Company status at Companies House: what each status means

Every company on the Companies House register has a status that reflects its current legal standing. The status tells you whether the company is operating normally, winding down, or no longer in existence. Senserity monitors status changes as one of its most important risk signals, because a change in status can directly affect a supplier's ability to trade, fulfil contracts, and pay its debts.

The status is a single field, set by the registrar from what has been filed and published. It is a useful first check but a blunt one: some statuses cover very different situations, and the field says nothing about how well a company is run. The sections below use the labels exactly as they appear on the register, explain what each one means, where there is an innocent explanation, and what to look at alongside it. Status is the first item in Supplier due diligence in the UK, our checklist for vetting a supplier, and in How to check a UK company.

Active

Most companies on your watchlist will show as Active. This means the company is registered and legally able to trade. It has not entered any formal process that restricts its operations.

What it does not tell you. An Active status does not mean the company is healthy, profitable, or well-run. A company can show as Active while its accounts are a year overdue, its confirmation statement has lapsed, and a winding-up petition has been advertised against it. The status only changes once a formal process has started.

What to check alongside it. The accounts and confirmation statement due dates on the same register entry, any recent Gazette notices, and the most recent filed accounts.

Proposal to Strike Off

On the register this appears as Active - Proposal to Strike off. It means a notice has been published in the Gazette proposing to remove the company from the register. The company is still technically Active, but the clock is running: if nothing stops the process, the company is struck off and dissolved once the notice period (at least two months) has passed.

There are two routes to this status, and they mean very different things:

Voluntary strike-off. The directors have applied to close the company, usually because it has stopped trading. This is the normal, inexpensive way to close a solvent company that is no longer needed, and on its own it is not a sign of distress. It is still the end of the company, so any contract with it is ending too.

Compulsory strike-off. Companies House has started the process itself, because the company appears to have stopped meeting its legal obligations, most often by failing to file its accounts or confirmation statement. This is the more concerning route: it usually means nobody is maintaining the company's affairs.

Harmless explanations. A compulsory proposal is often suspended once the overdue filings are brought up to date, and some companies go through the process more than once because of administrative neglect rather than financial trouble. A creditor or other interested party can also object, which suspends the strike-off.

When it becomes a warning. Treat it seriously if you rely on the company for goods or services, if you are owed money (a dissolved company cannot pay you), if the proposal is compulsory, or if it sits alongside overdue accounts and a lapsed confirmation statement. A company that keeps returning to this status is in a cycle of non-compliance.

What to check alongside it. Whether the Gazette notice is for a voluntary or a compulsory strike-off, the accounts and confirmation statement due dates, and whether the company has filed anything recently.

In Administration

Administration is a formal insolvency process where an independent administrator takes control of the company. The aim is usually to rescue the company as a going concern, or failing that, to achieve a better outcome for creditors than immediate liquidation would. The register shows it as In Administration; some older cases carry labels such as ADMINISTRATION ORDER or a combined administration and receiver label.

A company in administration is not dissolved and may continue to trade under the administrator's direction. However, its contracts, supplier relationships, and payment obligations are all subject to the administrator's decisions.

How serious is it? Very. There is no innocent version of administration: the company could not pay its debts, or was about to be unable to. The business itself may survive, often through a sale arranged at the start of the administration (a "pre-pack"), but that usually means the business moves to a new company and your contract is with the old one.

What to check alongside it. The administrator's appointment notice in the Gazette, the administrator's proposals (filed at Companies House within weeks of the appointment), and whether the business has been sold, and to whom. See What insolvency means for a supplier for what to do if you are a creditor.

In Liquidation

Liquidation means the company is being wound up. Its assets are being sold or distributed, and the company will be dissolved once the process is complete. The register shows a single status, Liquidation, for three quite different processes:

Creditors' voluntary liquidation (CVL). The company's directors and shareholders have agreed that the company cannot pay its debts and should be wound up. A liquidator is appointed to manage the process.

Compulsory liquidation. A court has ordered the company to be wound up, usually following a winding-up petition from an unpaid creditor or HMRC.

