cannot notify changes on an annual return (except to SIC codes
<SicCode>). The appropriate form must be submitted and accepted prior to
submitting the annual return or the annual return maybe rejected as being
incorrect or marked as inconsistent.
A change to SIC codes will be applied from 1/10/2011. Four digit codes apply
to returns with a made up date up to 30/9/2011 (2003 UK standard industrial
classification of economic activities) and 5 digit codes apply from 1/10/2011
(2007 UK standard industrial classification of economic activities),
On the annual return details for a maximum of 5000 shareholdings can be
supplied
On the annual return subsidiary and associated undertakings can now be
supplied
The number of share transfers on an annual return is limited to 200
On an annual return for a made up date on or after 1st October 2008 it is
necessary for a PLC to declare whether or not it has traded on a regulated
market during the period of the return. For those companies which have
traded on a regulated market, the requirement to provide shareholder details is
limited to the name and address of each shareholder having 5% or more in any
share class.
On an annual return for a made up date on or after 1st October 2011 it will be
necessary for all companies with share capital to make a declaration about
whether any of the company's shares were admitted to trading on a market at
any time during the return period (question 1). In this context a 'market' is one
established under the rules of a UK recognised investment exchange or any
other regulated markets in or outside the UK, e.g. London Stock Exchange.
If any of the company's shares were admitted to trading on a market, then the
company must also declare whether, throughout the return period, there were shares
which were admitted to trading on a relevant market and if it was an issuer to which
DTR5 applies. (question 2). The term 'DTR5' refers to Vote Holder and Issuer
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Notification Rules contained in Chapter 5 of the Disclosure and Transparency
Rules source book issued by the Financial Services Authority.
 If the company answers 'No' to the first question, they must provide a
full list of shareholder names.
 If the company answers 'Yes' to the first question and 'No' to the
second question, they must provide the name and address of each
shareholder having 5% or more in any share class as at the date of the
return (if there are any).
 If the company answers 'Yes' to both questions, the company will not
be required to provide any shareholder details.
Incorporations





Subscribers supplied on an incorporation is now unlimited.
The Memoranda and Articles, same name justification or supporting evidence
required should certain words be included in the requested company name,
must be provided as a Base 64 encoded string within the appropriate element.
These should be provided in HP Printer Control Language (PCL) format
and/or as a PDF with the maximum size quoted in 1.2.10 system limitations
Memorandum and articles are not required for limited liability partnerships
Company types which can be incorporated are:
COMPANY TYPE
CODE VALUE
Public limited company
Private company limited by shares
Private company limited by guarantee
Private company limited by guarantee exempt under
section 60
Limited liability partnership
Limited liability partnership which has designated
members only
PLC
BYSHR
BYGUAR
BYGUAREXEMPT
LLP
LLPDES
Printer driver limitations
PCL-4
PCL-5
PCL-5e
Companies house support some variations of PCL-XL,
although submissions may be accepted in this format it is
recommended that the above PLC drivers are used in
preference.
Companies house do not support Colour PCL-5e or the colour
aspects of PCL-XL.
 PDF attachments are limited to PDF version 1.2 through 1.7 inclusive and
are allowable in formsubmission version 2.6 or greater
If you wish to use a different printer driver you will need to test with Companies
House to check we can interpret the information being supplied. Companies House
cannot accept PCL 6 format. The print used should be black on white.
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In order to preserve the formatting of the Memorandum and Articles these should be
provided in their entirety including variable merged data such as company name. It is
expected that, in order to ensure that there are no inconsistencies between data
supplied in the XML elements and the Memorandum and Articles, software
should allow this variable data to be entered only once and then be used to
further populate fields within the system.
If Document Type is set to SDEINC (i.e. Same-day Incorporation) a higher fee will be
charged. These transactions will be processed the same day provided they are received
by 15.00 (UK time).
Should an incorporation be rejected for any reason, a reject reference will be returned
with the reject reasons. Companies House no longer require this reject reference to be
included on any subsequent application for a particular name.
Details relating to the optional provision Corporation Tax information to be forwarded
to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) can be found at ANNEX E
Change of Accounting Reference date
Where the Secretary of State has authorised an extension to the Accounting Reference
Date for more than once in five years then the code number supplied in the
notification of the extension should be included in the appropriate element. Failure to
do so will result in the transaction being rejected.
190 & 190a – (Submission only under Companies Act 1985)
The same schema is used for both of these form types. The boolean
<LegibleFormatInd> is used in 190 to differentiate between the two form types.
353 &353a – (Submission only under Companies Act 1985)
The same schema is used for both of these form types. The boolean
<LegibleFormatInd> is used in 353 to differentiate between the two form types.
Accounts
Please see Section 5 for details on submitting Company Accounts in XBRL and
iXBRL format.
NM01 – Change of name with resolution
The Resolution passed by the Company must be of the form,
“The following special resolution to change the name of the company was agreed and
passed by members.
On the [date to be inserted].
That the name of the company be changed to: [Proposed Name to be inserted]”.
The schema for ‘Change of name with resolution’ will include a boolean
<NoticeGiven> which, when set to true, indicates that notice of the change of name
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has been given. Failure to provide the boolean value, or the boolean being set to false,
will result in the submission being returned to the filer as unsuccessful.
Charge Registration
When a new charge is registered, a copy of the deed must be provided as a Portable
Document Format (PDF) attachment with the maximum size quoted in 1.2.10 system
limitations. This attachment should be a Base 64 encoded string within the appropriate
element.
2.4.4 Chargeable Transactions
A fee is required for certain transactions. At the time of writing this applies to the
Annual Return, Change of Name and Incorporation and Charge
Registration/Acquisition with a higher fee being charged for same-day incorporations
and changes of name. A credit account needs to be opened to collect these fees. An
application form is available on the ‘software filing’ pages of the Companies House
website at: www.companieshouse.gov.uk
2.5
GetSubmissionStatus - Request update on previously submitted Transaction
Having submitted a transaction to Companies House using the FormSubmission
option a presenter can request an update on the status of that submission. Companies
House will reply synchronously to this request indicating:



If accepted
If still being processed (pending) – When specifying a specific
<SubmissionNumber> only
If rejected (together with reject reasons).
Presenters will be able to poll at any time 24/7 although transactions that are query
handled (needing manually checking) are only processed internally during office
hours so no further updates will be available outside of these times. There are 3
options available.
1. Request for one submission details
2. All completed submissions for a presenter (max 20 replies per request)
3. All completed submissions for a company (max 20 replies per request).
Schemas detailing the submission request and response by Companies House are
available at:
http://xmlgw.companieshouse.gov.uk/SchemaStatus
Each option will work as specified in the following table:
Option (see Data supplied by
above)
presenter
1
Presenter_ID and
SubmissionNumber
Data replied by Companies House
Current status of the transaction submitted
will be returned regardless of if the
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2
3
information has been provided previously.
This could be:
a) accepted,
b) rejected (with appropriate error
messages),
c) pending (still being processed) or
d) parked (waiting further information from
presenter before further processing).
Note: Information will be available for a
maximum of 90 days following completion
of processing (accept or reject) by
Companies House. After this period ‘No
Transaction Found’ will be returned.
Presenter_Id
CH will reply with a maximum of 20
submissions for which processing has been
completed. i.e. accepted or rejected –
pending submissions will not be included.
Appropriate error messages will be included
with errors. A submission will only be
replied to once using this mechanism
(assuming GetStatusAck is run)
Presenter_Id and Company As in option 2 but only completed
Number
transactions for that company (and from that
presenter) will be returned.
The number of transactions included in any one reply for options 2 and 3 will be
configurable. When the service is introduced it will be set to a maximum of 20. Where
the maximum is returned subsequent polls using the same criteria will start at the next
available submission (though see 2.5.1 below).
It is expected that the second option is most commonly used by presenters. This will
help reduce the amount of traffic using the system as only those transactions for
which Companies House has completed processing and for which presenters have not
previously had a response will be included. The other options are included should
presenters require details on more specific transactions.
Presenters will only be able to request updates on transactions they have submitted via
the XML Gateway. Updates will not be available for transactions submitted on paper
or submitted by other presenters.
In options 2 and 3 where no transactions are found the <SubmissionNumber> and
<status> will be blank and <Reject_message> will contain ‘No Transaction Found’.
For option 1, ‘No Transaction Found’ will be returned in <Reject_message>.
It is possible in exceptional circumstances that an error will occur that means that
Companies House is unable to complete the processing of a submitted document or
the error is one that has not been defined. On these occasions ‘Undefined Error’ will
be returned in the <message> element of the response and the presenter should
contact Companies House via the Contact Centre quoting the presenter_Id and
<SubmissionNumber> for further advice
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2.5.1 Status acknowledgement service
In order to confirm the successful completion of options 2 and 3 of
GetSubmissionStatus it will be necessary to send an acknowledgement by using the
GetStatusAck service. This will enable Companies House to confirm that the status of
the previously polled submissions have been received by the presenter. Failure to run
this option will result in updates on submissions in the previous poll being sent again.
It is imperative therefore that this option is run immediately after each successful
GetSubmissionStatus. No data will be returned by Companies House in response
though a blank GovTalk envelope will be returned and the connection dropped. Use
of this service with option 1 above is not required though if used will not result in an
error.
NOTE: The root element of the GetStatusAck schema is StatusAck. Please ensure you
code correctly for this and use this in the ‘Class’ element.
2.6
GetDocument - Download of Incorporation Certificate or Change of Name or
Charge Certificate
Accepted Electronic Incorporations, Change of Name or Registered Charges will have
as part of their acceptance response a code held in <DocRequestKey>. Presenters
should then return this code in a separate call to request the certificate. The certificate
will be returned as a ‘Base 64 encoded string’ within an XML element. The certificate
will be in PDF format for storage and printing.
Only one download of the certificate will be allowed. If further copies are required
then a certified copy will need to be purchased.
2.7
eReminders
There are two options within this service:
SetERemindersRequest Presenters will supply the company number and
authentication code together with up to 4 email addresses that the company wish to
receive email reminders on its behalf. CH will acknowledge receipt of the message by
returning the email addresses submitted together with their current status
synchronously (assuming there are no parsing errors). This will then set in motion the
internal asynchronous eReminder mechanism whereby, (i) any email address held on
CH records before the update but not included in the update will be removed from the
service (they will receive a confirmation email) and (ii) any new email address not
previously registered will receive an email asking them to confirm their willingness to
receive emails on behalf of the company and to agree to the terms of operation of the
service. An example of this email can be found at Appendix D. Companies wishing to
join the service for the first time need just submit SetERemindersRequest containing
the email addresses.
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GetERemindersRequest: On supplying a valid company number and authentication
code CH will return the email addresses, together with their status (active or pending),
registered to receive eReminders for this company, synchronously.
Note: Developers should ensure that when they use this service to change the details
of one of the email addresses already registered, or add a new email address, they
always include all the email addresses (up to 4) that are to continue to be part of the
service even if their details are not changing.
Should any email address not confirm their willingness to receive emails on behalf of
the company within 5 days then they will be dropped from the service. (Note: This is
what will happen to incorrect email addresses supplied) If no email addresses are
registered and confirmed against a company then paper reminders will be sent to the
registered office. To unsubscribe from the service a SetERemindersRequest
containing no email addresses should be submitted. Please see the CH web site for
further information on the operation of the eReminder service.
2.8
Error Messages
Error messages will be advised to presenters in one of 2 ways depending on how or
where in the processing the error was detected.
Transportation errors i.e. those detected during the HTTPS connection and consisting
of presenter authentication and parser detected errors will be returned synchronously
within the <GovTalkErrors> element when attempting a submission. These will be
deemed not to have been received by Companies House. This type of error could
occur regardless of the service being used.
Errors detected (if any) during the asynchronous processing of FormSubmission
option are advised in a subsequent session using one of the poll options described in
2.5 above. These errors will be returned within the <body> of the
<GetSubmissionStatus> element of the poll request.
All documents received electronically will be parsed using a commercial XML
validator (the same as is available for developers on the CH test service) Where errors
are found this is likely to produce large, often technical, messages that may not be
easily understood by non-IT technical users. Care should be taken therefore to ensure
any software developed has been fully tested to mitigate the chances of these large
error messages occurring. If this type of error is received by presenters then the
problem should be referred to the Software developer for correction and not to
Companies House.
Error messages produced by Companies House due to errors in the Data submitted or
due to incompatibility with the data already held by Companies House will be made
up of 2 or 3 parts, an error code, an error message and optionally an instance number.
The error message will usually be standard and correspond to the error code though it
could be amended to give information specific to that instance. The message should
therefore be visible to the user.
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The instance number will be used in an instance where a rejection is reported which
refers to one of a number of supplied iterations of the same type of data. For instance,
where details of 10 directors have been supplied on an Annual Return and problems
have been found with the first and the seventh, reject reasons would be generated with
data iteration numbers of 001 and 007. For shareholders, the first 2 digits show the
occurrence of the shareholding whilst the final digit shows the occurrence of
shareholder within that shareholding.
2.9
Inconsistencies
Under the Companies Act 2006, it is possible that Companies House will accept
submissions where the data does not match the data current held on the company
record. In these circumstances the company record will be marked as inconsistent. At
first, Companies House will only apply this process to “officers” of a company, for
example, if an annual return is received that shows a director that Companies House
has no record of, the annual return will still be accepted, the company record marked
as inconsistent and Companies House will contact the company and endeavour to
make the record consistent.
Where a presenter submits a document that falls into this category the “accept”
response will include an indication that the record has been marked as inconsistent.
Details of the inconsistency will be included in the <reject> elements. The formats
will be similar to that for rejects, with a reject number and description. Software
should therefore, expect to receive accepted documents with “inconsistent messages”.
If the record is not rectified, Companies House will contact the company to remedy
the inconsistency.
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3
AUTHENTICATION MECHANISM (INCLUDING ACCOUNT
APPLICATION)
This section defines the operation of the two types of authentication required to
participate in the Companies House Electronic Filing.

