NAR1 dates: distinguish the return, filing and download dates

Read the label beside the date

The official NAR1 distinguishes the date to which the return is made up from the period covered by financial statements delivered with it. It also has a signature date. These are separate fields, not interchangeable date values.

A private company need not complete the accounting-period item in section 5 of the current form. Read applicability notes before treating a blank as a processing error. This guide references specification 2/2025; inspect the version of a historical filing separately.

Companies Registry: NAR1, specification 2/2025 ↗

How to read five different dates

Scroll sideways to see all columns; focus the table and use arrow keys on a keyboard.

Date	Where to find it	What it tells you
Date to which the return is made up	NAR1, section 4	The date to which the return relates
Accounting period	NAR1, section 5 and its applicability note	The period covered by accompanying financial statements; a private company need not complete this item
Signature date	The signature section	The date entered when signing, distinct from the return date
Filing date	The Registry Document Index	When the document was filed; it may differ from the dates in its contents
Download date	Your download or acquisition record	When you obtained the file; downloading does not update the filing

Companies Registry: NAR1, specification 2/2025 ↗Companies Registry: electronic search FAQ ↗

Example: downloaded now, describing an earlier date

Our sample’s return date is 2 August 2022. A new download records a new acquisition time; it does not update the filing’s information.

Keep separate columns for the date the information relates to and the date you obtained the file. A colleague looking at the record later can then understand both without reopening the PDF.

Make the date requirement explicit

Do not request only “the 2024 document”; state the type and what the year refers to.
For a Form NAR1 relating to a particular return date, provide that date or mark it for confirmation.
Before comparing documents, match their date labels before discussing content differences.
Do not use one historical filing to answer every change over a period.

Scope of this guide

This page helps you read and select documents. It does not calculate statutory filing deadlines, penalties or filing obligations. For filing work, consult current Registry guidance and appropriate professional advice.

Companies Registry: annual return FAQ ↗

Follow one document through its timeline

All dates in this teaching example are fictional. Imagine reviewing a document in September 2026: its return date is 2 August 2024, signature date 12 August 2024, index filing date 20 August 2024, and your team downloaded it on 19 September 2026. These dates can coexist because they describe different events.

When asked which reporting date the information relates to, cite the return date. For when the document was delivered for registration, consult the filing index. For when your team obtained this copy, consult your receipt or download record. A worksheet column simply labelled “date” leaves the next reader to guess.

The example does not establish whether a filing was late. Reading dates and calculating statutory deadlines are separate tasks; the latter requires company-specific facts and applicable rules. Establish what each date describes before using it in further analysis.

The filename says 2025, but the form says 2024. What now?

A filename saying “2025” does not by itself contradict a 2024 return date inside. It may reflect the year received or the folder organisation. Use filenames to locate documents, then inspect the source; do not overwrite a printed date to match a filename.

If an index entry appears inconsistent with a page, compare company identity, document type and the label describing each date before comparing the values. This catches comparisons between different entities, filings or events. If the discrepancy remains, retain both observations with their sources and mark it unresolved.

“Use the later date” is not a general correction rule. Downloading an old filing today does not refresh its contents, and a later signature does not change its return date. Record the original value, correction and source-based reason whenever a correction is needed.

Leave a date record your colleague can understand

This is a suggested working note, not an official form or required delivery format. Keep each date on a separate line with its original label, particularly when you do not yet know which dates the receiving system needs.

Location: internal document reference, company, filename and PDF page or index record.
Source: full date label, date exactly as written and whether it is legible.
Date format: once you know what the date means, you can use YYYY-MM-DD. Keep the original wording alongside it for checking.
What still needs checking: mark whether the date is confirmed, blank, on a missing page or unclear, and note who will follow up.

Does 03/04 mean 3 April or 4 March?

Consider a cropped image containing only “03/04/2024”. Without knowing the source order, converting it to a standard date introduces an assumption. Request the full page including its labels. Until then, preserve the text and flag the ambiguity.

Do not turn a month and year into the first day of that month, or a year into 1 January. That creates precision the source lacks. If the destination requires a full date, agree how to retain an unresolved value instead of silently inventing a day.

When someone asks for the “latest” NAR1

Suppose a colleague asks for “the latest NAR1 for this company, saved in the 2024 folder”. Clarify whether they mean the most recent available filing or one with a return date in 2024. A genuine document can still be the wrong document for the task.

A clearer fictional request is: “Find Company A’s NAR1 with a return date in 2024. Record the return date, filing date from the index and date obtained. If no matching document is found, report candidate records before substituting another year.” Add verifiable company identification when using this in practice.

Try this with your own document: can you identify its information date without relying on the filename, explain how the download date differs, and point another reader to the source? A useful date record lets the next person answer all three.

Two dates, two years: where should you file the return?

This fictional working record is not a Registry screen or actual filing. The task is to retain Company A’s NAR1 with a return date in 2024. The reader has checked the PDF, filing index and download record separately. Which reporting-year folder fits this task?