Check a UK company's status
Active, dormant, in liquidation, proposed for strike-off or dissolved — a company's status on the Companies House register tells you whether it is trading, winding down, or already gone. Search any UK company to see its current status, then read what each one actually means below.
Look up a company's status
Each company page shows its current registered status and whether its latest accounts were filed as dormant, from the latest Companies House data.
What each status means
- Active
- On the register and meeting its filing obligations. It may still be trading or dormant.
- Dormant
- Not a register status but an accounts category: the company's latest accounts were filed as dormant — no significant accounting transactions in the period. Dormant companies still must file confirmation statements and dormant accounts.
- Active – proposal to strike off
- Companies House has begun removing the company from the register (often for non-filing, or at the company's own request). Not yet dissolved — the process can be halted if someone objects.
- Liquidation / administration
- An insolvency process: the company still exists while its affairs are wound up and assets realised, usually ending in dissolution.
- Dissolved
- Removed from the register — the company no longer legally exists. Remaining assets pass to the Crown (bona vacantia). It can often be restored within six years.
UK companies that entered insolvency this month
Companies whose status moved from Active into liquidation, administration or receivership between 1 September 2026 – 1 October 2026 — 2,068 in total, 150 shown. A further 87,830 were proposed for strike-off in the same window, overwhelmingly dormant companies that stopped filing rather than business failures. Status reflects the register as of the 1 October 2026 bulk snapshot and can change afterwards.
Open any company for its accounts, filing history and officers. List ordered by name; the bulk snapshot carries no turnover, so the depth is one click away rather than ranked here.
Company status FAQs
- What is the difference between a dormant and a dissolved company?
- A dormant company still exists on the register but has had no significant accounting transactions in the period — it must still file confirmation statements and (dormant) accounts. A dissolved company has been removed from the register and no longer legally exists.
- What does 'Active - Proposal to Strike off' mean?
- Companies House has started the process of removing the company from the register — usually because it failed to file, or because the company itself applied to be struck off. It is not yet dissolved, and the process can be suspended if someone objects.
- Is a company in liquidation the same as dissolved?
- No. A company in liquidation (or administration) still exists while its affairs are wound up and assets are realised; it is usually dissolved only once that process completes.
- Can a dissolved company be restored?
- Often yes. A company dissolved by strike-off can usually be restored — by administrative restoration within six years, or by court order — which is far more expensive than keeping filings up to date in the first place.
- What happens to a dissolved company's assets?
- Any assets still held at dissolution pass to the Crown as bona vacantia. That is one reason striking a company off is not a tidy way to extract value from it.
General information from public Companies House data, not legal advice. The Accounts is an independent service and is not Companies House.