Presenter Authentication

Company Authentication

Lender Authentication
In addition it describes the process by which Officers give their Consent to act as an
officer of the Company
3.1
Presenter Authentication
This is part of the request for a HTTPS connection and is included in the GovTalk
envelope header.
3.1.1 Applying for a Credit Account
Presenters apply for an account by completing the application form available from the
Companies House web site (under software filing). This process will take up to 5 days
and presenters should apply allowing sufficient time for this process to be completed.
A credit account will be opened and the presenter allocated a Presenter_ID and
authentication. (Please note: Separate accounts are required for input and output
products even though they use the same XML gateway portal. Customers who already
use the XML Gateway for output products will need to apply for a new credit
account). Accounts will not be available until Companies House have completed their
development and confirmed to presenters when the service is to be implemented.
3.1.2 Presenter_ID
This is the main identifier used by Companies House and should be included in any
communication from the Presenter to Companies House. It will be allocated to the
presenter in writing when they have been approved for a credit account.
In order to request a HTTPS connection a <SenderID> and <Value> (within the
<Authentication> element) must be supplied within the GovTalk envelope. These are
obtained by applying the lowercase MD5 (hash) algorithm to the Presenter_id and
presenter authentication code (password) issued by Companies House.
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3.2
Company Authentication
3.2.1 Objective
Document authentication is required to comply with the Companies Act that requires
documents accepted in non-legible form, which if delivered on paper would have to
be signed, to be authenticated in a manner approved by the Registrar.
3.2.2 Operation
All electronic company data received by Companies House from a presenter on behalf
of a company must include the Company Authentication Code
<CompanyAuthentication>. The only exceptions are the registration or update of
charges which can include a Lender Authentication Code instead as described below.
The value of this code must be the same as the value
i) notified to Companies House by the Company officer in writing when that
company joined the Electronic Filing Service; or subsequently
ii) obtained from the Companies House web site; or
iii) obtained on electronic incorporation
If the code is not included or the value supplied is not that previously notified to
Companies House by the company, then the set of data will be rejected. The details
provided in the data will be checked to inform the presenter of any other potential
problems with the data. A record of the attempt to file the document will be
maintained by Companies House.
The code can be any 6 alphanumeric characters (A-Z, 0-9).
3.2.3 Setting up/maintenance of Company Authentication codes.
Before documents can be filed electronically by a company or a presenter acting on
that company's behalf, Companies House must have been notified of the
authentication code which applies to the company. These codes may be notified to
Companies House in a number of ways:

The company may notify Companies House directly in writing of its
authentication code. The notification should originate from an officer of the
company and be on company headed paper. In each case, the company number
and the authentication code to be used should be listed.
Where a presenter is acting on a number of companies, the company may notify
the presenter of the code it will be using, and the presenter should then collate all
of these notifications for forwarding to Companies House. The original
notification is needed in order for Companies House to know that the notification
originates from the company.

Where a large number of codes are involved, they may be notified to Companies
House in electronic format, but must still be supported by suitably signed paper
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copies of the notification(s). Any lists submitted in electronic format should be
sent on media in a text format (suffix .txt), listing the necessary iterations of
authentication code and company number, comma separated, one iteration per
line.
For instance, to notify that code 123456 should be used for companies 98954,
654876 and 20989876, send:
123456,98954
123456,654876
123456,20989876
The company number may be zero filled to make it up to eight characters long,
but this is not necessary for processing.
The address for sending the company authentication code requests is :
Electronic Filing Administration
Companies House
Crown Way
Cardiff CF14 3UZ

You can also obtain a company authentication code via the Companies House
Web Site.

