Companies House express certificates and the 11am cut-off
An 11am express cut-off is a processing condition, not instant delivery. Complete instructions and separate legalisation stages still matter.
Published · Last updated · Official fees and cut-off checked on GOV.UK (Companies House, FCDO)
Companies House express dispatch costs £65 and the order must be placed before 11am on a working day. If it is placed after 11am, Companies House does not send it until the next working day. Express means same-day dispatch by Royal Mail First Class post in the UK, not same-day delivery, and it does not include an apostille (source: GOV.UK Companies House ordering guidance, checked 16 October 2026).
This Advice Centre guide is practical document information, not legal advice, an immigration opinion, a banking decision or a promise of foreign acceptance. Ask the named recipient for its current written checklist before ordering.
Short answer
Order before 11am on a working day and Companies House aims to post the express certificate the same day, First Class within the UK or Royal Mail International abroad. Order at 11:05am, or at the weekend, and dispatch moves to the next working day. Either way the paper still has to travel, so a UK address normally sees it one to two working days after dispatch, and an overseas address longer. If the recipient needs an apostille, that is a separate FCDO stage with its own fee and timescale.
| Option | Official fee | When it is sent | UK post |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | £22 (£44 for incorporation documents) | Companies House aims to send within 10 working days | Royal Mail Second Class |
| Express | £65 (£130 for incorporation documents) | Same working day if ordered before 11am, otherwise the next working day | Royal Mail First Class |
The UKCOGS Certificate of Good Standing is £79 ex VAT for Standard and £129 ex VAT for Express, and each price includes the official Companies House fee shown above.
What the cut-off means
The cut-off is about when Companies House receives a complete, paid order, not when you first think about ordering. It is 11am UK time on a Companies House working day, so weekends and bank holidays do not count. A buyer in Dubai or Singapore who orders in their afternoon has usually missed that day's cut-off already.
It also does not mean the certificate is apostilled, translated or delivered the same day. Those are later stages run by other people.
A worked timeline
- Tuesday 10:30am: a complete express order reaches Companies House. Dispatch is aimed for Tuesday, First Class.
- Tuesday 11:20am: the same order arrives 20 minutes late. Dispatch moves to Wednesday.
- Friday 2pm: dispatch moves to Monday, or Tuesday if Monday is a bank holiday.
Add First Class transit, then any onward courier, apostille or embassy stage, before you promise a date to a bank or lawyer.
Why delay can still occur
Wrong numbers, missing details, an ineligible product, clarification or a missed courier collection can delay an order. “Submitted” is not the same as “issued”. Ask for status rather than assuming completion. Overdue accounts or an overdue confirmation statement can also mean the certificate is issued without the summary statement most banks want, so run the free filings check before paying for express.
Express versus apostille
Companies House issue and FCDO legalisation are separate. A same-day certificate does not include an apostille; paper, e-Apostille, Next-Day or urgent routes have distinct fees and conditions.
What to send before 11am
Provide exact name, number, type, copies, delivery, country and recipient instruction. State paper or electronic format and whether an apostille follows. Complete instructions reduce clarification risk.
Can a bank deadline be guaranteed
No. Express processing cannot guarantee courier arrival, embassy appointment or bank approval. Ask if an interim register record or deadline extension is acceptable.
Record the timeline
Keep submission time, reference, payment, cut-off, issue, dispatch and tracking. Include public holidays and destination working days in the plan.
Practical checklist
- Use the exact registered company name, number and company type.
- Review the live Companies House record and recent filing history.
- Ask the recipient what the document must prove, how recent it must be and whether it accepts paper or electronic format.
- Confirm apostille, translation, embassy and courier requirements before paying.
- Keep the order confirmation, issued document and legalisation evidence together.
- Index the pack without claiming that a certificate proves ownership, solvency or authority unless it actually does.
