Company struck off the Companies House register: what happens and how to restore it

Every year, Companies House removes hundreds of thousands of companies from its register. In the 2023–24 financial year alone, over 500,000 companies were dissolved — the majority through compulsory strike-off initiated by the Registrar, not by the directors themselves. The trigger is almost always the same: a missed filing. A confirmation statement that slipped through the cracks. Annual accounts that nobody submitted. A registered office that stopped accepting post.

If your company has been struck off — or you have received a warning that it will be — this guide explains exactly what has happened, what it means for your assets, contracts, and personal liability, and how to bring the company back to life through administrative or court restoration. If you are still in good standing, the final section covers the steps that prevent this situation entirely.

What does "struck off" actually mean?

When a company is struck off, it is removed from the Companies House register and dissolved. Legally, it ceases to exist. It can no longer trade, enter contracts, employ people, hold assets, sue, or be sued. Its directors lose their authority. Its bank accounts are frozen. Any property, cash, intellectual property, or other assets that the company owned at the point of dissolution become bona vacantia — ownerless property that passes to the Crown (in practice, the Treasury Solicitor or the relevant Duchy).

Strike-off is not the same as liquidation. In liquidation, a licensed insolvency practitioner realises assets, pays creditors in statutory order, and distributes any surplus to shareholders before the company is dissolved. Strike-off skips all of that. The company simply disappears from the register — and its assets vanish with it.

There are two routes to strike-off: compulsory (initiated by Companies House) and voluntary (requested by the directors). The consequences are the same, but the process differs.

Compulsory strike-off: when Companies House removes your company

Companies House has the power under s. 1000 of the Companies Act 2006 to strike off a company if it has reasonable cause to believe the company is not carrying on business or is not in operation. In practice, this power is triggered by one of three failures:

1. Failure to file a confirmation statement. Your confirmation statement is due every 12 months from incorporation (or from the last statement), with a 14-day filing window. If it goes unfiled, Companies House begins the strike-off process.
2. Failure to file annual accounts. Your first accounts are due 21 months after incorporation; subsequent accounts are due 9 months after the accounting reference date. Late filing penalties start at £150 and escalate, but persistent non-filing leads to strike-off.
3. Failure to respond to correspondence. If Companies House writes to the registered office (to chase a filing, request information, or verify the company is active) and receives no response, it can treat the company as defunct.

The compulsory strike-off timeline

The process is not instant. Companies House follows a defined sequence that gives directors multiple opportunities to intervene:

1. Warning letter. Companies House sends a letter to the registered office stating that unless the outstanding filing is received, a notice will be published in the Gazette.
2. First Gazette notice. If no response is received within 14 days, Companies House publishes a notice in The Gazette (the official public record) stating its intention to strike the company off the register. A copy is sent to the company's registered office.
3. Two-month objection period. From the date of the Gazette notice, there is a statutory two-month window during which anyone — directors, shareholders, creditors, employees — can object. Filing the overdue document during this period typically halts the process.
4. Final Gazette notice. If no objection is received and the filing remains outstanding, Companies House publishes a second and final notice in the Gazette. The company is struck off and dissolved on the date specified in this notice.

From the first warning letter to final dissolution, the process typically takes three to four months. If your registered office address is not monitored — perhaps because you moved and forgot to update it, or your virtual office provider stopped forwarding mail — you may not see any of these warnings until it is too late.

Why most compulsory strike-offs happen

In our experience, the root cause is almost never intentional negligence. The most common scenarios are:

• The founder forgot the confirmation statement existed. Unlike annual accounts (which an accountant handles), the confirmation statement often falls between the cracks — especially for dormant or early-stage companies with no accountant yet.
• Post is not being received at the registered office. The company uses a home address that has since changed, or a virtual office that has lapsed. Companies House sends its warnings there, and nobody sees them.
• The company is dormant and the founder assumed "no activity means no obligations." Dormant companies still must file a confirmation statement every 12 months (online fee: £50) and dormant accounts annually. Doing nothing is not an option.
• The accountant filed accounts late or not at all. If your accountant misses the deadline repeatedly, Companies House does not distinguish between your failure and theirs. The company suffers the consequences.