Companies that are incorporated by electronic means, if no code is supplied with
the incorporation data, a code will automatically be allocated to the company by
the Registrar.
Companies House will then record authentication codes against the relevant
companies so that they can be verified when a document is filed on behalf of that
company.
A company should also notify Companies House if it wishes to change or cease to use
its nominated authentication code. It is particularly recommended that when a
company is sold, the original officers should request the cessation of the code. New
officers may then request a new code if necessary.
The possibility exists that the authentication method may need to change in the future.
For example, from CH’s authentication codes to the Government Gateway
Registration and Enrolment (R&E) service. Sufficient warning will be given should
such a change prove necessary.
3.3
Lender Authentication
3.3.1 Objective
As an alternative to providing a Company Authentication Code, when filing
documents on behalf of other companies as a lender, a Lender Authentication Code
can be used instead. However this only allows a subset of the available forms to be
filed, namely those related to the registration or update of charges.
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3.3.2 Operation
A Lender Authentication Code allows a specific presenter to file charge documents
against any company. It is assigned to a specific presenter and any attempt to use that
code by a different presenter will result in the document being rejected.
If a Lender Authentication Code is used for the submission, only a subset of forms
can be submitted, namely ChargeRegistration, ChargeUpdate and ChargeSearch.
Using the Lender Authentication Code with any other service requiring authentication
will result in rejection of the submission. It is not compulsory to use a Lender
Authentication Code to file charge documents if you use the Company Authentication
Code instead.
The details provided in the data will be checked to inform the presenter of any other
potential problems with the data. A record of the attempt to file the document will be
maintained by Companies House.
3.3.3 Setting up/maintenance of Lender Authentication codes.
To request a Lender Authentication Code, presenters need to complete an
"Application to Register as a Lender for Filing Electronic Charge Documents" form.
This can be downloaded from the Companies House website at
www.companieshouse.gov.uk. The completed form should be posted to Companies
House. Unique codes will then be set up including lender authentication code,
presenter ID and presenter authentication code (the latter two only being necessary for
those who do not already have them). These will be sent to the presenter in two
separate letters. Once the presenter has received the codes, charge documents can
then be filed electronically for any company.
The possibility exists that the authentication method may need to change in the future.
Sufficient warning will be given should such a change prove necessary.
3.4
Officer Consent to Act
When appointing an officer or incorporating a company or limited liability
partnership, the following have to give their consent to act in the capacity shown:
Appointment as an officer, Secretary or Director of the company (including at
incorporation)
The subscribers/guarantors of the company at incorporation.
Appointment of a member to a limited liability partnership (including at
incorporation)
To change from a designated member to non designated member (and vice
versa) on a limited liability partnership
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This is achieved by the provision of any three from seven items of personal
information from the following list.
<PersonalAttributeType>
< Data>
Indicates the type of personal In the case of fields requesting digits, data should be
authentication data supplied.
right justified and zero filled In other cases 3
Values are shown below.
characters must be supplied, space is not a valid
character.
The first three letters of the name of the town in
BIRTOWN
Town of birth
which they were born;
The last three digits of their telephone number;
TEL
Telephone number
The last three characters of their National Insurance
NATINS
National Insurance number
number
The last three digits of their Passport Number
PASSNO
Passport number
The first three letters of their mother's maiden name
MUM
Mother's maiden name
The first three letters of their eye colour
EYE
Eye colour
The first three letters of their father's first forename
DAD
Father's first forename
Should the applicant be a corporate body then an officer of that corporate body should
provide their name and personal information to authorise the corporate body.
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4
4.1
TESTING
Purpose
This section describes procedures for testing XML electronic filing software with
Companies House in order that software may be authorised for use in the Companies
House XML Electronic Filing Service. The same process applies to those packages
sold to presenters by Company Secretarial Software Package (CSSP) suppliers, and to
software developed in-house by presenters. An indication as to which version of XML
GovTalk envelope has been used will form part of the appropriate ‘header’ for each
submission.
4.2
Scope
The section outlines both the procedures to go through in order to be able to test and
the authorisation tests that packages / bespoke software will be required to complete.
Please note that all software should have been thoroughly internally tested by
developers to ensure it meets specifications in this document before attempting to test
with Companies House. Companies House should not be used as a ‘testing tool’ by
software developers. Developers that fail any tests when seeking approval will be
asked to cease approval testing for a period to allow for proper testing to occur.
4.3
Approach
Developers will be able to download copies of the XML schemas from the WebSite.
These should be used to parse any XML produced during development to check for
formatting errors etc. Companies House will not carry out any approval testing against
the XML but expect developers to have carried out sufficient testing to ensure their
correctness.
Companies House will not offer any assistance to presenters who receive errors of this
nature during ‘live’ operation but refer them to their software developers for
assistance.
Companies House has a separate test service for software developers. This service
will allow software communication and data format to be tested by simulating the live
service and allow developers to test at a pace and time to suit themselves. This service
does not validate data content for correctness against the company concerned and the
service is not a true end to end service in that no data is persisted to a corporate
database. The XML Test Service is normally available 24/7 but if a submission
requires manual intervention this will be dealt with during office hours.
Once developers have completed their own internal testing they may apply for a test
presenter Id and authentication code. Developers will be expected to make extensive
use of the test service, covering all services and transaction types available, with both
positive and negative testing included. Before authorisation is given by Companies
House, a check will be made of the logs to confirm sufficient usage.
The test service will simulate communication between presenter and Companies
House during live operation but will be unable to offer a full end to end test service
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i.e. against the company register or full business validation taking place. Each service
will be processed and replied to as follows:
SERVICE
CompanyDataRequest
DEVELOPE INTERNAL CH
R ACTION
PROCESSING
Use a ‘live’
company
authentication
code if known
or any code if
none known.
FormSubmission
Any
<PackageRefe
rence> or
Company
Authenticatio
n Code can be
used
GetSubmission
Status (polling)
Request
should be for
submissions
previously
submitted to
the test
FormSubmiss
ion service
GetStatusAck
Should follow
successful
completion of
GetSubmissio
nStatus if
polling either
by
PresenterID
or
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Processing will be as
‘live’. Data will be
parsed and randomly
accepted or rejected
according to the parser
results. CH will store a
record of the test for use
in Polling and to
confirm sufficient
testing prior to approval.
Check made that
submission has been
previously submitted.
Record of test made
Update database as live
so as not to re-send
details in subsequent
poll
CH SYNCRONOUS
RESPONCE
If a correct ‘live’ company
authentication code is
included CH will reply
with that company data. If
an incorrect company
authentication code is used
(or the tester does not have
one) then dummy company
data will be returned
A reply will be returned
equivalent to that that
would be given had the
submission been live. Ie a
receipt date and time for
acceptable submissions or
an appropriate error
message.
Random dummy ‘accept’
and ‘rejects’ will be
returned using the
submission and company
numbers in the request.
Any reject error
messages will not apply to
the data submitted but
can be used to confirm
that the software receives
differing message types.
Accepted incorporation
requests will include a
dummy code to enable the
completion of
GetDocument
Usual GovTalk
acknowledgement
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GetDocument
GetEReminders
Request
SetEReminders
Request
AccountsImage
CompanyNu
mber
Submit using
the code
returned by
CH in an
‘accepted’
incorporation
in one of the
above 3
polling
options.
Use any
company
authentication
code.
Supply any
company
number and
authentication
code together
with up to 4
emails
Use any
company
authentication
code
Check that code is
correct and record test
Dummy test incorporation
certificate will be returned.
Developers are to confirm
that PDF can be read and
printed.
None
CH will randomly create
dummy data to be returned
containing 4 email
addresses and status.
None
CH will randomly create
dummy data to be returned
containing 4 email
addresses and status.
None
Response will be returned
with DocumentData
element which will contain
a B64 encoding of the
image which will need to
be decoded to pdf
It is expected that both positive and negative testing be carried covering all services
and transaction types available with a minimum of 4 tests per type*, e.g. developers
should test GetDocument using both a valid certificate code (returned in a previous
poll) and an invalid code.
With regards to incorporation testing, PCL/PDF attachments (eg. Memorandum,
Articles) will be visually checked to see if they render correctly and that the format of
document(s) is as expected. Test submissions will not be validated against our
business rules in the same way that live submissions are. However, we suggest that
the data entered within the test submissions closely resembles 'real' information, to
ensure quality testing and avoid problems when using the live service. Once
developers have successfully parsed submissions, they should contact Companies
House with the details so that the submissions can be checked.
Incorporation Testing: Every developer will be expected to test incorporation
transactions for all company types for a package reference to be issued. At least 4
successful tests will need to be accomplished for each transaction type eg:
4 Limited by Share Incorporations
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4 Limited by Guarantee Incorporations
4 LLP Incorporations
4 Incorporations with supporting evidence e.g, Sensitive names/Sames As/Name
Authorisation
4 Incorporation certificates that have been received by the developer must be returned
to Companies House via email as confirmation of receipt.
Should customers wish to include any other document types within their software
package, e.g an AP01 to appoint further directors or a TM01 to resign directors etc
the new document types must be tested and 4 mandatory test will be required for each
of the form types.
4.3.1 Setting up a test account
If you wish to open a test account, email Customer Care
mflowers@companieshouse.gov.uk who will set up a ‘test account’ and email the
appropriate test presenter_ID and authentication and details of the URL to use.
4.3.2 Submitting Tests
Software developers should use the test presenter_Id and authentication code and set
the <GatewayTest> element within the GovTalk envelope to ‘true’. Any
<PackageReference> and company authentication can be used.
It would be useful to Companies House if the name of the Company in any
incorporation test includes the type of company. E.g. ‘TEST LIMITED BY
GUARANTEE’
Tests should be submitted to:
https://xmlgw.companieshouse.gov.uk/v1-0/xmlgw/Gateway
4.3.3 Final Authorisation
When developers believe they have carried out sufficient testing they can apply for
software
authorisation
by
emailing
Customer
Care
(mconnors@companieshouse.gov.uk) and advising which form types they wish
authorisation for. Companies House will check that a full range of testing has
occurred. This will include checks that Companies House can view the Memoranda
and Articles and supporting evidence in any Incorporation tests and that Incorporation
certificates have been successfully downloaded.
It is up to developers to ensure they have completed sufficient testing before
requesting authorisation from Companies House.
When Companies House is happy that sufficient testing has occurred they will issue a
Package/Software reference, which must be included in all live submissions. This will
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be advised by letter or email and include the form types for which authorisation has
been given.
4.4
Future Testing Requirements
Where a new release of a package / software is to be introduced which involves any of
the document types covered by these authorisation tests, Companies House requires
the new version to be re-tested.. Following successful testing, a new package /
software identifier will be issued to allow for differentiation between the different
versions of the package, which may be in use at any one time. Please contact
Companies House for details of how to conduct this type of testing.
4.5
Additional Testing
If required, the software provider may submit further test to Companies House to
assure themselves of the suitability of their software. This may be required, for
instance, to further test the processing of responses from Companies House or if
problems have been detected during live running of the software. Such additional tests
should be negotiated and scheduled as required with Customer Care
(mconnors@companieshouse.gov.uk) and may have a lower priority than presenters
undertaking their basic testing.
4.6
Error Messages
All documents received electronically will be parsed using an on-line XML Validator
(the same as is available for developers on the CH web site). Where errors are found
this is likely to produce large, often technical, messages that may not be easily
understood by non-IT technical users. Care should be taken therefore to ensure any
software developed has been fully tested to mitigate the chances of these large error
messages occurring.
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5
XBRL ACCOUNTS
XBRL - Document Control Summary
Author: Gareth Lewis
TIS Version 4.9
Release: Aug 2011
Page Nos/Paragraph
Comments
pages 50,51 (para. 5.3.1) Clarification of accounts types accepted.
pages 54-56 (para. 5.3.6) Amendment to the statement validation rules for audit
exempt accounts.
Release Feb 2011
Page Nos/Paragraph
Page 49
Page 52
Release: March 2010
Page Nos/Paragraph
pages 45-53
Author: Lee Street
TIS Version 4.4
Comments
Additional Accounts Types
Define Audited Accounts elements
Author: Gareth Lewis
TIS version: 4.0
Comments
Inline XBRL processing
Adoption of UKGAAP-2009 taxonomy
Release: Feb 09
Page Nos/Paragraph
page 46 (para. 7.3)
Author: Gareth Lewis
TIS version: 2.2
Comments
New taxonomy (June-2009) schemas, stylesheets etc.
Summary of June-2009 enhancements.
Amendment to the generated text for Section477,
Directors-Responsibility booleans
New FRSSE Version, Creditors location elements
(booleans Table))
Additional note definitions for Fixed Assets, Creditors,
Investments, Investment Property etc.
Sample Fixed Assets note (add Transfers, Adjustments
etc)
pages 54,55 (para.7.6)
page 56 (para. 7.6)
pages 57-58 para. 7.6)
pages 58,59 (para. 7.6)
5.1
Introduction
Accounts submitted electronically must be based on XBRL (eXtensible Business
Reporting Language).
The accounting details should be provided as either inline XBRL (iXBRL) or ‘raw’
XBRL (subsequently rendered via XSLT).
Inline XBRL provides significantly improved flexibility over ‘raw’ XBRL in terms of
both content and presentation – however while the process of conversion to iXBRL by
external software providers takes place, submission of ‘raw’ XBRL will continue to
be supported.
No other format of electronic submission (eg PDF, TIF, MS Word, spreadsheet
etc) will be allowed.
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This section deals with the special rules that exist for the submission of accounts in an
electronic format via (i)XBRL (i.e. either inline XBRL or ‘raw’ XBRL) to Companies
House.
The (i)XBRL instance of the accounts should be a self contained ‘file’ transferred as a
Base 64 encoded string within the <Document> element of the <FormSubmission>
schema within the <Body> element of the GovTalk envelope. The following shows
this:
<GovTalk Message>
<header>
..
..
</header>
<Body>
<FormSubmission>
..
..
..
<Document>
<Data>
….. Blob containing complete accounts in (i)XBRL……
</Data>
</Document>
</FormSubmission>
</Body>
</GovTalkMessage>
As the (i)XBRL accounts document is, in effect, delivered as a separate ‘document’
(and therefore processed differently by Companies House) to the other transaction
types contained in this document, a number of elements need to be repeated in both
the <FormSubmission> XML and within the (i)XBRL accounts data. You must
ensure therefore that, for example, the company number is contained in both. The
<Designation> element within <FormSubmission> should be the same designation as
that used to sign the Accounts and therefore always be ‘DIR’
Note: XBRL or (i)XBRL documents must contain the <?xml version="1.0"?> declaration as the
first line of the Instance
On submission the GovTalk envelope will be parsed synchronously and rejected as
with other electronic submissions above if errors are found. The accounts (i)XBRL
data will also be parsed synchronously to check for internal consistency/accuracy
within the instance document. If errors are found during the parsing of the (i)XBRL it
will be rejected with an error in the gov talk envelope. The envelope will NOT have
been delivered to Companies House. Any accounts not received at Companies House
by the due date may lead to a Late Filing Penalty being imposed against the company.
