Quick answers about dormant & non-trading companies

Plain-English explanations of the terms and concepts you'll encounter when filing for a dormant or non-trading UK company.

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• Can a CIC be dormant?

  Yes — a community interest company (CIC) can be dormant for Corporation Tax and file as dormant, but it keeps the community interest report (form CIC34) and £15 fee, and the CIC Regulator won't let it sit dormant forever.

• Can a CIC file dormant company accounts?

  Not the way an ordinary company can. A dormant CIC still prepares dormant accounts, but must file them with a CIC34 report and £15 fee — on paper or via the Companies House CIC service.

• Can a company with a Bounce Back Loan be dormant?

  Whether a company with an outstanding Bounce Back Loan can still file dormant accounts — and when it has to file micro-entity accounts instead.

• Can a dormant company have assets and liabilities on its balance sheet?

  Yes. Dormant is about what happened during the year, not what's on the balance sheet. A company that traded once can still owe money, be owed money or hold assets and be dormant — its dormant accounts show those figures, unchanged.

• Can an LLP be dormant?

  Yes — an LLP is dormant if it had no significant accounting transactions in the period, the same Companies Act test companies use, applied to LLPs. It still files annual accounts.

• Can I file dormant company accounts for free?

  Only partly. Companies House's free dormant accounts form is only for a company that has never traded and covers the accounts only, and HMRC's free tax return service closed in March 2026. What that leaves out, and what DormantFile files.

• Can I file micro-entity accounts myself?

  Yes — no rule says an accountant has to file FRS 105 micro-entity accounts. How a non-trading company files them through DormantFile, and which companies still need an accountant.

• Can I mark accounts as filed elsewhere?

  How to mark a filing period as complete in DormantFile if your accounts or CT600 were filed through another service, your accountant, or WebFiling.

• Can I still file dormant company accounts by post?

  Until April 2028, yes — but the short paper form is only for a company that has never traded, and post is the riskiest route. Why, and what DormantFile does instead.

• Can you close a company with an outstanding Bounce Back Loan?

  Why you cannot dissolve a dormant company that still owes a Bounce Back Loan, and what to do instead.

• Do dormant company directors need to file Self Assessment?

  Being a director of a dormant company doesn't by itself require a Self Assessment return — but from 2025/26, directors who already file must declare the company on the SA102.

• Do dormant company directors need to verify their identity?

  Yes. Identity verification applies to every director of a UK company, trading or dormant. Why dormancy makes no difference and how the annual confirmation statement sets your date.

• Do LLP members and company secretaries need to verify?

  LLP members must verify their identity with Companies House, just like directors. Company secretaries are not on the list. Corporate directors and members come later.

• Do micro-entity accounts need an audit?

  Whether FRS 105 micro-entity accounts have to be audited, and the audit exemption that applies to the smallest UK companies.

• Do you file a profit and loss account with micro-entity accounts?

  Whether micro-entity (FRS 105) accounts include a profit and loss account, and what actually gets sent to Companies House.

• Does a dormant LLP need to file a tax return?

  Not automatically — but the return an LLP can owe is the SA800 partnership return, not a CT600, due for any year HMRC issues a notice to file. Every LLP is on HMRC's books from incorporation, so treat any notice as real — even if the LLP has never traded.

• Does a flat management company need to file a CT600?

  Companies limited by guarantee are within Corporation Tax scope — but many flat management companies get a letter from HMRC saying no return is needed. If one is required, it's a nil CT600.

• Does an RTM company need to file accounts?

  Yes — a right-to-manage (RTM) company files annual accounts and a confirmation statement like any other company, even though it exists only to manage a block of flats. It's dormant if it has no transactions of its own.

• Does anything remind you about a CT600 deadline?

  Yes — twice, and both times by post to your registered office. HMRC sends the notice to deliver (its letter asking for a Company Tax Return) about a month after the period ends and a CT208 reminder six weeks before the deadline, with nine and a half months of silence in between. For a dormant company that address is often the weak link.

• Does Companies House accept 'dormant' as a reason to appeal?

