Dormant accounts answered

A company is dormant for Companies House if it had no "significant accounting transactions" during its accounting period, nothing that would need entering in its accounting records. Dormant companies stay on the public register, so they must still file dormant accounts every year and a confirmation statement. Being dormant for Companies House is not the same as being dormant for HMRC.

Any transaction the company must enter in its accounting records, with exactly three exceptions that do not break dormancy: fees paid to Companies House, late filing penalties, and money paid for shares when the company was incorporated. Everything else counts, including a single bank charge, a penny of interest, a software subscription, or a supplier invoice.

Yes, but the account must be completely inactive. Bank charges and earned interest are significant accounting transactions and end dormancy for Companies House. Many owners of dormant companies close the business account, or keep one that charges no fees and pays no interest.

Yes. Every registered company must file annual accounts and a confirmation statement from its first year onwards, whether or not it ever traded. There is no exemption for "never got started". The obligations run until the company is struck off the register.

No. Dormant accounts are a simplified, unaudited balance sheet with a fixed set of statements. There's no legal requirement to use an accountant. You can file on paper, through Companies House's own service (until the software mandate takes effect in April 2028), or through approved filing software like A1Express, which validates the accounts before they're sent so they can't bounce on format.

Three things: your company number (we look the company up on the register for you), your 6-character Companies House authentication code, and the name of the director (or LLP member) approving the balance sheet. Payment is £8.99 for a limited company (£19.99 for an LLP), and you don't need to create an account.

It's a 6-character code of letters and numbers that acts as the company's electronic signature: filings can't be submitted online without it. If you don't have one, request it free from Companies House; it's posted to the company's registered office and typically arrives within 5–10 working days. A1Express uses your code once, for the submission you approve, and never stores it.

The filing itself takes a few minutes, and most users complete it from a phone. Companies House typically accepts submissions within minutes, and you get an email confirmation with the Companies House submission reference and a PDF copy of what was filed the moment that happens.

You're only charged when Companies House accepts the filing: your card is authorised at checkout but not captured until acceptance. If a rejection is our fault, we refile free or refund in full. If it's caused by information you gave (wrong company number or authentication code, or a company type we can't file for), there's no refund, but you get one free refile if you correct it within 14 days. Details in the Terms.

Yes, A1Express files dormant accounts through Companies House's official filing gateway as approved software, tested and certified against their specification. Accounts are built as iXBRL (the machine-readable accounts format) to the current FRC taxonomy and validated before transmission, and every accepted filing returns a Companies House submission reference.

The code is treated like a password: sent over an encrypted connection, used only to authenticate the single submission you approve, never written to our database or logs, and never seen by staff. You can confirm any filing independently on the Companies House register afterwards.

Yes, nothing is sent until you've seen a check-your-answers summary and approved it. After acceptance you receive a PDF that mirrors exactly what was filed.

We email you before your next accounts deadline (8 weeks, 2 weeks and 3 days ahead), and the reminder links straight into a filing with your company's details already carried over. Each year's filing is a fresh filing at the standard price (£8.99 Ltd, £19.99 LLP) you confirm yourself, so nothing is ever filed unless you've checked the company is still dormant. You can switch reminders off any time from your company's page or the link in any reminder email.

The paper form AA02 covers one narrow case: a company limited by shares that has been dormant since incorporation. A1Express files the electronic equivalent through the Companies House gateway and also handles cases the paper form doesn't: companies limited by guarantee, LLPs, and companies that traded before becoming dormant (which file a dormant balance sheet in micro-entity format rather than an AA02).

Yes, if it had no significant accounting transactions in the year you're filing for. Previously-traded companies can't use the AA02 route, but they still file simplified unaudited dormant accounts. The balance sheet carries the closing figures from when the company last traded. A1Express supports both never-traded and previously-traded dormant filings.

Not through Companies House's own web service. WebFiling has never supported LLP accounts, which historically left paper or an accountant as the only routes. A1Express files dormant LLP accounts electronically as a first-class product, for £19.99. LLPs don't have directors, they have members: a designated member approves the balance sheet, playing the same role a director does for a limited company.

A minimal, unaudited balance sheet (typically just called-up share capital and matching net assets) plus the required statements: that the company was dormant throughout the period, that it's taking the audit exemption, that members haven't required an audit, and the directors' acknowledgment of their responsibilities. No profit-and-loss account, no directors' report to Companies House.

No. Dormant companies are exempt from audit (s480 Companies Act 2006), provided they've been dormant since formation or since the end of the previous accounting period and members haven't demanded one.

Yes. Accountant plans are books of dormant-filing credits, from 10 for £79 up to 100 for £499, used from one dashboard with a filing history per client and one invoice for your practice. Every tier is cheaper per filing than the £8.99 Ltd one-off. For more than 100 companies, email support for a quote.

One credit = one dormant accounts filing, for any client company (Ltd or LLP). Credits are drawn as you file; if Companies House rejects a credit filing, the credit is returned to your balance. Plans renew annually; cancelling stops future charges.

Yes, the code authorises each company's filing, exactly as it would in your own software. Codes are used per-submission and never stored.

Yes, two ways. Create a free account and run your client book on the platform (every accounts deadline in one dashboard, plus the weekly reminder digest) without buying anything. Or file your first client at the standard one-off price (£8.99 Ltd, £19.99 LLP). Buy a plan when the workflow fits your practice.