It is important therefore that all care is made to ensure that (i)XBRL submitted does
conform to the appropriate XBRL schemas and Companies House business rules.
These XBRL schemas are separate from the XML schemas described above and
further information is contained later in this section.
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5.2
What is XBRL?
XBRL, eXtensible Business Reporting Language, is an extension of XML and has
been developed by a world-wide consortium of private and public bodies.
Further information about both XBRL and inline XBRL can be found at the XBRL
international website:
http://www.xbrl.org/Home
Information regarding XBRL and iXBRL within the UK can be found on the UK
consortium website at:
http://www.xbrl.org/uk
5.3
Inline XBRL
Inline XBRL (iXBRL) is a standard for tagging XBRL within an HTML (i.e. HTML
or XHTML) document.
Companies House requires all submissions to be well-formed XML, to be provided as
XHTML and to be valid iXBRL (XHTML will enable more rigorous checking of the
mark-up to be performed).
The main objective of iXBRL is to enable XBRL data to be displayed in situations
where the producer wants to preserve a specific visual presentation of the information,
while still allowing access to the underlying input data.
It enables data to be presented in a manner dictated by the presenter, while also
allowing the underlying XBRL tags to be processed automatically by consuming
applications.
iXBRL-enabled applications allow the preparer to publish an HTML version of their
accounts laid out and formatted as they wish - consequently the necessity to render
accounts via stylesheets with their accompanying limitations has been removed.
The ‘raw’ XBRL service necessitates that Companies House be prescriptive with
regard to the accountancy elements that can be provided, the content having to reflect
the data defined in the bespoke Audit Exempt taxonomy and related stylesheets.
These limitations are removed by using the Companies House inline XBRL service,
which is based on the full UKGAAP-2009 taxonomy and does not require stylesheets
for rendering.
More specific Companies House iXBRL accounts guidance and information is
contained below:
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5.3.1 Account types
The Companies House iXBRL service will cater for the electronic filing of Accounts
of Companies Limited by Shares or Limited by Guarantee and Accounts Types:
Audit exempt Full (small company format) accounts
Audit exempt small company Abbreviated accounts
Dormant accounts
Micro-entity accounts
Audited individual full accounts
Note: Audited accounts that can be submitted are individual accounts with a standard
auditors report, i.e. the following accounts types should not be submitted
electronically –
audited accounts with a special auditors report;
audited Medium abbreviated accounts;
audited consolidated accounts; or
audited interim or initial accounts.
The service will cater for accounts falling under the 2006 Companies Act (i.e.
accounting periods commencing on or after 6th April 2008). It will cater for accounts
referencing the UK GAAP 2009-09-01 taxonomy.
It will not accept iXBRL instance documents that refer to 'previous' versions of the
UKGAAP taxonomy nor to versions of the Companies House Audit Exempt
taxonomy.
(The ‘raw’ XBRL method of presenting accounts i.e. accounts provided as XBRL
referencing the Audit Exempt taxonomy and rendered via the appropriate stylesheets
(for both 1985 and 2006 Act accounts) will continue to be supported).
5.3.2 Taxonomies
Companies House adopts the UK GAAP 2009-09-01 taxonomy. This taxonomy
covers regulations published up to 1st September 2009. It covers the main reporting
requirements for ordinary commercial and industrial companies under GAAP in the
UK, including the primary financial statements and notes.
HMRC supports the UKGAAP-2009 taxonomy (and inline XBRL) and this alignment
is part of the broader commitment to provide a more cost-effective joined - up
government filing strategy.
The UKGAAP–2009 taxonomy provides a far more comprehensive set of elements
than are available in the bespoke Audit Exempt taxonomy.
Additionally, concepts such as dimensions provide a generic framework for breaking
data into relevant subsets reflecting the particular nature of the business and the
specific interest they have for the end-user.
The Audit Exempt taxonomy (and previous versions of the UKGAAP taxonomy)
cater for these categories of information by providing explicit individual element
definitions, and are consequently more inflexible in their structure.
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A zip file for UK GAAP 2009-09-01 can be downloaded from the XBRL UK website
at:
http://www.xbrl.org/uk/gaap/core/2009-09-01/UK-Taxonomies-GAAP-2009-0901.zip
The main entry point schema for accessing related schemas, linkbases etc is
uk-gaap-main-2009-09-01.xsd which is located in the top level folder uk-gaap-200909-01.
(A ‘key information’ document in the top level folder provides additional information
regarding the entry point etc.)
The UKGAAP 2009-09-01 schema is published on the XBRL UK site as follows:
http://www.xbrl.org/uk/gaap/core/2009-09-01/uk-gaap-full-2009-09-01.xsd
(Further information and guidance on use of the taxonomy is available from the
XBRL UK website at http://www.xbrl.org/uk/TechGuidance/).
Extension taxonomies
Extension taxonomies will not be supported for the filing of any accounts.
Note:
HMRC's detailed Profit & Loss taxonomies (scheduled for release late 2013)
will NOT be supported for the electronic filing of company accounts at Companies
House.
These taxonomies are for tagging data in detailed Profit & Loss statements for HMRC
only and should not be used for tagging data in statutory accounts submitted to
Companies House.
Inline XBRL files containing reference to the schema provided by HMRC for the
detailed profit and loss account will be rejected if submitted to Companies House.
5.3.3 2006 Companies Act accounts
Only accounts that fall under the 2006 Companies Act may be filed as inline XBRL.
The start/end of accounting period should be provided as context information
associated with the company name element (EntityCurrentLegalOrRegisteredName)
e.g.
<uk-gaap-cd-bus:EntityCurrentLegalOrRegisteredName contextRef="c0">
Small Company Ltd</uk-gaap-cd-bus:EntityCurrentLegalOrRegisteredName>
...
<context id="c0">
<entity>
<identifier
scheme="http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/">99999999</identifier>
</entity>
<period>
<startDate>2008-05-01</startDate>
<endDate>2009-04-30</endDate>
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</period>
</context>
The start of accounting period must also be provided explicitly in the
StartDateForPeriodCoveredByReport element - if this start of accounting period is
prior to 6 April 2008, the iXBRL accounts will be rejected.
5.3.4 XBRL tagged data
Whilst details may be provided as XHTML, all data that has been provided for under
the UKGAAP taxonomy should if possible be tagged as the appropriate XBRL
elements.
These minimum tagging requirements can be viewed by opening the minimum
tagging schema file within the UK GAAP 2009-09-01 zip file (see para 5.3.2) - this
can be found in:
UK-Taxonomies-GAAP-2009-09-01/uk-gaap-2009-09-01/gaap/core/2009-09-01/ukgaap-minimum-2009-09-01.xsd.
Further documentation can be found in the following folder of the zip file:
UK-Taxonomies-GAAP-2009-09-01/uk-gaap-2009-09-01/X-Minimum tagging
information.
5.3.5 Mandatory elements:
To ensure that ‘core’ information is provided, specific XBRL elements must be
provided as follows:
Data
Company number
Company name
Balance sheet date
Balance sheet date of approval
Balance sheet name of director approving
Company-dormant/non-dormant
Start of reporting period
End of reporting period
Company trading
XBRL element
UKCompaniesHouseRegisteredNumber
EntityCurrentLegalOrRegisteredName
BalanceSheetDate
DateApprovalAccounts
NameDirectorSigningAccounts
EntityDormant (boolean)
StartDateForPeriodCoveredByReport
EndDateForPeriodCoveredByReport
EntityTrading (boolean)
If audited Accounts are submitted, the following additional XBRL elements must be
provided:
Data
Date Auditors report signed
Auditors Opinion
XBRL element
DateAuditorsReport
OpinionAuditorsOnEntity
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Name of Individual Auditor
NameIndividualAuditorOrAccountant
OR
NameSeniorStatutoryAuditor
NameThirdPartyAgent
Name of senior Statutory Auditor
Name of firm
Note: Companies House will not validate any additional reports relating to Directors
responsibilities which are included in audited accounts and tagged as:
DirectorsAcknowledgeTheirResponsibilitiesUnderCompaniesAct
Additionally, to identify the presence of specific sections of the accounts, the
following XBRL elements must be provided if a Profit & Loss account, Directors
Report or Auditors Report are present.
Accounts Data
XBRL element
Profit
&
Loss ProfitLossForPeriod
Account
EntityTrading (boolean)
Note: this element must be set to false if not trading.
Directors Report
DateSigningDirectorsReport,
DirectorSigningReport
Auditors Report
StatementOnQualityCompletenessInformationProvidedToAuditors
5.3.6 Statements to the accounts:
Audit exempt accounts must contain the appropriate statements for the accounts type
being presented - these must be provided in the required string elements and contain
the appropriate content as defined below.
To provide greater flexibility regarding the choice of wording for each statement, the
submitted statements do not need to precisely match the sample statements defined
below; however they must contain the specified ‘key’ words/phrases.
This method of validation will provide flexibility to customers, while at the same time
permitting a degree of validation against the submitted text content:
Sample
Statement
content
XBRL
element
‘For the year ending 31 March 2011 the company was entitled to exemption
under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.’
CompanyEntitledToExemptionUnderSection477CompaniesAct2006
The statement must contain the following phrases:
Validation: Phrase 1
‘Exempt’ or ‘Exemption’
AND
Phrase 2
‘section 477 of the Companies Act 2006’
Sample
‘The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in
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Statement
content
XBRL
element
accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.’
MembersHaveNotRequiredCompanyToObtainAnAudit
The statement must contain the following phrases:
Validation: Phrase 1
‘members have not required the company to obtain an audit’
OR
Phrase 2
‘member has not required the company to obtain an audit’
Sample
Statement
content
XBRL
element
‘The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the
requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the
preparation of accounts.’
DirectorsAcknowledgeTheirResponsibilitiesUnderCompaniesAct
The statement must contain the following phrases:
Validation:
Sample
Statement
content
XBRL
element
Phrase 1
‘Directors acknowledge’
OR
‘Director acknowledges’
AND
Phrase 2
‘responsibilities’
AND
Phrase 3
‘Companies Act 2006’
OR
‘the Act’
‘These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions
applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.’
OR
'These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions
applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime and in
accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities
(effective 2008).'
AccountsAreInAccordanceWithSpecialProvisionsCompaniesActRelatingTo
SmallCompanies
The statement must contain the following phrases:
Phrase 1
‘Prepared in accordance with’
Validation: AND
Phrase 2
‘special provisions’
OR
‘the provisions’
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AND
Phrase 3
‘small companies’
Sample
Statement
content
XBRL
element
‘For the year ending 31 March 2011 the company was entitled to exemption
under section 480 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to dormant companies.’
CompanyEntitledToExemptionUnderSection480CompaniesAct2006Relating
ToDormantCompanies
The statement must contain the following phrases:
Validation: Phrase 1
‘Exempt’ or ‘Exemption’
AND
Phrase 2
section 480 of the Companies Act 2006’
(Validation of the statements will be case-insensitive.)
Note:
When submitting dormant accounts – if the company does not claim exemption
under the small companies regime, the submission will be accepted providing the
submitted accounts contain a Directors Report.
The validation will check to ensure the presence of either the small companies
regime statement –
‘AccountsAreInAccordanceWithSpecialProvisionsCompaniesActRelatingToSmall
Companies’
or
the presence of a Directors Report.
Micro-entity accounts
Micro-entity accounts, to be introduced in Autumn 2013, may be submitted by
companies conforming to the defined micro-entity exemption thresholds.
This category of accounts has a reduced set of disclosure requirements and is
available for accounts with Balance sheets dated 30th September 2013 or later.
Unaudited accounts must contain the necessary Balance Sheet statements as described
above, for example –
‘For the year ending 31 March 2014 the company was entitled to exemption under
section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.’
‘The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with
section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.’
‘The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the
requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of
accounts.’
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However, the ‘small companies’ statement must contain a reference to micro-entities
as described below.
Sample
Statement
content
XBRL
element
'These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the micro-entity
provisions.
AccountsAreInAccordanceWithSpecialProvisionsCompaniesActRelatingTo
SmallCompanies
The statement must contain the following phrases:
Phrase 1
‘Prepared’
‘in accordance with’
Validation:
AND
Phrase 2
‘special provisions’
OR
‘provisions’
AND
Phrase 3
‘micro’
If the micro-entity accounts do not contain either a Profit&Loss account or a Directors
Report, the small companies statement must additionally refer to the ‘delivery’ of the
accounts:
Sample
Statement
content
XBRL
element
'These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the micro-entity
provisions and delivered in accordance with the provisions applicable to
companies subject to the small companies regime’.
AccountsAreInAccordanceWithSpecialProvisionsCompaniesActRelatingTo
SmallCompanies
The statement must contain the following phrases:
Phrase 1
‘Prepared’
‘delivered’
Validation:
‘in accordance with’
AND
Phrase 2
‘special provisions’
OR
‘provisions’
AND
Phrase 3
‘small companies’
AND
Phrase 4
‘micro’
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During the initial implementation phase, both versions of the micro-entities small
companies statement (described above), will be accepted.
5.3.7 Imaging
The accounts data presented will be converted to a TIFF image and made available to
the public using the usual Companies House delivery mechanisms - CH Direct,
WebCHeck etc.
It is the responsibility of software providers to ensure not only that the underlying
XBRL satisfies all validation rules, but also that the iXBRL contains the appropriate
formatting, pagination code etc to produce the desired accounts image.
It is wholly the responsibility of the software provider to ensure that the font types,
font sizes etc are suitable and provide readable accounts for customers.
A service will be provided to allow software developers to view how the final image
will look, so as to ensure it is exactly as expected – this assurance should be part of
the development testing process.
This imaging service will be available from the Companies House website. If the
imaging service is unavailable then customers can obtain an image using the
following process:
AccountsImage
Use the
None
Response will be returned
appropriate
with DocumentData
company
element which will contain
authentication
a B64 encoding of the
code
image which will need to
be decoded to pdf
5.3.8 iXBRL Test System
Software providers will be responsible for ensuring the accuracy of their products.
Companies House has reduced the levels of internal accounts validation (there will be
no Calculation linkbase for UKGAAP-2009), therefore it is essential that all external
software packages are thoroughly tested prior to any live submissions.
In order to help contribute to an environment in which reliable software can be
developed, Companies House will provide access to its internal accounting validation
rules to software testers.
The Companies House e-Accounts validator will allow both inline XBRL and ‘raw’
XBRL to be parsed and validated against the necessary accounts validation rules.
The test parser/validator to assist the testing of developed software is provided at:
http://ewf.companieshouse.gov.uk/xbrl
This will validate an instance document against the referenced taxonomies and display
success/error messages as appropriate.
The instance documents supported will include inline XBRL (for 2006 Act accounts
only) and ‘raw’ XBRL (for 1985 and 2006 Act accounts).
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Additionally, a service will be provided to enable software developers to ensure the
final generated image is produced as required (as described in para 5.3.7).
Note:
The XML test service will allow software filers to ensure that the correct XML
envelope data etc is being produced and that all responses from Companies House are
being handled correctly - prior to any ‘Live’ submissions.
(This process is described in detail under the ‘Testing’ section.)
Documentation available
In addition to the explanatory information regarding the UKGAAP taxonomies
available from the XBRL UK website (as outlined in para 5.3.2), supporting
documentation will also be made available from the Companies House website, which
will include example instance documents (sample iXBRL data).
(Further sample iXBRL instance documents together with a Prepares Guide, are
available from the XBRL UK website.)
5.3.9 Rules governing the electronic filing of accounts
It is the responsibility of the directors of all companies to ensure they prepare full
accounts for shareholders that show a true and fair view and comply with the
requirements of the Companies Act. These must be approved by the directors and
adopted by the company. In the case of companies that are totally exempt from audit
regulations, there is a choice as to whether to file full or abbreviated accounts with
Companies House. If full accounts are filed with Companies House they must be a
copy of the full accounts provided to shareholders. If abbreviated accounts are filed
with Companies House they must be derived from the full accounts provided to
shareholders. In every case, accounts filed with Companies House must be signed by
at least one director.
Additional preconditions for use of the accounts electronic filing service are defined
below:

