Accountio / Templates / Company secretarial / Dormant company accounts

Dormant company accounts template for UK limited companies

Prepare the annual accounts for a company that had no significant accounting transactions in the year: a balance sheet with the audit exemption statements in the right place, short notes and a checklist to run before filing. This dormant company accounts template is one Word document, laid out ready for the director to sign.

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What the accounts look like

Dormant company accounts template
What the accounts includeSection in the accounts
Cover page with the company number and year end
✓
Company name and annual accounts headingStates that the company is dormant and uses the micro-entity provisions
Directors, registered office and country of registration
✓
Company informationOptional line for a company secretary
This year and last year side by side
✓
Balance sheetCalled up share capital not paid, or cash at bank if the shares are paid up
Exemption from audit as a dormant company
✓
Balance sheetSection 480 statement above the director's signature
Members not requiring an audit and the directors' duties on records
✓
Balance sheetThe two other statements the Act puts on the balance sheet
Micro-entity statement and board approval
✓
Balance sheetApproval date, signature, name and date
Dormant since formation or since last year
✓
Notes: 1. Dormant statusWith a line for the confirmation statement fee, which does not count
Share capital and directors' advances
✓
Notes: 2 and 3Number and value of shares, and any money advanced to or credit given to directors
Commitments, employees and controlling party
✓
Notes: 4 to 6Off balance sheet commitments, average staff and an optional controlling party line
Checks before filing
✓
Dormant accounts checklistIs it dormant, is it a micro-entity, are the statements and signature in place

Who needs one

A company is dormant under the Companies Act 2006 for any period in which it has no significant accounting transactions. It still files accounts and a confirmation statement at Companies House every year. Use these accounts for:

  • A company formed to protect a name or hold a future business that has not started trading
  • A company that has stopped trading and has no other income, such as interest or rent
  • A company kept on the register while the owners decide whether to restart or close it
  • A practice client whose only activity in the year was paying the Companies House fees

How to use the dormant company accounts template

  1. Check the company is dormant. Work through the first part of the checklist. Shares taken on formation, Companies House fees and late filing penalties are ignored. Anything else entered in the accounting records ends dormancy.
  2. Fill in the company details. Company name, number, year end, directors and registered office. Pick the country of registration.
  3. Enter the balance sheet. Most dormant companies show only the share capital. Copy last year's figures from the accounts already filed.
  4. Choose the note wording. Dormant since incorporation or since the previous year end. Keep the confirmation statement line if the company paid that fee.
  5. Sign and file. A director signs and dates the balance sheet below the statements. File at Companies House within nine months of the year end.

Questions

Do dormant companies need to file accounts?

Yes. A dormant company files annual accounts and a confirmation statement with Companies House every year, even when nothing has happened. A small dormant company can file dormant accounts with no auditor's report.

What can a dormant company pay and stay dormant?

Companies Act section 1169 ignores money paid for shares by the subscribers on formation, Companies House fees for a change of name, re-registration or the confirmation statement, and penalties for filing accounts late. Any other transaction that has to go in the accounting records means the company is no longer dormant.

What statements go on a dormant company balance sheet?

Three statements above the director's signature: that the company is exempt from audit under section 480 as a dormant company, that the members have not required an audit under section 476, and that the directors accept their duties for accounting records and preparing accounts. A micro-entity also states that the accounts follow the micro-entity provisions.

When are dormant company accounts due?

Nine months after the end of the accounting reference period for a private company. If the first accounts cover more than 12 months, they are due 21 months after incorporation, or three months after the end of the period if that is later.

Is dormant for Companies House the same as dormant for corporation tax?

No. HMRC treats a company as dormant when it has stopped trading and has no other income, and you tell HMRC separately. Once HMRC accepts it, the company files no Company Tax Return unless it receives a notice to deliver one.

Can any dormant company skip the audit?

Most can. The exemption is not open to traded companies, banks, insurers, e-money issuers and some investment firms, and members holding at least 10% of the shares can require an audit.

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Dividend voucherBoard minutes approving accounts and declaring a dividendDirectors' loan account schedule

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Who it's for

Accountancy practices filing accounts for clients' dormant companies, and directors of a dormant company doing it themselves.

Last checked

Checked against the Companies Act 2006 and Companies House and HMRC guidance on dormant companies in November 2026.