A company is dormant during a period in which no significant accounting transaction occurs, that is, no transaction which is required to be entered in the company's accounting records, and a company ceases to be dormant on the occurrence of such a transaction. Whether a company is dormant or not is a matter of fact, which may change if the company starts to have accounting transactions. Information at Companies House may show that the company was dormant during a period for which it has registered dormant accounts, but will not show whether or not a company is currently dormant.
A company may be kept dormant indefinitely provided the statutory requirements for the registration of annual accounts and annual returns are complied with. This is useful in a number of circumstances, e.g. to protect a distinctive company name from registration by others and for the smaller kind of property management company.
Incorporation Services Limited provides an expert service for all types of company formation and company law requirements. They can register and keep a dormant company, acting as company secretary and attending to all routine Companies Act requirements. This is quite often done as a way of protecting the name from registration by someone else.
