Striking off a company: the DS01 process

A solvent company that no longer needs to exist can ask Companies House to remove it from the register by filing form DS01 under section 1003 of the Companies Act 2006. A majority of the directors apply, the fee is £13 online or £18 on paper, copies must go to members, creditors, employees and others within 7 days, and if no one objects the company is struck off and dissolved no sooner than two months after a notice in the Gazette.

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Which companies can use the DS01 strike off route?

Companies House describes voluntary strike off as suitable where the company is no longer needed, for example because the directors are retiring with no one to take over, a subsidiary’s name is no longer needed, or an idea turned out not to be feasible. It is also used for dormant companies. Companies House is clear that it is not an alternative to formal insolvency proceedings.

Section 1004 bars an application if, in the previous three months, the company has:

changed its name;
traded or carried on business;
disposed for value of property or rights it held for disposal in the normal course of trade (Companies House’s example: an apple seller cannot keep selling apples, but can sell the delivery truck);
engaged in any other activity, except activity necessary to apply or decide whether to apply, to conclude the company’s affairs, or to comply with a statutory requirement.

Paying a liability incurred in trading does not count as trading (section 1004(2)), so settling final supplier bills and paying an accountant for advice on the closure are permitted. Section 1005 also bars an application while the company is in administration, liquidation or receivership, while a winding up petition is pending, or while a voluntary arrangement or a court sanctioned compromise or arrangement is proposed and not concluded.

What should be done before applying?

Companies House guidance says the company must be closed down properly first. The main steps are:

tell HMRC the company is stopping as an employer (or as a Construction Industry Scheme contractor) and pay final wages;
cancel the VAT registration once trading stops;
prepare final statutory accounts and a final Company Tax Return for HMRC and pay all Corporation Tax; final accounts do not have to be filed at Companies House;
claim any HMRC refund before applying, because HMRC cannot issue refunds to a dissolved company;
distribute remaining assets to shareholders and close bank accounts, transferring anything else of value such as domain names.

Records, including bank statements and invoices, should be kept for 7 years after strike off, and a company that employed staff should keep copies of its employers’ liability insurance policy and schedule.

Distributions made in anticipation of strike off are treated as capital rather than income if two conditions in section 1030A of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 are met: the company intends to collect what it is owed and settle its debts and liabilities, and the total distributed does not exceed £25,000. Above that, the whole amount is taxed as income. The tax treatment is covered in more detail in closing a limited company: tax and Business Asset Disposal Relief.

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How do you apply, and who has to be told?

The application must be made by a majority of the directors. If there are two directors both must sign; a sole director can apply alone. The online service costs £13 by debit or credit card. The paper DS01 costs £18, payable only by cheque or postal order, and the cheque must not come from the company’s own account. Companies House warns that paper applications take much longer.

Section 1006 requires a copy of the application to be sent within seven days of the day it is made to everyone who on that day is a member, employee, creditor or director (other than a director who signed), and to the managers or trustees of any employee pension fund. Companies House guidance lists likely creditors such as banks, suppliers, former employees owed money, landlords, guarantors, personal injury claimants, HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions. Anyone who becomes a member, creditor, employee, director or pension fund manager after the application must also be sent a copy within 7 days, until the company is dissolved or the application withdrawn (section 1007). Keep proof of posting or delivery.

What happens after the DS01 is filed?

If the application is acceptable, Companies House registers it and publishes a notice in the relevant Gazette: the London Gazette for England and Wales, the Edinburgh Gazette for Scotland or the Belfast Gazette for Northern Ireland. Under section 1003(3) the registrar may not strike the company off until two months after that notice. If there is no reason to delay, a second notice is published and the company is dissolved on its publication (section 1003(5)).

Any interested party can object after the first notice. Companies House asks for objections at least two weeks before the date the company is due to be struck off. A creditor that is still owed money, including HMRC, would normally object at this stage.

On dissolution the bank account is frozen, and any remaining property becomes bona vacantia under section 1012, passing to the Crown, the Duchy of Lancaster or the Duke of Cornwall. Section 1003(6) preserves the liability of every director, managing officer and member as if the company had not been dissolved.

Illustration only. A consultancy company stops trading on 31 December. In January it pays its last supplier invoices, files its final Company Tax Return, pays the Corporation Tax due and distributes the remaining £15,000 cash to its two shareholders. On 2 April, more than three months after it stopped trading, both directors apply online for £13 and send copies to the shareholders and HMRC the same week. The first Gazette notice appears later in April, and the company is dissolved by a second notice no sooner than two months after that.

When must the application be withdrawn?

Section 1009 requires each director to make sure the application is withdrawn immediately if, before it is dealt with, the company trades or carries on business, changes its name, disposes of property other than as needed for the strike off, becomes subject to an insolvency process, a voluntary arrangement or a winding up petition, or carries on any other activity that is not excepted. A company that simply changes its mind can also withdraw while it is still on the register. Only one director needs to sign the withdrawal, made online or on form DS02.

What are the penalties for getting it wrong?

It is an offence to apply when the company is ineligible under section 1004 or 1005, to give false or misleading information, to fail to send copies within 7 days and to fail to withdraw when required. These carry an unlimited fine on indictment. Under section 1006, failing to notify with the intention of concealing the application from the person concerned is an aggravated offence punishable by up to seven years’ imprisonment. Companies House also warns that directors may be disqualified for up to 15 years. Directors of a company that was in financial difficulty should also consider their exposure for wrongful trading.

Can a struck off company be brought back?

Administrative restoration by Companies House under section 1024 is available only where the registrar struck the company off (under sections 1000, 1001 or 1002A), not after a voluntary DS01 application. A company dissolved after a DS01 can be restored only by court order under section 1029, on application by persons including former directors, former members, creditors and anyone with a potential legal claim against the company. The application must normally be made within six years of dissolution, although an application to pursue a personal injury claim can be made at any time (section 1030).

Limited liability partnerships use the equivalent form LL DS01; see LLPs explained. A company that is only resting can instead stay on the register as a dormant company.

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Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.