Voluntary strike-off: closing your company deliberately

If you want to close a company that has no debts, no assets worth distributing through formal liquidation, and no ongoing business, you can apply for voluntary strike-off by filing form DS01 with Companies House. The fee is £44 online (or £66 on paper).

Eligibility for voluntary strike-off (DS01)

A company may only apply if, in the preceding three months, it has not:

• Traded or otherwise carried on business
• Changed its name
• Disposed of any property or rights (other than to meet debts or ongoing running costs)
• Engaged in any other activity except what is necessary to make the DS01 application, settle debts, or comply with statutory requirements

Before filing DS01, the directors must send a copy of the application to every person who could be affected: shareholders, creditors, employees, pension trustees, and any manager of a pension scheme in which employees participate. If the company has outstanding debts, voluntary strike-off is not the correct route — you should consider a members' voluntary liquidation (MVL) or creditors' voluntary liquidation (CVL) instead.

The voluntary strike-off timeline

1. File DS01. A majority of the directors must sign and submit the application.
2. Gazette notice published. Companies House publishes a notice in the Gazette. The same two-month objection period applies.
3. Dissolution. If no objection is received within two months, the company is dissolved and removed from the register.

A common mistake is applying for voluntary strike-off while the company still holds cash in its bank account. Once dissolved, that money becomes bona vacantia. If the balance is more than trivial, consider distributing it as a final dividend or capital distribution before filing DS01. For distributions above £25,000, capital gains treatment (via an MVL) is typically more tax-efficient than income treatment — speak to your accountant before deciding.

What happens to your assets after strike-off

This is the part that catches most founders off guard. When a company is dissolved:

• Bank accounts are frozen. The bank treats the account holder as no longer existing. You cannot withdraw, transfer, or access the funds.
• Cash passes to the Crown. Any balance in the company's bank accounts, along with uncollected debts owed to the company, becomes bona vacantia under s. 1012 CA 2006.
• Property transfers to the Crown. Real estate, intellectual property (trademarks, patents, domain names), vehicles, equipment, and any other assets held in the company's name pass to the Treasury Solicitor (or the Crown Estate / Duchy of Lancaster / Duchy of Cornwall, depending on where in the UK the property is situated).
• Contracts terminate. The company can no longer enforce contracts it entered into, and counterparties can no longer enforce claims against it (though directors may still face personal liability for certain debts).
• Intellectual property rights may lapse. A trademark registered to a dissolved company can become vulnerable to cancellation or third-party application. Domain names registered to the company may eventually expire if renewal is not possible.

The Crown does not actively pursue bona vacantia assets — it waits for them to be reported or discovered. In practice, banks notify the Treasury Solicitor when they identify dissolved-company accounts. The Treasury Solicitor then claims the funds. Getting them back requires restoring the company first, then applying to the Treasury Solicitor for the return of the assets — a slow and uncertain process.

How to restore a struck-off company

Restoration brings a dissolved company back to the register as if it had never been struck off. There are two routes: administrative restoration (simpler, cheaper, but with strict eligibility) and court restoration (more expensive, but available to a wider range of applicants and for a longer period after dissolution).

Administrative restoration

Administrative restoration is available under s. 1024 CA 2006. It is the faster and cheaper route, but only the company's former directors can apply, and only if specific conditions are met.

Eligibility:

• The application must be made within 6 years of dissolution.
• Only a former director (or their personal representative) can apply.
• The company must have been carrying on business or in operation at the time of strike-off. (If it was genuinely defunct, administrative restoration may be refused.)
• All outstanding filings — confirmation statements, accounts, and any other documents — must be brought up to date at the time of application. This means filing every overdue return covering the entire period the company was dissolved.
• Any late filing penalties must be paid.

Process:

1. Prepare and file all overdue documents — confirmation statements for every missed year, and annual accounts for every missed period.
2. Complete form RT01 (application for administrative restoration) and submit it with the £341 fee.
3. Companies House reviews the application. If satisfied, it restores the company to the register and publishes a notice in the Gazette.

The process typically takes 4–8 weeks once all documents are submitted. The company is treated as though it was never dissolved — all rights, obligations, and liabilities are restored retrospectively to the date of dissolution.

Court restoration

Court restoration under s. 1029 CA 2006 is available when administrative restoration is not possible — for example, if more than 6 years have passed, if the applicant is a creditor rather than a former director, or if the company was struck off voluntarily.

