Striking Off
The removal of a company from the Companies House register, either voluntarily (by the directors applying under s.1003 Companies Act 2006) or compulsorily (by the Registrar for failure to file documents). The company ceases to exist.
Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.
A solvent company that has stopped trading does not need to be formally wound up — it can instead apply to be struck off the register. Section 1003 of the Companies Act 2006 provides that, on application by a company, the registrar of companies may strike the company's name off the register; the application must be made on the company's behalf by its directors, or a majority of them.
Striking off is not immediate: the registrar must first publish notice in the Gazette inviting anyone to show cause why the company should not be struck off, and may not act until that notice period has expired. Once the registrar does publish notice that the company's name has been struck off, on the publication of the notice in the Gazette the company is dissolved — though the liability of its former directors and members continues and can still be enforced as if the company had not been dissolved.
Related terms
Official sources
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