Official fees and sources
Check the live GOV.UK guidance on ordering certified copies and certificates from Companies House before ordering. The current working figures for this batch are £22 for a standard Companies House certificate and £65 for a same-day certificate. These are official charges, not an agent’s full service price.
Where legalisation is needed, the live GOV.UK document legalisation guidance lists £45 for a paper apostille, £35 for an e-Apostille, £40 for Next-Day and £100 for Restricted Urgent where the relevant conditions apply. Certification, translation, courier, postage and any later embassy stage can be separate. Do not describe a provider as an FCDO partner unless current official terms expressly support that wording.
Freshness is a recipient rule
There is no universal 90-day legal expiry for every Certificate of Good Standing. About 90 days is a common recipient habit, but a bank, authority or counterparty may specify 30, 60, 180 days or a document issued after a particular filing. An apostille authenticates the relevant signature, seal or status; it does not refresh company information. Check the recipient’s written rule and the live Companies House record before presentation.
Questions to settle before payment
Ask the receiving organisation to confirm the exact document title, the legal entity, the maximum document age and the accepted delivery format. Ask whether it wants an original, a Companies House certified copy, a solicitor-certified copy or an electronic file. If the document will be used outside the UK, ask whether an apostille is enough or whether translation, embassy legalisation or local filing follows. Put the reply in the order file; a short written answer is more useful than an assumption based on a similar transaction.
Also check the practical hand-offs. Who will receive the certificate? Does the bank or authority need the complete pack uploaded in one session? Will it accept a scan for preliminary review and request originals later? Is a courier address different from the registered office? These details affect timing and can prevent a correctly issued document being sent to the wrong place. Keep tracking information and delivery confirmation with the final pack.
Keep the scope clear
A company certificate is one piece of evidence. It should not be described as a guarantee of incorporation history, ownership, financial health, tax compliance, authority to sign or permission to trade unless the document and recipient specifically establish that point. If a reviewer asks a question the certificate cannot answer, add the separate evidence it requests or obtain professional advice. Clear wording protects the client from relying on a document for a purpose it was never designed to meet.
Frequently asked questions
Does before 11am mean same-day delivery?
No. GOV.UK says an express order placed before 11am is sent the same working day by Royal Mail First Class in the UK. Delivery then depends on the post, usually one to two working days in the UK and longer abroad.
Does express include apostille?
No. Express only speeds up Companies House dispatch. An FCDO apostille is a separate stage with its own fee (£45 paper, £35 e-Apostille when checked on GOV.UK) and its own processing time.
What if details are missing?
Companies House can only process what it receives. A wrong company number, the wrong company or a missing certified fact can mean a reissue and a second fee, which costs more time than ordering a few minutes later with the right details.
Can courier arrival be guaranteed?
No. Companies House sends express orders by post, not courier. Any onward courier from a UK address to an overseas recipient is a separate step, and transit times are set by the carrier.
Is the rule permanent?
No rule is permanent. The 11am cut-off and £65 fee are what GOV.UK showed on 16 October 2026; Companies House has changed this service before, so check the live guidance before a hard deadline.
What happens if I miss the 11am cut-off?
The order is not lost. Companies House sends it on the next working day instead, still as express. If the deadline is tight, check whether the recipient will accept a scan for preliminary review while the paper is in the post; use the document freshness helper to check the issue-date window.
How much does Companies House charge for express?
GOV.UK lists £65 for the same-day express service on a company certificate or certified copy, against £22 for standard dispatch (checked 16 October 2026). The UKCOGS express Certificate of Good Standing is £129 ex VAT including the £65 official fee. Apostille and courier stages are separate.
UKCOGS can help coordinate the relevant document route. See the Certificate of Good Standing service, apostille and legalisation information, the order page, or request a quote for apostille work. Service prices and delivery times are separate from official fees, and the receiving organisation makes its own decision.
Ready to order Companies House documents?
Buy-now COGS and certified copies. Apostille and embassy work are quote-only — we confirm official fees on GOV.UK.