Only accounts for companies incorporated in England and Wales, Scotland or
Northern Ireland can be filed electronically i.e.
England/Wales - companies with 8 digit incorporation number,
Scotland
- companies with first 2 characters ‘SC’ followed by 6
numeric characters
N Ireland
- companies with first 2 characters ‘NI’ followed by 6 numeric
characters or ‘R’ followed by 7 numeric characters

Only ‘live’ companies can submit accounts electronically. Companies who are
being restored to the register must initially file accounts to Companies House
using paper.

Amendments to accounts already filed or replacement accounts cannot be filed
electronically with Companies House. These must be submitted on paper even
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if they are amending or replacing accounts that were themselves filed
electronically.

If your accounts are prepared in accordance with International Accounting
Standards (IAS), please deliver your accounts to Companies House on paper
in the normal way.

Only accounts in the English language can be submitted electronically.
5.3.10 Other accounting information

Accounting items will relate either to an instant in time (e.g. Current Assets,
Fixed Assets) or else to a period (e.g. Turnover, Cost of Sales) - this time
context will be held as an attribute against each item. Instance documents
could for example provide contexts of ‘s2010’ representing start of year 2010,
‘e2010’ representing end of year 2010, and ‘y2010’ representing the duration
of the period.

Any currencies supplied should be represented using the ISO 4217 standard
for currencies e.g. EUR, GBP, USD etc. The stylesheets will render EUR,
GBP and USD with the corresponding symbol, though all other currencies will
use the three-character ISO code.

The company authentication code is required as proof that the presenting
person has the authority to file the accounts with Companies House on behalf
of the company (this is provided in the envelope as described earlier).

Accounts supplied to Companies House should have a maximum of 2 years
figures.

It is the responsibility of the company (via the software used) to ensure that
their software caters for all appropriate accounting rules and that the accounts
created from the software are valid prior to submission to Companies House.
Companies House will validate the existence of those elements of the accounts
submission that must be supplied for proper delivery to the Registrar in
accordance with the Companies Act 2006.
5.4 XBRL Submissions
During the transitional period, while software providers are expected to develop
software to take advantage of the greater flexibility and functionality of iXBRL, the
‘original’ method of filing ‘raw’ XBRL (referencing companies House Audit Exempt
taxonomies) and rendering via XSLT, will continue to be supported.
5.4.1 The Companies House Audit Exempt Taxonomy
Initially, to cater for ‘raw’ XBRL and XSLT rendering, Companies House developed
a bespoke taxonomy suitable for filing accounts not requiring an auditor’s report i.e.
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