Members' voluntary liquidation (MVL). A solvent company is being closed by its shareholders. The directors must swear that it can pay all its debts in full, and the liquidator's job is to pay creditors and return what is left to the shareholders. MVLs are common when owners retire, when a group tidies up dormant subsidiaries, or when a company has finished the purpose it was set up for. An MVL is not an insolvency.

How serious is it? A CVL or compulsory liquidation is the end of the company, and unsecured creditors, which includes most suppliers, usually recover little. An MVL is the end of the company too, but creditors are expected to be paid in full.

How to tell them apart. The status alone cannot. The Gazette notices can: an MVL is published as a members' voluntary winding-up, while a CVL is published as a creditors' voluntary winding-up and a compulsory liquidation follows a winding-up order. Senserity reads the insolvency case type behind the status (see below).

Dissolved

A dissolved company no longer exists as a legal entity. It has been removed from the register, and any assets still in its name pass to the Crown. A dissolved company cannot trade, enter into contracts, or be sued.

If a company on your watchlist is dissolved, that relationship is effectively over. Senserity retains the historical profile so you can see what happened, but no further enrichment or scoring takes place.

Harmless explanations. Most dissolved companies were closed deliberately, through voluntary strike-off or a completed members' voluntary liquidation. Dissolution is the normal last step for a company that has finished its work.

When it becomes a warning. If a business is still invoicing, holding licences or bidding for work in the name of a dissolved company, something is wrong: the company it names cannot lawfully do any of those things. It is also worth checking whether the same directors are now running a similar business through a new company.

A dissolved company can be restored to the register, either administratively for a limited period after strike-off or by court order, but this is uncommon.

Receivership

Receivership is an older mechanism where a secured creditor appoints a receiver to take control of assets that were pledged as security. It is far less common than it was, because the Enterprise Act 2002 largely replaced administrative receivership with administration. The register still shows several labels for it, including RECEIVERSHIP, ADMINISTRATIVE RECEIVER, and Live but Receiver Manager on at least one charge.

How serious is it? An administrative receiver over the whole business is as serious as administration. A receiver appointed over one charged asset, such as a single property, is narrower: the company may otherwise be trading, and some of these labels are old and were never cleared from the register.

What to check alongside it. The charges register, to see which charge the receiver was appointed under and what it covers, and whether the company is still filing.

Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA)

A CVA is a formal agreement between the company and its creditors to repay debts over a fixed period, often at a reduced rate. The register shows it as Voluntary Arrangement. The company continues to trade while the arrangement is in place.

How serious is it? A CVA is a sign of financial distress, but it also indicates that the company is attempting to manage its debts rather than entering liquidation. The company may be viable, but it is under financial pressure and its ability to meet new obligations is uncertain.

What to check alongside it. Whether the arrangement is still running or has been completed, and whether the company is keeping up with its filings. A CVA that fails often ends in liquidation.

How Senserity responds to status changes

Status changes are among the highest-priority events Senserity monitors. When a company's status changes, several things happen:

An alert is generated. Status changes trigger an alert when the new status is picked up, so it appears in your notification feed. See How alerts are generated for more on the alert system.

The risk score is recalculated. A company that moves from Active to In Administration will see a significant increase in its risk score. Critical-severity insolvency tests will fail, and Red Flag conditions may be triggered.

The risk grade may change. A status change to any insolvency process will almost certainly push the company into a D or E grade, regardless of how it scored before.

The case type is read, not just the label. Because one Liquidation status covers both insolvent and solvent wind-downs, Senserity's insolvency tests read the type of case behind it. A members' voluntary liquidation is reported as a solvent wind-down rather than an active insolvency.

Senserity reads status from the Companies House register and also watches Gazette notices, which often come before the formal status change. This means you may see an alert about a proposal to strike off or a winding-up petition before the company's status changes on the register.

The tests that read company status:

• FIN-001Company Status CheckCriticalFinancialFree and above
• FIN-008Proposal to Strike OffCriticalFinancialFree and above
• DRV-016Company Status Change AlertCriticalFinancialFree and above
• LEG-001Active Insolvency ProceedingsCriticalLegalFree and above
• LEG-021Insolvency Process ClassificationCriticalLegalFree and above

Last updated 2 October 2026.