What is form AA02?

By Ben Davies · Updated 3 October 2026

Form AA02 — "dormant company accounts (DCA)" — is the Companies House paper form for filing the annual accounts of a dormant company that has never traded.

Who can use it

Only a company limited by shares that has never traded, where the only transaction since incorporation is the issue of subscriber shares (the shares the founders took on formation), and that isn't a subsidiary or a charity. The paper form isn't for companies limited by guarantee. If your company traded before going dormant, or has anything else on its balance sheet, the paper form isn't available. That limits the form, not the company: it can still be dormant and still file dormant accounts through filing software, showing the figures it carries — see can a dormant company have assets and liabilities?

What's on it

A four-box balance sheet — share capital not yet paid, cash at bank, net assets and shareholders' funds, typically £1 or £100 — plus statements, signed by a director, that the company was dormant throughout the period and that members have not required an audit. There is no box for anything else, which is why a company that traded before can't use it: money it still owes or is owed has nowhere to go. No profit and loss account — dormant accounts filed at Companies House don't need one.

Is it free?

Yes. Companies House doesn't charge for filing accounts. But accounts must be delivered by your filing deadline — postal delays or a bounced form still trigger late filing penalties from £150.

Can you file AA02 online?

Yes, if the company has never traded. Companies House's WebFiling service has a free online version of the same form, with the same never-traded limit — though online, a company limited by guarantee can use it too. You need your authentication code.

A company that traded before going dormant can use neither version. Filing software like DormantFile files its dormant accounts online via the Companies House API from £19/year, along with the nil Company Tax Return (CT600) if HMRC asks for one — which no Companies House route covers.

Companies House has confirmed that accounts filed on or after 1 April 2028 must go through commercial software, so the paper form and its online version both go then.

Read the full guide: Form AA02: dormant company accounts (DCA) explained