Who can apply:

• Former directors or shareholders
• Creditors (including HMRC)
• Former employees (often for personal injury claims)
• Any person with a legitimate interest

Key differences from administrative restoration:

• Available for up to 6 years after dissolution (same as administrative) for most applicants, but HMRC can apply without time limit in certain cases.
• Requires a court application, which typically costs £1,500–£4,000+ in total (court fee plus legal costs).
• The court may impose conditions on restoration — such as requiring all outstanding filings and penalties to be resolved within a set period.
• Takes longer: typically 2–4 months from application to restoration order.

Court restoration is most commonly used by creditors seeking to enforce a debt, former employees pursuing personal injury claims, or shareholders who discover the company held assets they did not know about at the time of dissolution.

The real cost of strike-off and restoration

The headline fee of £341 for administrative restoration understates the true cost. Here is what a typical restoration actually involves:

• Companies House restoration fee: £341 (form RT01)
• Late filing penalties for accounts: £150–£1,500 per missed set of accounts (private company rates), depending on how late they are
• Accountant fees for preparing backdated accounts: varies, but £500–£2,000+ for multiple years of dormant or active accounts
• Confirmation statement fees: £50 per missed year (online)
• Treasury Solicitor fees: if bona vacantia assets need to be reclaimed, the Treasury Solicitor charges a fee and the process can take months
• Lost business: during the period of dissolution, you cannot trade, invoice, or enforce contracts — the opportunity cost is incalculable for an active business
• Professional fees: if using a solicitor or company secretarial service to manage the restoration, £500–£1,500+

For a company that has been struck off for two years with one missed set of accounts and two missed confirmation statements, total restoration costs — including penalties, professional fees, and the CH fee — commonly reach £2,000–£4,000. Compare that to the £50 annual confirmation statement and a functioning registered office that would have prevented it entirely.

Director liability after strike-off

A common misconception is that once a company is dissolved, its directors are free of all obligations. This is not the case.

• Personal guarantees survive dissolution. If you personally guaranteed a lease, loan, or supplier agreement, the guarantee remains enforceable against you regardless of the company's status.
• HMRC debts may be pursued personally. If HMRC believes a company was struck off deliberately to avoid paying Corporation Tax, VAT, or PAYE liabilities, it can seek restoration (at no time limit for itself) and pursue the company — or in some cases, make the directors personally liable.
• Wrongful trading (s. 214 Insolvency Act 1986). If the company was insolvent at the time of strike-off and you allowed it to continue trading (or failed to take steps to minimise losses to creditors), you may face personal liability. The fact that the company was later struck off does not extinguish this exposure.
• Director disqualification is still possible. The Insolvency Service can apply to disqualify a former director under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, even after the company has been dissolved.

The safest route, if you no longer need the company and it has no debts, is a clean voluntary strike-off via DS01 — ensuring all filings are up to date, all tax affairs are settled, and all assets are properly distributed before dissolution.

How to object to a strike-off

If your company is currently facing strike-off — you have received a warning letter or seen the Gazette notice — you can halt the process during the two-month objection window. Here is how:

1. File the outstanding document immediately. If the strike-off was triggered by a missing confirmation statement or accounts, filing the overdue document will typically cause Companies House to suspend the action. File online through WebFiling for the fastest turnaround.
2. Write to Companies House. If you cannot file immediately (for example, accounts need preparing), write to the Registrar explaining why the company is still active and requesting that the strike-off action be suspended while you bring filings up to date. There is no form for this — a letter or email to the relevant team.
3. Third parties can object too. Any person affected by the proposed dissolution — a creditor owed money, an employee with a pending claim, or a shareholder — can object by contacting Companies House during the two-month window.

Acting within the objection window is dramatically simpler and cheaper than restoration after the fact. If you have received a Gazette notice, treat it as urgent — you have at most two months, and often less by the time the notice reaches you.

Common mistakes that lead to strike-off

Using a home address you no longer live at

If your registered office is a former residential address, you may never see Companies House correspondence. Warning letters arrive, go unopened, and the strike-off proceeds without your knowledge. By the time you check the register, the company is dissolved. A professional registered office address ensures every piece of Companies House post is received, scanned, and forwarded to you — regardless of where you physically live.

