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Anti-money laundering & customer due diligence

Last updated: 6 August 2026

DormantFile prepares and files statutory accounts and Company Tax Returns for UK limited companies. That makes us an accountancy service provider under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017; our registration with HMRC for anti-money laundering supervision is in progress. Ben Davies is the business's nominated officer responsible for this policy.

This page explains, in plain English, the customer due diligence ("CDD") we carry out, what we check before every filing, when we will ask you for more, and what records the law requires us to keep. For the ordinary customer filing for their own dormant company, all of it happens quietly in the background.

Why our risk is structurally low — and what we watch for

DormantFile is a narrow, standardised service. We do not handle client money, hold funds, form companies, provide registered-office addresses or nominees, or move value in any way. Filings contain nil or near-nil figures, payment is by card through Stripe only, and every filing is authenticated with credentials only someone with genuine control of the company holds.

That still leaves specific ways a service like ours could be misused — keeping a trading shell "dormant" on paper, filing on a company the customer doesn't actually control, or maintaining an unexplained stack of shell companies. Our checks are built around exactly those risks.

The checks we carry out

  • Who you are. Every account requires a verified email address before anything can be filed or paid for.
  • The company is real. We identify every company against the live Companies House register — number, registered name, and officers — and only file for companies that exist on the register. Your company's register record is re-synced daily.
  • You control it. Filing accounts requires the company's Companies House authentication code; filing a CT600 requires your own Government Gateway login with Corporation Tax enrolment. We never file with credentials you have not supplied, and we never obtain credentials on your behalf.
  • Director confirmation, every filing. Before each filing you confirm you are a director of the company (or acting with the directors' authority), and the confirmation is recorded against that filing. If the director name you give doesn't match the public register, we ask why and record the answer.
  • Ongoing monitoring. Our daily register watch flags unexpected changes to your company's record — new officers, address changes, or filings we didn't make — so a hijacked or contested company surfaces quickly.
  • Enhanced checks when the picture doesn't add up. If something is inconsistent — the register contradicts what you've told us, a portfolio of companies has no plausible explanation, or another risk factor applies — we pause, ask you to explain, and may ask for evidence such as proof of appointment before proceeding.

What we will not do

  • File dormant accounts for a company we have reason to believe is trading. Dormant means dormant; if your company has started trading, we'll point you to the right route instead.
  • File with credentials you haven't supplied yourself.
  • Accept payment routes outside Stripe, or payments from third parties unconnected to you.
  • Backdate, alter, or misrepresent filings, periods, or company status.

Our reporting duties

Like every business within the scope of the Money Laundering Regulations, we are legally required to report knowledge or suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing to the National Crime Agency. Where those duties are engaged, the law also prohibits us from discussing it — which means that in rare cases we may decline or pause a filing and be unable to tell you why beyond "we're unable to proceed". We may decline or end service where we cannot satisfy our due-diligence obligations.

The records we keep

The Money Laundering Regulations require us to keep customer identity, due-diligence, and transaction records for five years after our business relationship with you ends; filing records are kept for six years in line with HMRC record-keeping requirements. These retention periods apply even if you delete your account — account deletion removes your marketing and product data, but the compliance records above are retained for the statutory period, as set out in our privacy policy.

What this means for you

If you're a director filing for your own dormant company — the overwhelming majority of our customers — you'll never notice any of this. The checks run automatically against public data and the credentials you already use. Due diligence only becomes visible if something doesn't add up, and then it's a conversation, not an accusation.

Questions about this policy can be sent via our contact page.