Companies House for dormant companies
Everything a dormant UK limited company has to deal with at Companies House — dormant accounts, confirmation statements, authentication codes, strike-off, ECCTA, and penalties. Guides, plain-English answers, and free tools, all in one place.
Start here
The essentials — what dormant accounts are, when they're due, and how to file them.
Guide
How to file dormant company accounts with Companies House
Step-by-step guide to filing AA02, with the 6 stages every dormant accounts submission goes through.
Answer
What are dormant company accounts?
The minimal accounts a dormant company files instead of full statutory accounts.
Tool
Am I dormant? — free checker
Answer 8 questions to confirm dormancy under both the Companies Act and HMRC definitions.
Authentication and access
Getting and using your Companies House authentication code.
Guide
Companies House authentication code: the complete guide
How to request, replace, and use your 6-character authentication code.
Answer
What is a Companies House authentication code?
Plain-English explanation of the 6-character code that authorises filings.
Answer
What is WebFiling?
Companies House's online filing service — and why it's being phased out for some filings.
Confirmation statements
The annual filing that runs alongside your accounts.
Guide
Annual accounts vs confirmation statement
The two separate annual filings every UK company makes, and how they differ.
Answer
What is a confirmation statement (CS01)?
The annual statement that confirms your company's basic details.
Answer
What are persons with significant control?
Who counts as a PSC, and what the register actually requires.
Deadlines and dates
When Companies House filings are due, and the consequences of missing them.
Guide
Dormant company filing deadlines explained
Accounts, CT600, and confirmation statement deadlines and how they interact.
Tool
Dormant deadline calculator
Enter your incorporation date and we'll calculate your next three filing deadlines.
Tool
Late filing penalty calculator
How much you'll owe if your dormant accounts are late — the exact penalty band.
Answer
What is an accounting reference date?
The end date of your accounting period and how it's set.
Penalties and overdue accounts
If your accounts are late, what it costs and how to recover.
Guide
Late filing penalties for dormant companies
The Companies House penalty bands from £150 to £1,500 per period.
Answer
What are Companies House late filing penalties?
Plain-English explanation of how the penalty system works.
Guide
Catching up on overdue dormant company filings
Practical playbook for clearing a backlog of overdue accounts.
ECCTA and director verification
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act changes that apply to every dormant-company director.
Closing or keeping the company
Whether to dissolve or keep paying for dormant filings — and how to do either.
Guide
How to close a dormant company (and when to keep it open)
DS01 strike-off process, costs, and reasons to keep the company alive.
Guide
Dissolve vs keep dormant company — 2026 decision
The financial and practical comparison between dissolving and keeping dormant.
Guide
How to reactivate a dormant company
Practical steps to bring a dormant company back to life.
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