You can restore a dissolved company to the Companies House register. Once it's restored, the law treats it as if it never closed. Then we can look into undoing the restrictions on your business account. How you restore it depends entirely on how your business was shut down. You'll either use administrative restoration or a court order. 🛠️
Administrative restoration
This is the quickest route. You can only use it if Companies House forced your business to close because of missing paperwork.
To qualify, you must meet these rules:
You're a former director or shareholder,
It's been less than six years since the business dissolved, or
Your company was actively trading when it closed.
To start, send form RT01 to Companies House and pay the fee. You must also file any late accounts and pay your penalties.
Restoration by court order
Use this slightly more complex route if you choose to close the business yourself using a DS01 form. You must also use it if you don't fit the rules for administrative restoration above.
Former directors, shareholders, liquidators, or people who are owed money can apply. You usually have six years to do this. This time limit doesn't apply if you're making a personal injury claim.
To apply, fill out the court claim form N208 and write a witness statement. You can access the official paperwork and guidance notes via the GOV.UK Form N208 Page. Then, send the paperwork to the court.
Reclaiming your business assets
When a company dissolves, any money left in your business account will be transferred to the government. The law calls the funds ownerless property, as the business that did "own" the funds is now dissolved.
If the money has already been transferred, you'll need to request a formal waiver letter from the Government Legal Department to get it back. If you catch us before the transfer happens, we can safeguard it for you internally. To see how this works, read our guide on reclaiming your funds.
Once your business is active again, message us in the app. We'll happily help you reopen your account. 📲