Small Company Full – Total Audit Exempt
Abbreviated Accounts – Total Audit Exempt
Dormant accounts (equivalent to the paper DCA format)
All types are covered by the same taxonomy set called ‘ae’ (audit exempt). The latest
Companies House audit exempt taxonomy can be accessed from the Companies
House website from:
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ae/2009-06-21/stylesheet/CH-AE-dormantstylesheet.xsl
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ae/2009-06-21/stylesheet/CH-AE-stylesheet.xsl
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ae/2009-06-21/uk-gaap-ae-2009-06-21.xsd
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ae/2009-06-21/uk-gaap-ae-2009-06-21calculation.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ae/2009-06-21/uk-gaap-ae-2009-06-21-definition.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ae/2009-06-21/uk-gaap-ae-2009-06-21-label.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ae/2009-06-21/uk-gaap-ae-2009-06-21presentation.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ci/2004-12-01/uk-gaap-ci-2004-12-01.xsd
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ci/2004-12-01/uk-gaap-ci-2004-12-01-calculation.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ci/2004-12-01/uk-gaap-ci-2004-12-01presentation.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/gcd/2004-12-01/uk-gcd-2004-12-01.xsd
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/gcd/2004-12-01/uk-gcd-2004-12-01-labels.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/pt/2004-12-01/uk-gaap-pt-2004-12-01.xsd
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/pt/2004-12-01/uk-gaap-pt-2004-12-01-references.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/pt/2004-12-01/uk-gaap-pt-2004-12-01-labels.xml
The taxonomy outlined above (effective from June 2009) contains enhancements to
the available content of the accounts Balance Sheet and related Notes for electronic
filing to Companies House.
The key areas of enhancement contained in this release are:o Fixed Assets notes - additional elements catering for a combined Fixed Assets
note in tabular format, enabling each category of Fixed Asset to be supplied
within a single composite note.
o Fixed Asset Investments notes (new elements catering for full cost and
depreciation information).
o Creditors note (provision of new note for aggregated information)
o Redeemable shares information (new elements within the Share Capital note)
o Directors’ liabilities note (additional elements catering for financial liability
during the accounting period)
o Investment property details (enabling Investment property values to be
supplied within the Fixed Assets section of the Balance Sheet).
A more detailed description of these changes can be obtained from the Companies
House website
http://ewf.companieshouse.gov.uk/xbrl
The April-2008 version of the Companies House audit exempt taxonomy is shown
below:
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www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ae/2008-04-06/stylesheet/CH-AE-dormantstylesheet.xsl
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ae/2008-04-06/stylesheet/CH-AE-stylesheet.xsl
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ae/2008-04-06/uk-gaap-ae-2008-04-06.xsd
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ae/2008-04-06/uk-gaap-ae-2008-04-06calculation.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ae/2008-04-06/uk-gaap-ae-2008-04-06-definition.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/ uk/fr/gaap/ae/2008-04-06/uk-gaap-ae-2008-04-06-label.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ae/2008-04-06/uk-gaap-ae-2008-04-06presentation.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ci/2004-12-01/uk-gaap-ci-2004-12-01.xsd
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ci/2004-12-01/uk-gaap-ci-2004-12-01-calculation.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/ci/2004-12-01/uk-gaap-ci-2004-12-01presentation.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/gcd/2004-12-01/uk-gcd-2004-12-01.xsd
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/gcd/2004-12-01/uk-gcd-2004-12-01-labels.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/pt/2004-12-01/uk-gaap-pt-2004-12-01.xsd
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/pt/2004-12-01/uk-gaap-pt-2004-12-01-references.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/uk/fr/gaap/pt/2004-12-01/uk-gaap-pt-2004-12-01-labels.xml
The April-2008 version introduced changes required under the Companies Act 2006,
applying to accounts for periods beginning on or after 6th April 2008.
The April-2007 version of the taxonomy is shown below (as can be seen, the
taxonomy paths for later versions have been updated to include ‘uk/fr’, following the
XBRL taxonomy naming standards).
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/gaap/ae/2007-03-08/stylesheet/CH-AE-dormant-stylesheet.xsl
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/gaap/ae/2007-03-08/stylesheet/CH-AE-stylesheet.xsl
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/gaap/ae/2007-03-08/uk-gaap-ae-2005-06-01.xsd
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/gaap/ae/2007-03-08/uk-gaap-ae-2005-06-01-calculation.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/gaap/ae/2007-03-08/uk-gaap-ae-2005-06-01-definition.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/gaap/ae/2007-03-08/uk-gaap-ae-2005-06-01-label.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/gaap/ae/2007-03-08/uk-gaap-ae-2005-06-01-presentation.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/gaap/ci/2004-12-01/uk-gaap-ci-2004-12-01.xsd
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/gaap/ci/2004-12-01/uk-gaap-ci-2004-12-01-calculation.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/gaap/ci/2004-12-01/uk-gaap-ci-2004-12-01-presentation.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/gaap/gcd/2004-12-01/uk-gcd-2004-12-01.xsd
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/gaap/gcd/2004-12-01/uk-gcd-2004-12-01-labels.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/gaap/pt/2004-12-01/uk-gaap-pt-2004-12-01.xsd
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/gaap/pt/2004-12-01/uk-gaap-pt-2004-12-01-references.xml
www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ef/xbrl/gaap/pt/2004-12-01/uk-gaap-pt-2004-12-01-labels.xml
The April-2007 version contained minor changes required under the initial
implementation of the Companies Act 2006.
The Taxonomy URL is formed as follows:
base URL/
jurisdiction
reporting type
accounting standard/
Example above
http://www.compani
eshouse.gov.uk/ef/xb
rl/
uk/
fr/
gaap/
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Description
Base
address
for
the
Companies House web site and
location for all electronic filing
information using XBRL
UK
Financial Reporting
The accounting standard used
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taxonomy name
ae/
date of issue
ccyy-mm-dd/
to produce taxonomy
gaap = UK-GAAP
taxonomy name
ae = audit exempt
pt = primary terms
ci = commercial and industrial
gcd
=
global
common
document
Version of taxonomy. This will
always be a date
A copy of the taxonomy can be downloaded from:
http://ewf.companieshouse.gov.uk/xbrl
This taxonomy extends the XBRL taxonomy for UK GAAP, developed and published
by XBRL UK. The relationship between the audit exempt taxonomy (uk-gaap-ae)
and the main UK GAAP taxonomy is outlined in the diagram below. The main UK
GAAP taxonomy is broken into three parts: commercial and industrial (uk-gaap-ci),
primary terms (uk-gaap-pt) and global common document (uk-gcd). The commercial
and industrial part of the taxonomy is not used for audit exempt accounts filed to
Companies House.
The majority of items used for audit exempt accounts are defined in the UK GAAP
primary terms taxonomy. A small number of items relevant only to audit exempt
filing are defined in the uk-gaap-ae taxonomy. The complete set of items relevant to
audit exempt filing are described by the uk-gaap-ae presentation linkbase.
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uk-gcd
Taxonomy
Schema
Document
Label
Linkbase
uk-gaap-ae
Taxonomy Schema Document
(audit exempt specific items
only)
uk-gaap-pt
Taxonomy
Schema
Document
Label
Linkbase
Label
Linkbase
Reference
Linkbase
Definition
Linkbase
Presentation
Linkbase
uk-gaap-ci
Calculation
Linkbase
Calculation
Linkbase
Presentation
Linkbase
Taxonomy Schema Document
The taxonomy is made up of the following components:
Taxonomy Schema Documents
These are XML Schemas that define the items in the taxonomy. A taxonomy schema
document specifies: an XML element name for each item, a data-type, and whether
the item relates to an instant or a period.
The taxonomies contain a number of “abstract” items. These items are used to
provide structure to the accompanying linkbases, and cannot be used to report data
against.
Label linkbases
Label linkbases provide descriptive labels for each item in the taxonomy. The labels
are shown in the accompanying reference documentation.
Presentation linkbase
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The audit exempt presentation linkbase describes how the items in the taxonomy fit
together to form a return. Abstract items are used to provide headings for sections.
Reference linkbases
Reference linkbases provide links to relevant pieces of regulation for a given item.
The UK GAAP project is currently undergoing a reference review project to add
content to the reference linkbase.
Calculation linkbase
The audit exempt calculation linkbase provides a set of calculation relationships
between items in the taxonomy. XBRL instance documents will only be accepted by
Companies House if the items in the instance document are valid according to the
calculations described in this linkbase.
Definition linkbase
The definition linkbase is used to describe mandatory elements through the use of
requires-element links.
For detailed information on the contents of the files that make up the taxonomy,
please refer to the XBRL v2.1 specification, available from http://www.xbrl.org.
5.4.2 Other Information Available on XBRL
Documentation:
As well as the underlying taxonomies, also available from Companies House is the
following documentation.
i.
ii.
iii.
Stylesheets used to render the Accounts
Example instance documents (the actual data that will be submitted to
Companies House)
A browser version of the taxonomy (for ease of use)
These are available for download from:
http://ewf.companieshouse.gov.uk/xbrl (88kb) (includes a copy of the taxonomy).
Test parser:
A test parser/validator that will aid development is provided at:
http://ewf.companieshouse.gov.uk/xbrl
This will check an instance document against the Companies House taxonomy for
errors and omissions. Further information on its use is available in Section 6 and on
the website.
5.4.3 Rules governing which accounts can be submitted electronically
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
Companies House has included in the taxonomy the elements that a company may
require to submit its annual accounts to the Registrar. It is up to the company
submitting the accounts to ensure that the elements available within the taxonomy
and the way the accounts will be rendered using the published XBRL stylesheets,
meets the requirements made on the directors by the Companies Act for the
accounts to be a copy of the Accounts, signed on behalf of the Board of Directors
and submitted to the Annual General Meeting. If the taxonomy elements and
stylesheet do not meet this requirement, then the accounts must be submitted on
paper.

Only accounts that can be represented using the Companies House stylesheets and
using XBRL elements defined within the Companies House audit exempt (ae)
XBRL taxonomy (or explicitly referenced by the audit exempt taxonomy) can be
submitted. If other elements are required, even if they have been included in other
taxonomies on which the Companies House taxonomy is based e.g. UK-GAAP,
then they must be filed on paper. Companies House is not able at present to accept
any data that does not fall into the scope as defined within the ae taxonomy

Only accounts that match the style to be rendered using the published stylesheets,
can be filed electronically. Any other format must be filed on paper.
Companies House intends to increase the scope of elements available for
submitting accounts and the stylesheets used to render those elements, and
thereby the range of account types that can be submitted, in the future. This
will include different accounting standards (e.g. FRSSE and IAS).

Only accounts with a ‘made up date’ after 26th July 2000 can be filed
electronically. Accounts prior to this date must be filed on paper.

Public Limited Companies (PLC), companies who are part of a group and
companies limited by guarantee may not at present submit accounts electronically.

Amendment to Accounts cannot be supplied electronically. All amendments to
accounts must be submitted on paper even if amending accounts that were initially
submitted electronically.

Accounts filed electronically will be rendered for viewing using the stylesheets
within the taxonomy. The original version of the accounts, as held by the
Company and signed according to the Companies Act, must match this rendering
in order for the Directors to have fulfilled their obligations under the Companies
Act to submit a ‘copy’ of the accounts to Companies House.

Only Accounts that are totally exempt from audit regulations can be filed
electronically. This includes Full, small Company Format, Abbreviated and
Dormant accounts (provided Companies house has enabled sufficient XBRL
elements to submit a copy of all components of the accounts).

Only accounts in the English language can be submitted electronically.
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
Only accounts for companies incorporated in England and Wales, Scotland or
Northern Ireland can be filed electronically i.e.
Companies with an 8 digit incorporation number for EW companies, or
with first 2 characters ‘SC’ followed by 6 numeric characters for Scottish
companies, or with first 2 characters ‘NI’ followed by 6 numeric characters or
first character ‘R’ followed by 7 numeric characters for Northern Ireland.

Only ‘live’ companies can submit accounts electronically. Companies who are
being restored to the register must initially file Company Accounts using paper.

Do not use this structure if your accounts are prepared in accordance with
International Accounting Standards (IAS). For accounts prepared to these
standards please deliver your accounts to Companies House on paper in the
normal way.
5.4.4 Accounting Rules/XBRL Instructions

All monetary items should be provided as positive units, even where they would
normally be expected to be negative within calculations, or represented as a minus
number. The stylesheets will treat the following elements as negative values even
though they are supplied as positive numbers:
Balance Sheet:
Creditors, amounts falling due within one year
Creditors due after more than one year
Provisions for Liabilities and Charges
Accruals and Deferred Income
Profit and Loss:
Cost of Sales
Distribution costs
Administration Costs
Taxation
Dividends

All monetary items are to be whole currency units only (e.g. all figures should be
pounds, no pence should be entered). If pence are entered the figures will be
rounded up or down which may result in figures not balancing and the accounts
being rejected accordingly. Therefore companies with a total share value of less
than £0.5 cannot file accounts electronically

Accounts supplied to Companies House should have a maximum of 2 years
figures - any instance documents received containing more than two years data
will be rejected.

All data supplied will be rendered according to the stylesheets provided. The data
will be converted to a TIFF image matching the stylesheet rendering and made
available to the public using the usual Companies House delivery mechanisms CH Direct, WebCHeck etc.
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
.

