Can a CIC be dormant?
By DormantFile · Updated 24 August 2026
Yes — but with two CIC-specific catches that ordinary companies don't have.
A community interest company can be dormant in the normal sense: no significant accounting transactions in the period. HMRC treats a dormant CIC like any dormant company — CICs get no special tax status, so the usual rules apply: once HMRC agrees the company is dormant for corporation tax, no CT600 is due unless they issue a notice to file. If a notice does arrive, DormantFile can file that CT600.
The catches:
- Filing never gets cheaper or simpler. A dormant CIC still files accounts every year with a CIC34 report and a £15 fee, by post or through the Companies House CIC service — it cannot use the dormant-accounts shortcuts (AA02, WebFiling, filing software) that ordinary dormant companies use.
- Dormancy has a shelf life. The CIC Regulator has said CICs, unlike ordinary companies, are not expected to stay dormant for an extended period — its guidance points to around five years, after which a dormant CIC risks failing the community interest test. A CIC with no realistic prospect of restarting activity should consider converting to an ordinary limited company (which can then sit dormant indefinitely) or dissolving.
An ordinary limited company can be kept dormant for £150-odd a decade in stamps — or a small annual subscription. A CIC dormant long-term is swimming against its own regulator.
Read the full guide: How to file CIC accounts — including for a dormant CIC