  No. It is on the published list of reasons Companies House rejects, and a dormant company has exactly the same accounts deadline as a trading one. There are two things that do work: exceptional circumstances outside the company's control, and a penalty that is simply wrong on the register's own facts.

• Does DormantFile support CIC companies?

  Yes, for the Company Tax Return — HMRC accepts a CIC's CT600 from software like any other company's. No, for the accounts: no filing software can submit the CIC34 package Companies House requires.

• Does DormantFile support companies limited by guarantee?

  Yes — since August 2026 DormantFile files dormant and micro-entity accounts for companies limited by guarantee, such as flat management and right-to-manage (RTM) companies, with the correct legal form and the CT600 leg fully available.

• Does DormantFile support LLPs?

  Yes — DormantFile files dormant LLP accounts and, since September 2026, FRS 105 micro-entity LLP accounts to Companies House, with designated-member wording, plus the nil SA800 partnership return when HMRC asks. Trading LLP accounts are out of scope.

• How can I check if a director has verified their identity?

  The Companies House register now shows when each director and PSC gave their identity verification statement and when it is due. How to read it, and what each status means.

• How do DormantFile deadline reminders work?

  How DormantFile's email reminder system works — when reminders are sent, what they cover, and how to control each category of email.

• How do I get copies of documents filed at Companies House?

  Every document your company has ever filed is free to download from the public register — here's where to find them, and the faster way.

• How do I report a false filing to Companies House?

  Found a director, address or filing on your company's record that you didn't make? Report it to Companies House the same day — here's exactly how.

• How long does it take to file dormant company accounts?

  About two minutes through DormantFile, against a few working days of an accountant's turnaround — plus the one wait everyone forgets: the authentication code.

• I have three dormant companies — what do I file?

  Three of everything. Each company files its own dormant accounts and confirmation statement with Companies House, and its own nil CT600 with HMRC for any period HMRC asks about — up to nine deadlines a year and three credentials of each kind. One dashboard can hold the lot.

• Is a flat management company dormant?

  Usually, if service charges are held in a separate trust account rather than the company's own bank account — but it isn't automatic. The trust-vs-books test, honestly explained.

• Is my property SPV a dormant company?

  Only while nothing has gone through it. An SPV waiting for its first purchase — no deposit money in, no mortgage, no rent — is dormant and files dormant accounts; from the day it completes on a property it isn't, whatever its SIC code says.

• What are Companies House late filing penalties?

  The automatic penalties Companies House charges for filing annual accounts late, including amounts and how they escalate.

• What are dormant company accounts?

  What dormant company accounts are, what they contain — including figures a company still carries from its trading years — when to file them at Companies House, and the deadlines for dormant UK limited companies.

• What are micro-entity accounts (FRS 105)?

  What FRS 105 micro-entity accounts are, who qualifies as a micro-entity, what the accounts contain, and when a non-trading company files them instead of dormant accounts.

• What are persons with significant control (PSC)?

  Who counts as a person with significant control, what the PSC register is, and how PSC details are reported to Companies House.

• What do I have to file for companies I registered just to protect a name?

  The full set, per company: dormant accounts and a confirmation statement to Companies House, plus a nil CT600 if HMRC asks. Nothing merges across your companies — but one identity check, one dashboard and one plan can cover all of them.

• What does 'dormant' mean under the Companies Act?

  The legal definition of a dormant company under the Companies Act 2006, what counts as a significant transaction, and common exceptions.

• What does 'no significant accounting transactions' mean?

  What counts as a significant accounting transaction under the Companies Act, common edge cases, and how to tell if your company is still dormant.

• What does a holding company with dormant subsidiaries have to file?

  Every company in the group files on its own: accounts and a confirmation statement to Companies House, plus a CT600 to HMRC for any period HMRC asks about. The dormant subsidiaries file dormant accounts. The holding company can too, if nothing moved through it all year and the group is small enough to need no group accounts — but a dividend, a management fee, a loan or a write-down of its investment in the year means it isn't dormant.

• What happens if a director doesn't verify their identity?

  Missing the ECCTA identity verification deadline is a criminal offence, blocks you from acting as a director, and gets flagged on the public register.

• What if GOV.UK One Login can't verify me?

