DS01 Form: How to Apply to Strike Off Your Company

Published: 27 July 2026 10:22 am Author: Oliver Stanley

Closing a company should be one of the simpler jobs on a company secretary’s to-do list. In practice, it’s one of the ones people put off the longest, mostly because nobody wants to get it wrong. A rejected strike-off application, an objection from HMRC, or a director who didn’t sign the form all mean starting again from scratch.

The DS01 form is what you use to apply to have a company struck off (or “dissolved”) from the Companies House register. It’s short, it’s cheap, and it’s genuinely one of the more straightforward filings in company law, provided you tick the right boxes first. This guide walks through what the form covers, who can use it, what it costs, and the steps to get it right the first time.

What is a DS01 form?

DS01 is the Companies House form used to apply for voluntary strike-off, the process of removing a company from the register when it’s no longer needed. Once the application is successful, the company stops existing as a legal entity.

It’s the route most small, dormant, or no-longer-trading companies use to close down, because it’s faster and considerably cheaper than formal liquidation. You can apply to strike off a company online through Companies House, or send the paper DS01 form by post if you’re not able to use the online service.

Who can apply to strike off a company

Not every company qualifies for strike-off. Companies House will only accept a DS01 application if, in the last three months, the company:

Hasn’t traded or carried on business
Hasn’t sold off any stock
Hasn’t changed its name
Isn’t threatened with liquidation
Has no agreements with creditors, such as a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA)

If any of those apply, the company isn’t eligible for a DS01 strike-off and will need to go through members’ or creditors’ voluntary liquidation instead. It’s worth checking this before you get too far into the process, since Companies House can reject or query applications that don’t meet the criteria.

The form itself must be signed by a majority of the company’s directors. If there’s only one director, they sign alone. If there are two, both must sign. For three or more, a majority is enough, but every director should still be told the application is going in.

How much does a DS01 form cost?

£13 if you apply online through the Companies House close a company service, paid by debit or credit card
£18 for a paper DS01, paid by cheque or postal order (never from the company’s own bank account)

Online applications are processed faster, and the fee is lower, so it’s the better option for most companies. Fees do get reviewed periodically, so it’s worth checking the current amount on the official DS01 guidance page before you pay.

Before you apply: tidy up the company first

This is the step people skip, and it’s the one that causes the most problems later. Before submitting a DS01, you’re expected to close the company down properly, not just file the form and walk away. That means:

Dealing with assets. Close business bank accounts, transfer domain names, and distribute anything of value to shareholders. Once the company is struck off, any remaining assets, including future payments like HMRC refunds, pass to the Crown as bona vacantia. Getting them back means applying to restore the company, which costs time and money.
Sorting out employees. If the company has staff, you’ll need to follow redundancy rules, pay final wages, and tell HMRC the company has stopped employing people.
Filing final accounts. You still need to send final statutory accounts and a Company Tax Return to HMRC, marked clearly as the company’s last trading accounts, even though you don’t file these with Companies House.
Paying outstanding tax. Corporation Tax and any other liabilities need to be settled. If the company made a loss in its final year, terminal loss relief may let you offset it against previous profits.
Keeping records. Hang on to bank statements, invoices, and other business documents for seven years after the company is dissolved.

If the company is still active on Companies House’s own filing calendar, it’s also worth checking there’s nothing outstanding, such as a confirmation statement, before you apply. Companies House is unlikely to reject a strike-off over a filing that’s merely due, but tidying up statutory filings alongside the closure process avoids any awkward correspondence landing after the company no longer exists. If you’re managing this for a client, our guide to filing a confirmation statement covers what’s needed if one is still outstanding.

Who you have to tell

Filing the DS01 isn’t a private matter between the company and Companies House. Within 7 days of submitting the application, you must send a copy to everyone who could be affected, including:

Members (usually the shareholders)
Creditors
Employees
Managers or trustees of any employee pension fund
Any director who didn’t sign the form

Skipping this step isn’t just bad practice, it’s an offence that can lead to a fine or prosecution. It’s also an offence to make a dishonest application, so if there’s any doubt about eligibility, it’s worth getting advice before filing rather than after.

What happens after you submit the DS01

Once Companies House receives the form, they’ll check it’s been completed correctly and write to confirm. If everything checks out, the strike-off application is published as a notice in The Gazette, the UK’s official public record.

From there:

The notice sits for 2 months, giving anyone with an objection (typically HMRC, a creditor, or an unpaid party) the chance to raise it.
If nobody objects, the company is struck off once the 2 months are up.
A second notice is published in The Gazette confirming the company no longer legally exists.

If someone does object, usually because the eligibility rules weren’t quite met or a creditor wasn’t paid, Companies House will pause the process until it’s resolved. This is the most common reason strike-offs stall, and it’s almost always avoidable by dealing with debts and filings properly before applying.

After the company is struck off

Once dissolved, the company’s bank accounts are frozen and any remaining funds pass to the Crown. If something comes to light afterwards, an unpaid invoice gets settled, or HMRC issues a refund, the money can’t be accessed without formally restoring the company to the register. That’s a separate, more involved process, which is exactly why getting the “before you apply” checklist right matters so much.

Managing strike-offs for clients

If you’re a law firm, accountancy practice, or corporate service provider handling company closures on behalf of clients, the DS01 itself is the easy part. The harder part is usually keeping track of which entities in a portfolio are dormant, which still have outstanding filings, and which are ready to be wound up, especially across dozens or hundreds of companies.

This is where having your company registers in one place pays off. Kudocs gives law firms, accountants, and corporate service providers a clear view of every client entity’s filing status, so nothing gets missed before a strike-off goes in. And if you’re managing your own company rather than a client’s, Kudocs for Companies keeps your statutory records straight so you know exactly where things stand before you file.

Crucially, even after a company is struck off, having access to its registers and history can still be important. That why you can still use Kudocs for dissolved companies – you don’t loose access to that information.

FAQs

Can I strike off a company with debts?

Not through a standard DS01. If the company has creditors it can’t pay, or any agreement like a CVA, voluntary liquidation is the correct route rather than strike-off.

Can HMRC object to a DS01?

Yes. HMRC routinely checks strike-off notices and will object if tax returns are outstanding or liabilities haven’t been settled, which is why filing final accounts and paying Corporation Tax before applying matters.

How long does the whole process take?

Assuming no objections, expect at least 2-3 months from submission to the company being formally dissolved, accounting for the Gazette notice period and processing time.

Can I withdraw a DS01 application?

Yes, a company can withdraw its strike-off application at any point before it’s actually dissolved, for example if it starts trading again or a creditor needs to be dealt with first.

Closing a company well isn’t complicated, but it does reward doing things in the right order: settle up, tell the right people, then file. Get that sequence right and the DS01 itself is the easiest part of the whole process.