Companies House WebFiling is closing — what dormant company owners need to do

By DormantFile · Updated 27 May 2026

After more than two decades as the default way to file annual accounts online, Companies House WebFiling is being switched off. From 2026 onwards, every UK company — dormant ones included — must file accounts using approved software, not the free GOV.UK web form.

Why WebFiling is being phased out

The change is being driven by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA), which received Royal Assent in 2023 and is now being phased in. Among many other reforms, the Act gives Companies House new powers to verify identities, reject suspect filings, and clean up the register.

WebFiling does not fit that future. It was built in the early 2000s and accepts data through a browser form that the registry then has to translate into structured records. Software filing uses standardised XML, supports digital signatures, and lets Companies House run validation checks at the point of submission instead of after the fact.

Three forces are pushing the retirement:

• Fraud and data quality. Companies House has flagged the register as a target for shell-company fraud. Tighter, machine-validated filings make it harder to lodge gibberish or impersonate a real business.
• A single filing route. Running two systems — WebFiling and software filing — doubles the maintenance burden and the surface area for inconsistencies. ECCTA gives the registrar the legal cover to consolidate.
• Alignment with HMRC. HMRC has required software-only CT600 filing for years. Bringing Companies House into line removes one of the last paper-era exceptions in UK statutory filing.

Timeline — what is happening when

Companies House has been signalling the move for over a year. The headline dates that matter for dormant company owners are:

• Throughout 2025 and early 2026 — new accounts types and small-company reforms moved from WebFiling to software only first. The AA02 dormant accounts form has been the last major holdout.
• 2026 — Companies House has confirmed WebFiling will be retired in stages during 2026, with the dormant accounts form (AA02) among the final services to go. The exact cut-off has been published on the GOV.UK service announcements page and will be enforced once announced.
• After WebFiling closes — the only way to file dormant accounts will be through approved third-party software that submits over the Companies House XML Gateway, or via a paper AA02 sent by post. Paper filing is slow, easy to lose, and ineligible for same-day filing.

If you have been relying on the WebFiling reminders email to tell you what to do, those reminders will continue, but the link will eventually take you to a page explaining that the service has closed.

What software-only filing actually means for dormant company owners

For a dormant company, the underlying filing has not changed. You are still submitting an AA02 dormant accounts record — the same balance-sheet snapshot showing called-up share capital and no significant accounting transactions during the period.

What has changed is the route. AA02 software filing means:

• The filing is built as a structured XML document, not typed into a web form.
• It is sent to Companies House through a Gateway endpoint, with your authentication code attached as a credential rather than entered into a browser.
• You receive a machine-readable acceptance or rejection back from the registry, usually within seconds.

In practice this should make filing faster and more reliable. The catch is that you cannot do it yourself by hand — you need software that speaks the Gateway protocol.

If you want a refresher on the actual filing mechanics, our walkthrough on how to file dormant company accounts covers what data goes into the AA02 and when it is due.

Your options as a dormant company owner

Once WebFiling closes, you have three realistic routes:

1. Use an accountant

An accountant will file for you using their own commercial software. Fees for a dormant filing typically range from £100 to £300 per company per year. If you already pay an accountant for personal tax or other services, adding dormant filings may be cheaper than going elsewhere. If not, you are paying a professional rate for a filing that takes minutes.

2. Buy commercial accounts software

The traditional desktop accounts packages (the same ones large accountancy firms use) can file directly with Companies House. Annual licences usually start at a few hundred pounds. They are powerful but heavy — overkill for a single dormant company that has nothing to report.

3. Use a low-cost online filing service

This is the gap WebFiling used to plug for free, and where services like DormantFile sit now. You log in, confirm a few details, and the service builds the AA02 (and the corresponding CT600 for HMRC if you need it), signs it, and submits it to the Gateway on your behalf. You get the acceptance reference back the same way you used to get it from WebFiling.

For a comparison of the price points, see our guide on the cost to file dormant accounts.

What happens if you miss the deadline because WebFiling closed

The change in filing route is not a defence against late filing penalties. Companies House has been clear that the migration is not a reason to extend deadlines, and the automatic penalty regime still applies:

If you file late two years in a row, the penalty doubles. The system does not look at why the filing was late — only that it was. If your usual habit was to log into WebFiling the day before the deadline, that habit will not survive 2026.

The safer plan is to pick a software route before your next filing deadline and get the first filing done early.

How to choose dormant filing software

Not every product calling itself "free dormant accounts software" is suitable. Before you sign up, check the following:

• Officially recognised by Companies House. Filing software has to be on the Companies House list of approved third-party software for the AA02 form. If the provider cannot show that, walk away.
• Files dormant accounts (AA02) specifically. Some accounts software only supports full statutory accounts. For a dormant company you want a product that handles the AA02 record directly.
• Sensible authentication. You should not have to email your Companies House authentication code to a stranger. Look for a service that stores it encrypted and uses it only on your behalf.
• Confirms acceptance from the registry. A good service shows you the Companies House acceptance reference, not just a "we have submitted it" message.
• Optional CT600 in the same place. Dormant companies usually need to tell HMRC the same story they tell Companies House. Filing both from one dashboard saves the second login.
• Reminders for next year. Once one filing is done, the next is twelve months away. Calendar reminders are easy to lose — service-side reminders are not.
• Transparent pricing. The best signals are a flat per-filing price and no trial that quietly converts into a subscription.

If you only have one dormant company, you do not need an accountancy platform. You need a service that does exactly the AA02 and exactly the nil CT600, and then leaves you alone for a year.

Filing after WebFiling, without the friction

DormantFile was built for this moment. It files AA02 dormant accounts with Companies House and the matching nil CT600 with HMRC, both through approved software channels, for a flat fee per filing. You bring your company number, your Companies House authentication code, and your Government Gateway login. We build the XML, attach the IRmark, submit it, and send you the acceptance references when they come back from each registry — usually within minutes.

If WebFiling closing has left you wondering where to file next, take a look at how it works and the current pricing. It is meant to be the smallest possible replacement for the part of WebFiling you actually used.