Depending on a business’s current financial position, there are several ways to close a limited company.
A DS01 form is used to formally dissolve a limited company and remove its name from the Companies House register, which means it will no longer legally exist.
This form must be signed by a majority of a company’s directors, and you should deal with any assets of the company before applying (i.e., close bank accounts and transfer domain names).
You’ll need to include the following information in the form:
- Company number.
- Full name of the company.
- Signature of the director(s) (if there are more than two directors, a majority will need to sign).
- Details of the person to contact if Companies House has any queries.
An essential part of the dissolution process is sending the DS01 form to anyone interested in the company within seven days of the form being sent to Companies House.
These potentially interested parties could include creditors, employees, pension scheme administrators, shareholders, suppliers, and directors who didn’t sign the form.
How Do I Get a DS01 Form?
You can download and print off the DS01 form online from https://www.gov.uk/ and then post it back.
The correct address depends on where the company was initially registered, it is easy to check online, but it will either be:
Cardiff – The Registrar of Companies, Companies House, Crown Way, Cardiff, Wales, CF14 3UZ).
Belfast – The Registrar of Companies, Companies House, Second Floor, The Linenhall, 32-38 Linenhall Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT2 8BG).
Edinburgh – The Registrar of Companies, Companies House, Fourth Floor, Edinburgh Quay 2, 139 Fountainbridge, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH3 9FF).
How Much Does a DS01 Form Cost?
The fee for company dissolution is £10, which should be paid by a postal order or cheque.
It’s worth noting that you can’t pay using a cheque from an account that belongs to the company you’re planning to strike off.
What Happens Next?
You’ll receive a letter informing you if you’ve filled in the form correctly.
If you have, your request for the company to be struck off will be published as a notice in your local Gazette. Either London, Belfast, or Edinburgh, depending on where your company was initially registered.
If there are no objections, the company will be struck off the register once the two months mentioned in the notice have passed.
A second notice will then be published in the Gazette, meaning the company no longer legally exists (i.e., it has been “dissolved”).
We hope this online article helps you to understand this topic better.
You might also like to read this post about how close a limited company.
Or this one about how to dissolve a limited company.
Or finally, this one if your company strike-off action has been suspended.
