How to close a dormant company (and when to keep it open)

By Ben Davies · Updated 5 October 2026

If you no longer need your dormant company, you can apply to have it struck off the Companies House register. But it is worth thinking about whether closing is actually the right move.

How to close: the DS01 process

To close a dormant company, you apply to Companies House using form DS01 (Application for Striking Off). Here is the process:

1. Check eligibility

Your company can apply to be struck off only if, in the last 3 months, it has not:

• Traded or carried on business
• Changed its name
• Sold stock — property or rights it held to sell in the normal course of trading
• Done anything other than winding up its affairs, making the strike-off application or meeting a legal requirement

It also cannot apply while it is in insolvency proceedings or has an arrangement with its creditors. A company that has been dormant for the last 3 months will usually qualify.

2. File the application

Submit form DS01 online via Companies House, or on paper. The filing fee is £13 online (debit or credit card) or £18 by post. If you pay by cheque, it must not be drawn on the account of the company being struck off. To file online you need a Companies House sign-in, the company authentication code (the 6-character code Companies House posts to the company's registered office), and an email address for each director signing.

3. Notify interested parties

Within 7 days of filing the DS01, you must send a copy to all interested parties: members (shareholders), creditors, employees, managers of any employee pension fund, and any directors who did not sign the application.

4. Wait for publication

Companies House publishes a notice in The Gazette giving 2 months for objections. If no objections are received, the company is struck off and dissolved.

5. Total timeline

From application to dissolution: approximately 3 months. The company must remain inactive throughout.

What it costs

• DS01 filing fee: £13 online, £18 by post
• Companies House accounts: you do not need to file final accounts with Companies House, and overdue accounts do not stop a strike-off. The registrar does not normally pursue outstanding late filing penalties — unless the company is later restored
• HMRC: settle this side first. If HMRC has issued a notice to deliver a return (its letter asking for a Company Tax Return, form CT603) for a period that has ended, file that CT600. If a return is outstanding, HMRC can object to the strike-off, and an objection stalls it for months

What happens to the company's assets?

Any assets remaining when the company is dissolved become property of the Crown (bona vacantia) under the Companies Act 2006. This includes:

• Money in bank accounts
• Property or land
• Intellectual property

Make sure you distribute or transfer any assets before applying to strike off.

Closing with DormantFile

If you are a DormantFile customer, you do not have to hold all of this in your head. Open the company from your dashboard and choose "Thinking of closing this company?", and we walk you through it in the right order — which is the part people get wrong. Here is an overview of closing a dormant company with DormantFile.

Here is what we do and what stays with you:

• We check the register for anything in the way, such as insolvency proceedings, and ask you about the last three months.
• We put the steps in order. Settle HMRC first, then apply to Companies House. If HMRC is still waiting for a return when the strike-off notice appears, it can object, and the strike-off stalls for months.
• We file the one return that might be due. If HMRC has sent a notice asking for a final Company Tax Return, we can file it — that part needs a subscription. If it has not, nothing is due — and no final accounts are due at Companies House either. We tell you that rather than invent work.
• We tell you exactly who you must tell, and by when — the seven-day notification is a legal duty with a criminal offence attached, and it is easy to miss.
• We watch the register and email you when the Gazette notice appears and again when the company is dissolved. You do not have to check anything.

You file the DS01 yourself. We cannot do it for you — Companies House does not accept a DS01 through filing software. You apply on the Companies House service and pay its £13 fee, and we hand you your details ready to copy across.

The guided journey is free on every plan, including our free Watchdog plan. You only need a subscription if HMRC has sent a notice asking for a final tax return and you want us to file it. And before you start, we show you the one thing almost nobody is told: closing is a one-way door. A company you dissolve yourself can only be brought back by court order, not the cheap administrative route — so it is worth being sure. See dissolve vs keep for that decision in full.

Reasons to keep a dormant company open

Before you close, consider whether keeping the company might be worthwhile:

Protecting the company name — Once dissolved, the name becomes available for anyone to register. If the name has value (a brand, a domain, a reputation), keeping the company open protects it.

Future use — If there is any chance you might trade through the company in future, keeping it dormant is far easier than incorporating a new one.

Outstanding debts or Bounce Back Loans — If the company owes money — including a Bounce Back Loan — creditors can object to the DS01 strike-off. Until the debt is repaid, the company needs to stay on the register and you need to keep filing. See our guide on BBLs and dormant companies for the full picture.

Holding assets — Some directors use dormant companies to hold land or shares in another company. If the company holds anything, you cannot simply strike it off.

Cost comparison — Filing dormant accounts costs as little as £19/year with DormantFile. Closing and later re-incorporating costs £100 (digital incorporation fee) plus the hassle of setting everything up again.

If you are keeping it open

You still need to file every year, even if the company does nothing. That means:

• Annual accounts with Companies House (due 9 months after your accounting reference date — the date your accounts are made up to each year)
• A confirmation statement (CS01) (at least every 12 months, £50 online / £110 paper)
• A nil CT600 with HMRC, when HMRC sends a notice to deliver one

We cover the deadlines in our guide on dormant company filing deadlines. DormantFile files the accounts and the nil CT600. We send reminders before the accounts and confirmation statement deadlines — and we remind you about any Corporation Tax deadline you add — so none of them creeps up on you and turns into a penalty. See how it works.

Key points

• Apply to strike off using DS01 (£13 filing fee).
• Process takes about 3 months.
• Any remaining assets become property of the Crown.
• Consider keeping the company if you want to protect the name or might use it later.
• If keeping it open, you still need to file annually — DormantFile starts at £19/year for both filings.