Dormant company check: is it really trading?
What it means when a company you deal with is registered as dormant at Companies House, when that is normal, when it is a warning, and what to do.
- Severity
- High
- Category
- Financial
- Plan
- Free and above
- Test code
- FIN-006
What this test checks
Looks at the business activity the company has registered at Companies House. SIC code 99999, dormant company, means the company has declared it has no significant accounting transactions: it is not trading.
That matters when the company is meant to be supplying you, invoicing you or bidding for your work, because a dormant company should not be doing any of those things.
What a fail looks like
The company's registered activity is dormant. If it is presenting itself as an active, trading supplier, the register and its behaviour do not match.
Harmless explanations
- Many dormant companies exist for good reasons: to protect a business name, as part of a group structure, or because they were set up and have not started trading yet.
- A company that has just started trading may not yet have updated its activity, which happens at its next confirmation statement.
What to do
- If the company is trading with you, ask why it is registered as dormant and check which company is actually issuing your invoices.
- Look at its most recent accounts: dormant accounts from a company that claims years of trading are a serious warning sign.
- Check whether another company in the same group is the real trading entity, and contract with that one.
Background: How to check a UK company.
Related tests
Part of the test catalogue. Every check Senserity runs, with its severity and the plan it is available on.
Last reviewed .