What is the company status?

If you look up a limited company on the Companies House register, you’ll notice a field dedicated to the ‘Company status’. In this post we’re going to look at what it is, and explain why you shouldn’t be concerned if your company’s status is ‘Active’. 

The Companies House company status

When you use the Companies House limited company search tool, you will see the ‘Company status’ on the main ‘Overview’ page. This will typically be followed by one of the below (see here for a full list):

‘Active’ – The company has been incorporated and exists on the register of companies

‘Active: Proposal to Strike off’ – The company is in the process of being closed down.

‘Dissolved’ – The company has been closed down.

‘Liquidation’ – The company’s assets are currently being sold to creditors and the business is being closed down.

My company isn’t trading, why is it ‘Active’?

If you search for your own limited company on the Companies House register, it can be disconcerting to see a status of ‘Active’ when your company has not been involved in any trading activity. Especially if your limited company has only just been formed.

However, there’s no need to worry. The status does not have anything to do with trading, it’s actually related to the life of your company and whether the business is open or closed.

Active: Proposal to strike off

What is concerning is if you see the ‘Active: Proposal to Strike off’ status without any prior knowledge of this. If you do notice this status, it’s most likely because your confirmation statement or annual accounts are overdue. 

In this scenario, we recommend contacting Companies House immediately to clarify why this status is showing and then dealing with the situation accordingly (e.g. by filing the necessary documentation).

• Let us prepare and file your confirmation statement
• If your company is dormant, let us file your dormant company accounts

We hope this post has been helpful. Please leave a comment if you have any questions.