What does each Companies House company status mean?
What is a company status?
The company status is the one-line label Companies House gives every company on its register to show whether it is live, closing, in an insolvency process or gone. It appears at the top of the company's page on the Companies House service and in every data product, and it changes when Companies House registers a notice, such as a Gazette notice or a liquidator's appointment.
The statuses and how many companies have each
These are the status values in the Companies House register file (the Free Company Data Product), with our counts from the snapshot of 1 October 2026.
| Status | Meaning in one line | Companies, 1 Oct 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Active | On the register, no closure or insolvency process recorded | 5,166,057 |
| Active - Proposal to Strike off | A Gazette notice says it will be removed from the register | 423,006 |
| Liquidation | A liquidator is winding the company up | 108,330 |
| In Administration | An administrator is running the company to rescue it or its business | 3,709 |
| Voluntary Arrangement | A company voluntary arrangement (CVA) with creditors is in place | Part of about 3,600 in other statuses |
| Receivership statuses | A receiver has been appointed over some or all assets | Part of about 3,600 in other statuses |
| Dissolved | The company no longer exists | Not in the register file |
The register file held 5,704,712 companies in total. Statuses other than the first four account for about 3,600 of them combined. Dissolved companies are removed from the monthly file, so their number cannot be read from it.
Active
Active means the company is on the register and no strike-off, insolvency or closure process has been recorded. It does not mean the company is trading, profitable or up to date with its filings. A dormant company is Active, and so is a company that is two years late with its accounts. Check the accounts and confirmation statement dates as well: see is a company still trading.
Active - Proposal to Strike off
This status means Companies House has published a first Gazette notice saying the company will be struck off and dissolved. The notice follows either a voluntary application by the directors (form DS01) or compulsory action by the registrar, usually because the company stopped filing. The company can be struck off not less than two months after the notice unless someone objects.
On 1 October 2026, 423,006 companies had this status, 7.6% of companies that were Active or under a strike-off proposal, and 58% of them were also overdue with their accounts (strike-off statistics). A creditor who is owed money can object to the strike-off. The process is explained in our guide to the first Gazette notice.
Liquidation
Liquidation means a liquidator has been appointed to sell the company's assets, pay creditors in the legal order and close the company. There are three routes: compulsory liquidation by court order, usually on a creditor's petition; creditors' voluntary liquidation, chosen by directors of an insolvent company; and members' voluntary liquidation, for a solvent company whose owners want to close it.
The status is the same for all three, so Liquidation does not always mean unpaid debts. The insolvency details on the company's Companies House page show which type it is. Once the liquidation is complete, the company is dissolved.
In Administration
In Administration means an insolvency practitioner has been appointed as administrator under Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986. Administration is a rescue procedure: creditors cannot take legal action against the company without consent while the administrator tries to save the company or sell its business. It usually ends in a sale, a CVA, liquidation or dissolution.
Voluntary Arrangement
Voluntary Arrangement means the company has a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) under Part I of the Insolvency Act 1986: a deal, approved by creditors, to pay all or part of its debts over time while it keeps trading. The company stays in control of its directors, supervised by an insolvency practitioner. Missed payments under a CVA often lead to liquidation.
Receivership statuses
Receivership statuses mean a secured lender has appointed a receiver over some or all of the company's assets. The register file uses several labels:
- Live but Receiver Manager on at least one charge: a receiver has been appointed under at least one charge, for example over a property. The company itself may carry on.
- RECEIVERSHIP, ADMINISTRATIVE RECEIVER and RECEIVER MANAGER / ADMINISTRATIVE RECEIVER: a receiver controls the charged assets or the whole business.
- In Administration/Administrative Receiver and In Administration/Receiver Manager: both an administration and a receivership are recorded.
- VOLUNTARY ARRANGEMENT / RECEIVER MANAGER and VOLUNTARY ARRANGEMENT / ADMINISTRATIVE RECEIVER: a CVA and a receivership at the same time.
- ADMINISTRATION ORDER: an older form of administration made by court order.
Administrative receivership is now rare: section 72A of the Insolvency Act 1986 stops the holder of a qualifying floating charge created on or after 15 September 2003 from appointing an administrative receiver, with limited exceptions.
Dissolved
Dissolved means the company has been removed from the register and no longer exists as a legal person. It happens at the end of a strike-off or a liquidation. Its remaining assets pass to the Crown as bona vacantia, and a debt owed by it cannot be pursued unless the company is restored to the register. See what to do if a dissolved company owes you money.
Status values in the Companies House API
The Companies House API uses lower-case codes rather than the labels above. company_status is one of active, dissolved, liquidation, receivership, administration, voluntary-arrangement, insolvency-proceedings, converted-closed, and for some register types open, closed, registered or removed. A separate field, company_status_detail, adds active-proposal-to-strike-off, so a company under a strike-off proposal has company_status: active. Code that filters on company_status alone misses every strike-off proposal.
To see a company's status alongside its filing dates and balance sheet history, search the company.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Striking off or dissolving a limited company
- GOV.UK: Liquidate your limited company
- Insolvency Act 1986, section 72A
- Companies Act 2006, section 1000
- Companies House API enumerations (GitHub)
FAQ
Does Active mean a company is trading?
No. Active only means the company is on the register and no closure or insolvency process has been recorded. Dormant companies, shelf companies and companies that are years late with their accounts all show as Active. To judge whether a company is really trading, look at its latest accounts, its confirmation statement date and any recent filings.
What is the difference between dissolved and struck off?
Struck off describes how a company was removed: the registrar or the directors used the strike-off procedure. Dissolved is the result: the company has ceased to exist. A company can also be dissolved at the end of a liquidation without being struck off. Either way, its assets pass to the Crown and it can only be revived by restoration.
Can a company in liquidation be solvent?
Yes. A members' voluntary liquidation is used to close a solvent company and return what is left to its shareholders, and the register shows the same Liquidation status as for an insolvent company. The insolvency section of the company's page on the Companies House service tells you which type of liquidation it is.
How long does Active - Proposal to Strike off last?
The company can be struck off not less than two months after the first Gazette notice. The status can last much longer if the process is suspended, for example because a creditor objected or the company started filing again, and it returns to Active if the strike-off is discontinued. Some companies keep the status for many months.
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