The company authentication code is required as proof that the presenting person
has the authority to send the accounts on behalf of the company. The name of the
director signing the Balance Sheet (and Director’s report if appropriate) may be
different to the person with this authority. The XBRL element
‘NameApprovingDirector’ is mandatory and should be the name of the Director
who actually signed the accounts on behalf of the board. If a Director’s Report is
included in the accounts then the ‘NamePersonApprovingDirectorsReport’
element is also is required
The following Boolean elements will result in the corresponding statements
appearing in the final version of the Accounts when they are set to ‘TRUE’.
XBRL BOOLEAN ELEMENT
CompanyEntitledToExemptionUnder
Section249A1CompaniesAct1985
STATEMENT
1985 Companies Act Statement:
‘For the year ended dd month ccyy the
company was entitled to exemption under
Section 249A(1) of The Companies Act
1985.’
2006 Companies Act Statement:
‘For the year ending dd month ccyy the
company was entitled to exemption from
audit under section 477 of the Companies
Act 2006 relating to small companies.’
1985 Companies Act Statement:
‘For the year ended dd month ccyy the
directors are satisfied that the company is
entitled to exemption under Section
249AA(1) of The Companies Act 1985.’
2006 Companies Act Statement:
‘For the year ending dd month ccyy the
company was entitled to exemption under
section 480 of the Companies Act 2006.’
For 1985 Act accounts, this will cause the
following statement to be output ‘Members have not required the company
to obtain an Audit in accordance with
section 249B(2) of The Companies Act
1985.’
CompanyEntitledToExemptionUnder
Section477CompaniesAct2006
CompanyEntitledToExemptionUnder
Section249AA1CompaniesAct1985
CompanyEntitledToExemptionUnder
Section480CompaniesAct2006
MembersHaveNotRequiredCompanyTo
ObtainAnAudit
For 2006 Act accounts, this will cause the
following statement to be output ’The members have not required the
company to obtain an audit in accordance
with section 476 of the Companies Act
2006'.
DirectorsAcknowledgeTheir
ResponsibilitiesUnderCompaniesAct
For 1985 Act accounts, this will cause the
following statement to be output ‘The directors acknowledge their
responsibility for:
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i)
ii)
For 2006 Act accounts, this will cause the
following statement to be output –
‘The directors acknowledge their
responsibilities for complying with the
requirements of the Act with respect to
accounting records and the preparation of
accounts.’
For 1985 Act accounts, this will cause the
following statement to be output ‘The accounts have been prepared in
accordance with the special provisions in
Part VII of The Companies Act 1985
relating to small companies.’
AccountsAreInAccordanceWithSpecial
ProvisionsCompaniesActRelatingTo
SmallCompanies
AccountsAreInAccordanceWithPartVII
CompaniesActRelatingToSmall
Companies
AccountsAreInAccordanceWithSpecialPr
ovisionsCompaniesActRelatingToSmall
Companies-DirectorsReport
CompanyHasActedAsAnAgent
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ensuring the company keeps
accounting records which
comply with Section 221; and
preparing accounts which give
a true and fair view of the
state of affairs of the company
as at the end of the financial
year in accordance with the
requirements of Section 226,
and which otherwise comply
with the requirements of the
Companies Act relating to
accounts so far as is
applicable to the company.’
For 2006 Act accounts, this will cause the
following statement to be output 'These accounts have been prepared in
accordance with the provisions applicable
to companies subject to the small
companies regime.'
1985 Companies Act Statement:
Will cause the following statement to be
output to the Directors Report
’The Directors' Report has been prepared
in accordance with the special provisions
in Part VII of the Companies Act 1985
relating to small companies.’
2006 Companies Act Statement:
Will cause the following statement to be
output in the Directors Report 'These accounts have been prepared in
accordance with the provisions applicable
to companies subject to the small
companies regime.'
‘During the year the company acted as an
December 2013
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DuringPeriod
AccountsPreparedUnderHistoricalCost
ConventionInAccordanceWithFRSE
agent for a person.’
Will cause the following statement to be
output in the accounts –
‘The accounts have been prepared under
the historical cost convention and in
accordance with the Financial Reporting
Standards for Small Entities (effective
June 2002).’
AccountsPreparedUnderHistoricalCost
ConventionInAccordanceWithFRSSE05
Will cause the following statement to be
output in the accounts –
‘The accounts have been prepared under
the historical cost convention and in
accordance with the Financial Reporting
Standards for Small Entities (effective
January 2005)’
Note:
If the ‘FRSSEVersionDate’ element is
provided, this will cause the following
statement to be output The accounts have been prepared under
the historical cost convention and in
accordance with the Financial Reporting
Standards for Small Entities (effective
<FRSSE version date>).
(If the FRSSE statement is required in a
different format, it may be provided as
free text.)
Indicates if instalment, non-instalment
and secured debts are to be presented
within the ‘aggregate’ Creditors note.
TotalCreditorsNoteDisplay
Note:
Accounts for accounting periods commencing on or after 6 April 2008 should be
prepared in accordance with the 2006 Companies Act, accounts for periods prior
to that should continue to be prepared in accordance with the 1985 Act.
Statements to the accounts should reflect the appropriate Act.

Any currencies supplied should be represented using the ISO 4217 standard for
currencies e.g. EUR, GBP, USD etc. The stylesheets will render EUR, GBP and
USD with the corresponding symbol, though all other currencies will use the
three-character ISO code.

Figures throughout must use the same currency. Where a non GBP currency is
used, then the relevant exchange rate must be supplied in the notes.
(Where necessary, currency should be defined using the ISO 4217 standard e.g.
EUR, GBP, USD etc.)
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
Accounting items will relate either to an instant in time (e.g. Current Assets, Fixed
Assets) or else to a period (e.g. Turnover, Cost of Sales) - this time context will be
held as an attribute against each item, e.g. in the sample instance documents
provided, the context ‘s2005’ represents start of year 2005, ‘e2005’ represents end
of year 2005, and ‘y2005’ represents the duration of the period.

When included, profit(loss) details should be provided for the start and end of
each period. As the value for the end of the previous period must equal the value
for the start of the current period this information should only be provided once.
Values should therefore be presented for:
1 start of previous year,
2 end of previous year,
3 end of current year,
(the value for start of current year will be taken from the end of previous year
value).
If accounts are being entered for only one period - Profit (loss) values will be
entered as normal, i.e. one value for start of period, one value for end of period.

The XBRL stylesheet will render the notes in the following order, providing a
note for that element exists. Each item that exists in the accounts will be numbered
in this order and a corresponding number entered against the corresponding item
in the Balance Sheet or Profit & Loss. If the accounts do not match this order then
you are not able to file electronically and must currently submit on paper.
Accounting Policies
Exchange Rate
Operating Profit
Taxation
Fixed Assets
Intangible Fixed Assets
Tangible Fixed Assets
Investments (Fixed Assets)
Investment Property
Debtors
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Creditors due after 12 months
Creditors
Share Capital
Transactions with Directors
Related Party Disclosures
Any Footnotes (which can be cross-referenced to Balance Sheet P&L items)
e.g. Bank Interest, Administrative Costs
Profit&Loss Account
Any additional Notes (which will be free-standing i.e. not cross-referenced to
Balance Sheet or Profit & Loss items)

The following Profit&Loss Account / Balance Sheet items will each have specific
predefined note structures which will enable a more detailed breakdown of details
to be provided.
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(The breakdown of Intangible, Tangible and Investment Assets will cater for
additions, disposals, revaluations and transfers etc, Creditors will cater for
instalment, Secured debts etc - for full details see the taxonomy and related
stylesheets).
Operating Profit
Taxation
Fixed Assets
Intangible Fixed Assets
Tangible Fixed Assets
Investments (Fixed Assets)
Investment Property
Debtors
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Creditors due after 12 months
Creditors
Share Capital

The following items will have a specific free text note elements which will enable
free text information to be entered.
Exchange Rate
Fixed Assets
Intangible Fixed Assets
Tangible Fixed Assets
Investments (Fixed Assets)
Investment Property
Debtors
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Creditors due after 12 months
Creditors
Share Capital
Transactions with Directors
Related Party Disclosures
Additional notes

All items in the Balance Sheet and Profit& Loss Account may have an associated
note using the XBRL footnote facility (in addition to any specific note elements).

Tangible Fixed Assets – There can be a maximum of five occurrences of Tangible
Fixed Asset details – the categories of asset can include standard categories such
as ‘Land&Buildings’, Plant&Machinery’ etc as well as user defined categories
that will identify categories of assets as specified by the presenter.
Tangible Fixed Assets and related Depreciation information will be formatted as
shown below.
Tangible Fixed Assets
Land &
Buildings
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Plant &
Machinery
Fixtures &
Fittings
Computer
Equipment
Total
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Cost
At 1 November 2008
Additions
Disposals
Revaluations
Transfers
At 31 October 2009
£
£
£
£
£
1,000
250
(150)
300
80
1,480
10,041
769
0
0
0
10,810
0
0
0
0
0
0
500
1,000
(1,000)
0
0
500
11,541
2,019
(1,150)
300
80
12,790
Depreciation
At 1 November 2008
Charge for year
On disposals
Transfers
Other Adjustments
At 31 October 2009
100
100
(30)
95
(95)
170
1,887
2,259
0
0
0
4,146
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
200
0
0
0
200
1,987
2,559
(30)
95
(95)
4,516
Net Book Value
At 31 October 2009
At 31 October 2008
1,310
900
0
0
300
500
8,274
9,554
6,664
8,154
(A tabular Fixed Assets note may be provided rather than individual notes for
Tangible Assets, Intangible Assets etc. The note will be similar in format to the
Tangible Fixed Assets note, but will enable Tangible, Intangible and Investment type
assets to be provided as one composite note).

Where possible, validation of totals etc will be performed as part of the XBRL
Company Accounts Taxonomy Validation (available as an online Validation
Service on the Companies House Web site). Where this is not possible, additional
checks will be carried out as part of the business rules validation during the
background validation process. Software providers should ensure that their
software caters for all appropriate accounting rules and that the created accounts
are valid prior to submission to Companies House (as detailed in section 7
below).

If the previous and current periods occur within the same calendar year, the
stylesheet will render the dates in full (dd/mm/ccyy).

When listing share capital the currency that the shares have been issued in must
match the currency of the current year’s financial figures on the Balance Sheet.

To identify the date on which the accounts were electronically processed,
Companies House intends to add a DateAccountsReceived element to the instance
document (which Companies House will populate on receipt of the document).
5.5

Additional rules governing Dormant Accounts (DCA accounts)
Dormant company accounts (DCA accounts) are only suitable for those
companies limited by shares that have never traded and where the only
transaction entered into the accounting records of the company is the issue of
subscriber shares. Companies that are a subsidiary or holding company cannot use
this format.
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
Shares may be fully paid, partly paid or unpaid: any paid element should be shown
as “Cash at Bank and in hand”, any unpaid element shown as “Called up share
capital not paid”.

The first year’s accounts should include a note detailing the allocation of shares

Dormant companies acting as an agent for any person must state that they have so
acted in the notes to the accounts.

A fee or penalty raised on the company for the payment of an annual return fee,
change of name fee, re-registration fee, or late filing penalty may be omitted from
the company records and this return - if the payment was made by a third party
without any right of reimbursement.

The company directors are responsible for preparing and filing accounts at
Companies House that comply with the requirements of the Companies Act and
failure to do so may result in prosecution. Should you have any doubt about the
company’s entitlement to file dormant accounts, or the preparation of those
accounts, you should seek professional advice.

