DS01: applying to strike off and close your company

Who needs it

• Solvent companies that have stopped trading and want to close without a liquidation.
• Not companies threatened with liquidation or with a creditor agreement such as a CVA. They must liquidate instead.

What you need before you start

• Agreement from a majority of the directors, who sign the application.
• A list of everyone who must get a copy: shareholders, creditors, employees, pension fund managers or trustees, and any director who didn't sign.
• Final statutory accounts and a Company Tax Return sent to HMRC, with all Corporation Tax and other tax paid.
• A plan for the company's assets and bank accounts before it's struck off.

How to file DS01

1. 1Check the company is eligible: no trading, stock sales or name changes in the last 3 months, not threatened with liquidation and no creditor agreements.
2. 2Close the business down: tell HMRC, follow the rules for any staff and tell HMRC you've stopped employing people, and share out the assets among the shareholders.
3. 3Send final accounts and a Company Tax Return to HMRC, marked as final, and pay what's owed. Final accounts don't have to go to Companies House.
4. 4Apply online through Companies House's close a company service. Use the paper DS01 only if you can't apply online; it costs more and can't be paid with a cheque from the company's own account.
5. 5Send a copy to everyone who must be told within 7 days.
6. 6Watch for the Gazette notice. If nobody objects, the company is struck off once the 2 months in the notice have passed.

Who can use strike-off

GOV.UK says a company can only be struck off if it hasn't traded or sold off any stock in the last 3 months, hasn't changed its name in the last 3 months, isn't threatened with liquidation and has no agreements with creditors. Otherwise it needs a voluntary liquidation.

It's an offence to make a dishonest application.

Closing down properly first

Before applying, the company must tell interested parties and HMRC, treat employees according to the rules and deal with its assets and accounts. Final accounts and a Company Tax Return go to HMRC, stating they are the final trading accounts. A loss in the final year may qualify for terminal loss relief.

Shareholders taking assets out before strike-off may owe Capital Gains Tax or, above a limit, Income Tax on them, through their own Self Assessment returns.

What happens next

Companies House writes to say whether the form is correct, then publishes a notice in The Gazette. If nobody objects, the company is struck off once the 2 months in the notice have passed, and a second Gazette notice confirms it no longer exists.

From dissolution the bank account is frozen and remaining assets pass to the Crown. Companies House lists the current online and paper fees on its fees page.

Common mistakes

• Leaving money in the company bank account. The account is frozen on dissolution and the balance passes to the Crown.
• Forgetting future receipts, such as an HMRC refund. They go to the Crown too, and getting them back means restoring the company.
• Not telling everyone who must be told. GOV.UK warns of a fine and possible prosecution.
• Carrying on trading after applying. You must withdraw the application, using DS02, if the company stops being eligible.
• Throwing records away. GOV.UK says to keep business documents for 7 years after the company is struck off.