Company Status Explained
The status of a company is the first thing to check. It tells you whether the business is alive, dying, or dead. Here is what each one means.
Why company status matters
Before you look at accounts, directors, or filing history, check the status. A company's status tells you its legal standing right now. If the company is dissolved, there is no point analysing its balance sheet for a potential deal. If it is in administration, you are not dealing with the directors any more — you are dealing with an insolvency practitioner.
Every company on the Companies House register has a status. Here is what each one means in practice.
Active
The company is registered, legally alive, and presumed to be trading. It is filing its accounts and confirmation statements on time (or at least has not been struck off for failing to do so).
This is the status you want to see. It means the company exists as a legal entity, can enter into contracts, employ people, and trade. However, "active" does not guarantee the company is actually doing business — a company can be active but dormant, meaning it is on the register but not trading.
Dissolved
The company has been removed from the register. It no longer exists as a legal entity. It cannot trade, enter contracts, or own assets. For all practical purposes, the company is dead.
There are two routes to dissolution:
Voluntary dissolution
The directors apply to have the company struck off, usually because the business has closed and there is no reason to keep it on the register. A DS01 form is filed and the company is dissolved after a two-month notice period.
Compulsory strike off
Companies House strikes the company off because it has failed to file accounts or a confirmation statement. The Registrar sends warning letters first, then publishes a notice in the Gazette, then dissolves the company.
In Liquidation
The company is being wound up. Its assets are being sold to pay creditors as much as possible. The company still technically exists during liquidation, but it is not trading — it is being dismantled.
There are two types:
Compulsory liquidation
A court orders the company to be wound up, usually because a creditor has petitioned the court after an unpaid debt. The Official Receiver is appointed initially, and a licensed insolvency practitioner may take over. The directors lose all control.
Voluntary liquidation
The directors (or shareholders) choose to wind the company up. This can be a Members' Voluntary Liquidation (MVL) if the company is solvent — a tax-efficient way to close a profitable company — or a Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation (CVL) if the company cannot pay its debts.
In Administration
A licensed insolvency practitioner (the administrator) has been appointed to run the company. The directors step aside. The administrator's job is to try to rescue the company as a going concern, or failing that, to achieve a better result for creditors than immediate liquidation would.
Administration provides a legal moratorium — creditors cannot take legal action against the company while it is in administration. This breathing space gives the administrator time to find a buyer, restructure the business, or organise an orderly wind-down.
Voluntary Arrangement
A Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) means the company has reached a formal, legally binding agreement with its creditors to repay debts over a fixed period, usually three to five years. The company continues to trade while making payments under the arrangement.
A CVA must be proposed by the directors and supervised by a licensed insolvency practitioner. Creditors vote on whether to accept the proposal. If 75% by value agree, the arrangement binds all unsecured creditors, even those who voted against it.
Receivership
A secured lender (usually a bank) has appointed a receiver to recover the money owed to them. The receiver's job is to realise the assets covered by the lender's charge — which might mean selling property, equipment, or the business itself.
Receivership has been rare since the Enterprise Act 2002, which largely replaced it with administration for most floating charges created after 15 September 2003. You will still see it occasionally, particularly for older charges or fixed charges over specific assets.
Dormant
Technically a filing status rather than a company status. A dormant company is registered and active on the Companies House register, but it has had no significant accounting transactions during the period. It is not trading.
Common reasons for keeping a company dormant:
- Protecting a company name for future use
- Holding an asset (such as property) without actively trading
- A business that is seasonal and temporarily paused
- A company set up for a project that has not yet started
A dormant company still has to file annual confirmation statements and dormant accounts. If it stops filing, Companies House will eventually strike it off.
Struck off vs dissolved
These terms are related but not identical. Being struck off is the process; dissolution is the result.
Struck off
Companies House removes the company from the register. This can happen because the company applied to be struck off (voluntary) or because it failed to file required documents (compulsory). Either way, the result is the same: the company is dissolved.
Dissolved
The final state. The company no longer exists on the register. Its assets (if any remained) pass to the Crown as bona vacantia. The company can potentially be restored to the register within six years via a court order or administrative restoration.
What happens to directors when a company fails
Limited liability means shareholders can only lose what they invested. But directors have additional responsibilities, and these do not disappear when things go wrong.
Wrongful trading
If a director knew (or should have known) that the company could not avoid insolvent liquidation but continued to trade anyway, they can be held personally liable for the company's debts incurred after that point. This is under Section 214 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
Fraudulent trading
If the business was carried on with intent to defraud creditors, directors face both civil and criminal liability. This is a higher bar than wrongful trading — it requires proof of dishonest intent.
Director disqualification
The Insolvency Service can apply to disqualify a director for between 2 and 15 years. Grounds include unfit conduct, persistent failure to file accounts, or fraud. A disqualified director cannot act as a director of any company during the disqualification period.
Personal guarantees
Many directors sign personal guarantees for company borrowing. These survive the company's insolvency. If the company cannot repay the loan, the director is personally liable. This is the most common way directors end up paying for company debts.
How we use status in our health score
Our company health score factors in status automatically. It is one of the first signals we check because it immediately frames everything else.
Status is just one component. The full health score also considers filing history, accounts age, financial indicators, and more.
Check a company's status
Search any UK company to see its current status, health score, director information, and filing history.
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