Assuming dormant means "no obligations"

Dormant companies must still file a confirmation statement every 12 months (£50 online) and dormant annual accounts. If you incorporated a company to reserve the name and then forgot about it, it is accumulating missed deadlines right now. Either bring it into compliance or close it properly via DS01.

Relying on your accountant for everything

Your accountant prepares and files your annual accounts — but they may not file your confirmation statement unless explicitly instructed. Many founders assume "my accountant handles everything" and then discover the confirmation statement was never included in the engagement. Check your engagement letter. If it does not explicitly include the confirmation statement, file it yourself or instruct a service like Filing HQ to handle it.

Ignoring the Gazette notice

Some founders receive the Gazette notice, assume it is a generic warning, and put it aside intending to "deal with it later." The two-month clock does not pause. If you receive any correspondence from Companies House referencing "striking off" or "the Gazette," act the same day.

Not updating your registered office after moving

Changing your registered office address with Companies House takes minutes online (form AD01, no fee). Failing to do so means all official correspondence — including strike-off warnings — goes to an address you no longer control. Our guide on how to change your registered office address walks through the process.

How to prevent strike-off entirely

Prevention is straightforward and costs a fraction of restoration. These five steps keep your company in good standing indefinitely:

1. File your confirmation statement on time, every time. It is due every 12 months with a 14-day filing window. The online fee is £50. Set a calendar reminder for 11 months after each filing. Or delegate it to Filing HQ and never think about it again.
2. File annual accounts before the deadline. Your first accounts are due 21 months after incorporation; subsequent accounts are due 9 months after the accounting reference date. Late filing penalties start at £150 for private companies.
3. Use a registered office that actually receives and forwards post. A professional registered office guarantees every piece of Companies House and HMRC correspondence reaches you, scanned and forwarded within 24 hours. This is your early-warning system.
4. Keep your details up to date. If you move, change directors, issue shares, or appoint a PSC, file the change with Companies House promptly. An outdated register is a compliance gap waiting to become a problem.
5. Complete identity verification. Since 18 November 2025, all directors and PSCs must verify their identity via GOV.UK One Login or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). This is a one-off requirement, but non-compliance creates additional regulatory risk.

Frequently asked questions

Can I trade while my company is struck off?

No. Once a company is dissolved, it ceases to exist as a legal entity. It cannot trade, enter contracts, invoice, employ people, or carry on any business activity. Trading in the name of a dissolved company exposes you to personal liability for those transactions. You must restore the company to the register before resuming any business activity.

How long do I have to restore a struck-off company?

For administrative restoration (form RT01), you must apply within 6 years of dissolution. Court restoration is also generally available within 6 years, though certain applicants (notably HMRC) can apply without a time limit. After 6 years, court restoration becomes significantly harder — you must demonstrate a compelling reason for the delay.

What happens to money in the company bank account after strike-off?

The bank freezes the account. The balance becomes bona vacantia and ultimately passes to the Crown (Treasury Solicitor). To recover it, you must first restore the company, then apply to the Treasury Solicitor for the return of the funds. This process can take several months and there is no guarantee of full recovery — the Treasury Solicitor deducts administrative costs.

Does strike-off clear my company's debts?

Not reliably. Creditors can object to the strike-off during the two-month window, or apply for court restoration after dissolution to pursue their claim. Personal guarantees survive dissolution entirely. HMRC can restore a company at any time to pursue outstanding tax liabilities. Strike-off is not a legitimate debt-avoidance strategy — it exposes you to greater risk, not less.

Will I be disqualified as a director if my company is struck off?

Not automatically. However, the Insolvency Service monitors dissolved companies and can apply to disqualify directors under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 if it believes the director's conduct warrants it — for example, persistent failure to file statutory documents, or allowing an insolvent company to continue trading. A single compulsory strike-off for a missed filing is unlikely to trigger disqualification proceedings, but a pattern of non-compliance across multiple companies may.

Can I use the same company name after it has been struck off?

Once a company is dissolved, its name becomes available for use by anyone — another person could incorporate a new company with that name. If the name has brand value, this is a significant risk. Restoring the company within the 6-year window recovers the name, but there is no protection during the period of dissolution. This is another reason to keep your company in good standing or close it properly rather than letting it drift toward compulsory strike-off.