This guidance only advises on the preparation of abbreviated dormant accounts
that can be filed at Companies House. It does not advise on the preparation of full
accounts for the members.
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6
CONTACT DETAILS
Electronic Filing Development Team via the Companies House Customer Care team
Tel: 029 20380336
mflowers@companieshouse.gov.uk
Companies House
Crown Way
Cardiff CF14 3UZ
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APPENDIX A - ALLOWABLE COMPANY NUMBER PREFIXES
VALUE
COMPANY TYPE SIGNIFIED BY COMPANY NUMBER PREFIX
No
prefix
SC
Company incorporated in England/Wales or Wales
NI/R
Company incorporated in Northern Ireland
OC
LLP incorporated in England/Wales or Wales
SO
LLP incorporated in Scotland
NC
LLP incorporated in Northern Ireland
Company incorporated in Scotland
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APPENDIX B - COMPANIES HOUSE XML GATEWAY ERROR
CODES
Code Description
0-16
Companies House Services are not currently available
500
Invalid Content-Type supplied
501
Invalid Gateway Target (Class) supplied
502
Authorisation Failure
503
Repeat/non-incremental Transaction ID sent with request - Rejecting
504
Too many requests submitted
600
Company does not exist on the selected index
601
Company index dataset not supplied or invalid
602
Invalid appointment type
603
Invalid appointment status
604
Invalid Request - Request XML contains missing fields or invalid data
605
Invalid continuation/regression key
606
Invalid account details
607
Invalid date range
608
Not a HTTPS request
609
An annual return cannot be filed for this company as it has too many shareholders
700
Data returned is that of the Branch Company. Company name and number reflect that of the parent
company ( Warning )
701
No data available for this company number
702
Server Temporarily Busy (request would block)
703
Document order may take some time to satisfy (
704
Too many search results to return in one go
705
Not an XML content type (text/xml)
800
Internal gateway failure
900
Unable to perform request due to a temporary system fault - System engineers have been informed and
the problem will be cleared shortly
1002
Queuing Failure Companies House services unavailable
1100
Companies House Services are not currently available
1101
QSP System Unavailable - Companies House services unavailable
1102
Image system failure
1103
RMS System unavailable - Order was successful but being queued for RMS
1200
Companies House services are experiencing problems - The failure may not persist
1201
Companies House services are not currently available
5003
Account Unknown
5006
You have insufficient funds on your account to proceed
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Warning )
December 2013
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5007
This customer account has been suspended
5013
Date(s) invalid for order enquiry range date
5200
Accounting Error
5201
Accounting Error
6001
Companies House services are not currently available
6002
Companies House services are not currently available
6003
Companies House services are not currently available
6004
Companies House services are not currently available
6005
Companies House services are not currently available
7015
The previously scanned image is no longer available on the Image Server
8023
No Documents Found
8026
No Documents in an accepted or rejected state
9001
The company number selected is not on the Live Companies House Register
9003
No appointments found
9005
There are no transactions for this company
9007
There are no valid transactions for transaction type or dates given
9011
No information available - Details for the selected company have been archived from the service
9101
The company number is not a valid format
9201
No directors found to meet the input criteria
9202
You have reached the beginning of the register
9203
You have reached the end of the register
9211
No appointments found to meet the input criteria
9212
Access to this information is not available. Please contact Companies House on (029) 2034 8404 for
further details
9213
Access to this information is not available. Please contact Companies House on (029) 2034 8404 for
further details
9221
No appointments found to meet the input criteria
9361
This company has no insolvency details registered - Insolvency details available since 1986
9362
This company has no insolvency details registered - Insolvency details available since 1986
9363
This case has no practitioner details registered - Practitioner details available since 23/11/1998 - Please
Note: Practitioner details for voluntary liquidations are only available when the form 600 has been
filed - Practitioner details for compulsory liquidations are only available if the winding up order was
made after 1996
9364
This case has no practitioner details registered - Practitioner details available since 23/11/1998 - Please
Note: Practitioner details for voluntary liquidations are only available when the form 600 has been
filed - Practitioner details for compulsory liquidations are only available if the winding up order was
made after 1996
9501
Company is not an overseas company
9502
Query on Northern Ireland company - Refer to Belfast Registry
9503
No supplementary overseas company information available for this company
9511
There are no Branch Details available for this company
9601
The enquiry end date is before the start date
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9602
This company has no Mortgages registered
9603
There are no Mortgage Details available
9604
No Mortgage Details available for the dates specified
9611
There are no Charge Details available
9821
Invalid Account Number specified in request
9983
Product code is invalid
9984
You have insufficient funds on your account to proceed
9021
Undefined Error
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APPENDIX C – PERMITTED CHARACTERS FOR USE IN
ELECTRONIC FILING
The following describes the characters that can be used within data submitted via the
Electronic Filing service to Companies House.
There are 3 possible character sets depending on the data element:
1 – For Proposed Company Names
2 – For existing Company Names and all other names and addresses
3 – For all other data fields.
Elements that contain supplementary data, E.g. memoranda and articles, supporting
evidence for use of certain words, etc., supplied in PCL or PDF format, can use any
data set.
1. Proposed Company Names
For use any time a proposed company name is submitted. E.g. within the
<CompanyName> element of <FormSubmission> when a company is being
incorporated or within the <ProposedCompanyName> element of <ChangeOfName>.
any character, sign or symbol set out in table 1 at
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2009/uksi_20091085_en_2;
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9;
full stop, comma, colon, semi-colon or hyphen;
any other punctuation referred to in column 1 of table 2 at
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2009/uksi_20091085_en_2 but only in one of the forms set
out opposite that punctuation in column 2 of that table.
The signs and symbols set out in table 3 at
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2009/uksi_20091085_en_2 are permitted characters that
may be used but not as one of the first three permitted characters of the name.
The name must not consist of more than 160 permitted characters.
This can be summarised as follows:
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ0123456789&@£
$ € ¥ . (full stop) , (comma) : (colon) : (semi-colon) – hyphen ‘ ’ ’ (apostrophe) ( ) [ ] {
} < > (bracket) ! (exclamation mark) » « (guillemet) " “ ” (Inverted comma) ?
(question mark) / \ (solidus)
The following can also be used but not in the first 3 characters
*=#%+
2. Existing Company Names and all other Names and Addresses
For use when referring to an existing company name or in any name (person or
corporate) or address field.
E.g. in the <CompanyName> element of
<FormSubmission> for all form types other than an incorporation (including the
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existing company name for a Change of Name) or <Title> <Surname> <Forename>
<Premise> <Street> <Thoroughfare> <PostTown> etc for a director. All name and
address fields are included where ever they occur within any schema, for example for
person and corporate officers, guarantors’, shareholders, subscribers, Registered
Office address etc. (this is list is not exhaustive).
Those characters shown in the table at
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2009/draft/ukdsi_9780111479520_en_2
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9;
full stop, comma, colon, semi-colon or hyphen;
The following characters used by various EU languages (including the Welsh and
Gaelic languages):
This can be summarised as follows:
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghIjklmno
p q r s t u v w x y z 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 & @ £ $ € ¥ . (full stop) , (comma) : (colon) :
(semi-colon) – hyphen ‘ ’ ’ (apostrophe) ( ) [ ] { } < > (bracket) ! (exclamation mark)
» « (guillemet) " “ ” (Inverted comma) ? (question mark) / \ (solidus) * = # % +
plus the characters in the table above.
3. All Other Data Fields
All other data fields not a name or address element. E.g. <PrescribedParticulars>,
<CompanyAuthenticationCode>, <Sharevalue> etc.
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Those characters shown in the table at
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2009/draft/ukdsi_9780111479520_en_2
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9;
full stop, comma, colon, semi-colon or hyphen;
in addition, for Welsh companies only, characters that use circumflex, grave accent,
acute accent and diaeresis are allowed.
This can be summarised as
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghIjklmno
p q r s t u v w x y z 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 & @ £ $ € ¥ . (full stop) , (comma) : (colon) :
(semi-colon) – hyphen ‘ ’ ’ (apostrophe) ( ) [ ] { } < > (bracket) ! (exclamation mark)
» « (guillemet) " “ ” (Inverted comma) ? (question mark) / \ (solidus) * = # % +
plus the welsh characters where appropriate.
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APPENDIX D – EREMINDERS EXAMPLE ACTIVATION EMAIL
The following are examples of the emails used during activation of an email address
for the eReminder service. They are intended to give software developers an
awareness of the registration process. It should be noted that the actual wording
contained within these emails is subject to change.
Email 1 - Activation Terms of Operation email
From: ereminders@companies-house.gov.uk
To: test@demo.com
Subject: Co No: 1234567 – Companies House eReminder Service - Activation
KYZ Limited – Company Number: 1234567
You have been nominated to receive email reminders from Companies House when
the accounts and annual returns are due. The email reminders will be sent instead of
paper reminders.
If you do not wish to receive email reminders for this company, you do not need to
take any action.
If you agree to the request, please click on the link below (or copy and paste it into
your web browser) and follow the instructions. To ensure that you understand how
the service operates, we ask you to confirm that you have read the terms of operation,
which are displayed from the link.
http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ereminderactivation.
This link will be available for 5 days only. After this time you will need to re-apply to
join eReminders.
Companies House may also use your email address to send you communication
relating to compliance issues only if postal methods have failed (see section 2.6 of
terms).
Companies House
This is an automated email. Do not reply to this email as we will not be able to receive
your message. To contact us email enquiries@companieshouse.gov.uk
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Email 2 - Activation Confirmation Email
From: ereminders@companies-house.gov.uk
To: test@demo.com
Subject: Co No: 1234567 – Companies House eReminder Service – Activation
Confirmed
KYZ Limited – Company Number: 1234567
Thank you for registering with the Companies House eReminder Service.
This email address has been activated to receive email reminders for the above
company. Paper reminder letters for this company will cease.
Please note that the eReminder Service only covers accounts and annual return
reminders. If you do not file on time we will issue paper statutory notices to the
company’s registered office address.
Companies House
To remove this email address from the eReminder Service:
http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/ereminderunsubscribe
This is an automated email. Do not reply to this email as we will not be able to receive
your message. To contact us email enquiries@companieshouse.gov.uk
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APPENDIX E – SUPPLY OF CORPORATION TAX INFORMATION FOR
HM REVENUE AND CUSTOMERS (HMRC)
You can now provide corporation tax information along with an incorporation
submission. The corporation tax information will be sent to HM Revenue and
Customs (HMRC) when the incorporation is accepted by Companies House.
How do I provide corporation tax information?
Data that conforms to the corporation tax information schema must be inserted into
the <AdditionalInformation> element within the <FormSubmission> of the associated
incorporation. The schema can be found at http://xmlgw.companieshouse.gov.uk/v11/schema/additionalInformation/HMRC-v0-1_JI.xsd
Rules applied in addition to schema validation
Only
companies
limited
by
shares
i.e.
where
the
<Form><CompanyIncorporation><CompanyType> element is set to 'BYSHR' can
provide corporation tax information.
Additional Notes
The corporation tax schema is a self contained independent schema and does not use
the baseType schemas. All elements and types are defined to HMRC data
requirements.
Any enquiries regarding Corporation Tax should be made with HM Revenue and
Customs via:
<http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ct/getting-started/new-company/start-up.htm> .
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GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Authentication (XML
Gateway)
Business error
Credit account
Submission
Gateway login
GovTalk Envelope
Lender Authentication
Code
MD5 Hash
Presenter
Authentication Code
Presenter_ID
Software filing credit
account
Software Filing
user_ID (XML)
SubmissionNumber
Transportation error
Details required to communicate with the XML Gateway.
Made up of 2 elements within the GovTalk envelope, the
<SenderID> and <Authentication><value>. These are
obtained by passing the Presenter Id and Presenter
Authentication code through the MD5 hash algorithm.
An error that occurs during the asynchronous processing of a
transaction.
Account opened to process fee baring documents. All
presenters using the service require a credit account which
will be opened on application to use the service.
An actual document submission to Companies House.
Identified by the unique SubmissionNumber. Made up of the
FormSubmission schema plus the relevant document schema
(except accounts which only use the FormSubmission
schema).
user id and authentication required to access CH via the
XML Gateway. Separate Gateway logins are required for
input and output products
Container used to communicate with and convey data to, the
XML Gateway.
Authentication code allocated in order to submit charge
documents on behalf of any company. See “LENDER
AUTHENTICATION”
A commonly used algorithm to encode messages
Authentication code allocated to the presenter on application
to join the service.
The main identifier for an Electronic Filing presenter. This
11 number code will be allocated by CH when a presenter
applies for an account
See credit account
A 32 digit login id obtained by passing the Presenter_ID
through the MD5 Hash algorithm. This unique character
string will be used to ‘logon’ to the XML gateway and
uniquely identify the presenter.
Unique reference allocated to a document submission by the
presenter. Used to identify submission (together with
Presenter_ID) in any communication with Companies House
Errors discovered while accessing the XML Gateway. This
includes XML parsing, presenter Authentication and
transportation errors. Attempts with this type of error are
deemed not to have been delivered to Companies House.
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XBRL
XML Gateway
XML software filing
eXtensible Business Reporting Language. Format for
submission of annual accounts
HTTPS Web service offered by CH to allow customers
access to input and output products using XML
Name given to the service operated by Companies House
that allows presenters to electronically file transactions via
the XML Gateway.
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