  If the GOV.UK ID Check app won't work for you, One Login has two other routes, and an authorised agent (ACSP) can verify you instead. What to do if you live abroad or have no photo ID.

• What is a CIC34 report?

  The CIC34 is the annual community interest report every CIC must file with its accounts — what it contains, the £15 fee that goes with it, and what a dormant CIC writes in one.

• What is a Companies House authentication code?

  What the Companies House authentication code is, how to get one, where to find it, and why you need it to file dormant company accounts online.

• What is a Companies House personal code?

  A Companies House personal code is the 11-character code you get after verifying your identity. Where you use it, why one code covers every company, and how to find it again.

• What is a confirmation statement (CS01)?

  What a confirmation statement is, how it differs from annual accounts, and when your dormant company needs to file one.

• What is a CT600?

  The CT600 is the Corporation Tax return most UK companies — including many dormant ones — must file. What it contains, who has to file, the deadlines, and how a nil return works.

• What is a filing receipt?

  What a filing receipt is, what information it contains, and why you should keep one for every dormant company filing.

• What is a penalty determination?

  It is HMRC's notice telling you a penalty has been charged for a Corporation Tax return it asked for and did not receive. It is automatic, no human reviewed your company before it was issued, and it carries a 30-day window to appeal from the date printed on it.

• What is a registered office address?

  What a registered office address is, why every UK company must have one, and what gets sent there including Companies House authentication codes.

• What is a SIC code?

  What SIC codes are, which SIC code dormant companies should use, and how to check or change yours on the Companies House register.

• What is a UTR number?

  What a Unique Taxpayer Reference is, where to find it, and why you need it to file a CT600 for your dormant company.

• What is an accounting reference date?

  What an accounting reference date (ARD) is, how it's set, and how it determines your dormant company's filing deadlines.

• What is Companies House WebFiling?

  What Companies House WebFiling is, why its dormant accounts form doesn't fit most dormant companies, and how DormantFile files both the accounts and the Company Tax Return.

• What is form AA02?

  Form AA02 is the Companies House paper form for dormant company accounts (DCA). It's only for a company that has never traded — who that leaves out, what's on the form, and how DormantFile files dormant accounts for everyone else.

• What is form LL AA02?

  There is no LLP version of form AA02. LL AA02 was a removal-of-auditor notice, withdrawn in July 2021 — here's what a dormant LLP actually delivers to Companies House instead.

• What is FRS 105?

  FRS 105 explained — the UK financial reporting standard for micro-entities, who uses it, and how it differs from FRS 102.

• What is Making Tax Digital (MTD)?

  What Making Tax Digital means for UK companies, which taxes it covers, and why dormant company directors now need software to file CT600 returns.

• What is the Companies House PROOF scheme?

  PROOF (PROtected Online Filing) is a free Companies House scheme that blocks paper filings of high-risk forms, protecting your company from hijacking.

• What is the difference between dissolved and dormant?

  The key differences between a dissolved company and a dormant company, and why it matters for your filing obligations.

• What is the HMRC Gateway?

  What the HMRC Government Gateway is, why you need it, and how it's used to file CT600 returns for dormant companies.

• What's the difference between micro-entity and dormant accounts?

  Dormant accounts vs FRS 105 micro-entity accounts — what each one is, when you file which, and why a single transaction decides it.

• When is a PSC's identity verification deadline?

  Every person with significant control has a 14-day window to give their Companies House personal code. When it falls depends on whether they are also a director, with worked examples.

• When is my director ID verification deadline?

  Your director identity verification deadline is set by your company's next confirmation statement. How the dates work for existing directors, new directors and PSCs.

• Who qualifies as a micro-entity?

  The size thresholds a UK company must meet to qualify as a micro-entity and file FRS 105 accounts, plus the company types that are excluded.

• Will HMRC cancel a late filing penalty if my company was dormant?

  Sometimes, and it is a real argument rather than an excuse — but it is never automatic and it is never a certainty. Where the company was outside the charge to Corporation Tax for the whole period, you can ask HMRC to record the period as dormant, withdraw the notice to deliver and discharge the penalty. You have 30 days from the date printed on the notice.