Company strike off, dissolution and restoration
Information for directors, secretaries or company advisers about how to dissolve a company or restore a company to the register.
Documents
Details
This guide will be relevant to you if you’re a company officer or company adviser and you want to dissolve or restore a company. It includes information on:
- why a company may apply to be struck off
- when a company cannot apply to be struck off
- how to apply and who to tell
- how strike off and restoration notices are published in the Gazette
- withdrawing a strike off application
- objecting to a company’s dissolution
- offences and penalties
- what happens to companies no longer in operation
- how to restore a company to the register by a court order or administrative restoration
Before applying to strike off your company
You have certain responsibilities to close down your business properly.
The company’s bank account will be frozen from the date of dissolution. Any credit balance in the account and other assets will pass to the Crown - you’ll have to restore the company to get anything back.
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
We’re closely following government guidance for working safely during coronavirus.
It’s taking much longer than usual to process paper documents sent to us by post - including applications to restore a company.
Use our online service to Close a company to help us process your application as quickly as possible.
Last updated 24 March 2021 + show all updates
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Removed information about the temporary pause of strike off processes as these processes were resumed on 8 March 2021.
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We've temporarily paused our voluntary and compulsory strike off processes for one month from 21 January until 21 February 2021.
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Update to guidance
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Guidance updated.
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Section 10.3 contact address details updated.
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Welsh HTML added
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Guidance converted to HTML
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Third Parties (Rights against Insurers) Regulations 2016 came into force. This guidance has been amended in Chapter 3 to include these new regulations.
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Guidance updated as a result of The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act.
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Section 10.1 corrected: 3 months to 2
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OLTR address updated and striking off periods updated to 2 months due to SBEE act implementation.
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Welsh translation added
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English HTML guidance added
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Guidance updated to version 3.8.
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Version 3.6 replaced with version 3.7
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Guidance updated from version 3.5 to version 3.6
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Welsh translation added.
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First published.