How much does the DS01 form cost?

As of November 2026, Companies House charges £13 to apply online, paid by debit or credit card, and £18 for the paper form, paid by cheque or postal order. The cheque cannot come from the account of the company you are striking off. Any accountant's fee for final accounts is separate.

Can I strike off a company online?

Yes. Companies House runs an online service called Close your company online. You need to sign in or create sign-in details, the company number, the company authentication code, an email address for each person signing, and a debit or credit card or a Companies House account. Companies House recommends it over the paper form.

How many directors must sign the DS01?

A sole director signs alone, both directors sign if there are two, and a majority signs if there are more than two. The form's own example is 4 out of 6 directors. The online service says more than half of the directors need to sign before the application can be submitted.

Who must get a copy of the application?

Within 7 days of applying, the directors must send a copy to members, creditors, employees, managers or trustees of any employee pension fund, and any directors who did not sign. People who become one of those later must also get a copy within 7 days, until the company is dissolved or the application is withdrawn.

Can I withdraw a strike-off application?

Yes, online or by post on form DS02. You must withdraw it immediately if the company changes its mind or stops meeting the criteria, for example by trading, changing its name or becoming subject to insolvency proceedings. Failing to withdraw is an offence.

DS01 form: how to complete it and what happens next

Updated 4 November 2026 Sources UK company guides · How we make money

Form DS01 is how the directors of a limited company ask Companies House to strike it off the register. As of November 2026 it costs £13 online and £18 on paper. A majority of the directors must sign, and a copy must go to creditors, members, employees and others within 7 days of filing.

Apply online or on paper

Companies House tells directors to apply online. Its service is quicker and checks the application so that it is completed correctly first time. Use the paper form only if you cannot apply online. Companies House says paper applications usually take much longer to process, and that this could delay the strike-off.

Point	Online	Paper form DS01
Fee, as of November 2026	£13	£18
How you pay	Debit or credit card, or a Companies House account	Cheque or postal order payable to Companies House, but not from the company’s own account
Who signs	More than half of the directors	A majority of the directors
What you need	Sign-in details, the company number, the company authentication code and an email address for each person signing	The company name and number exactly as on the register, and a name and date for each director who signs
Speed	Quicker	Usually much slower

The £13 or £18 is Companies House’s fee for the application. An accountant who prepares your final accounts and tax return will charge separately, and we have not researched those fees. Our guide to closing a limited company lists the other steps that come first.

Check the records before they are destroyed

Check eligibility

Who signs the form

A sole director signs alone. With two directors, both sign. With more than two, a majority signs, and the form’s own example is 4 out of 6. The paper form has a continuation page for further names. Online, every person signing needs an email address, and the application cannot be submitted until more than half of the directors have signed.

On the paper form, the signing directors declare two things. First, that none of the circumstances in section 1004 or 1005 of the Companies Act 2006 exists, so the company has not traded or changed its name in the last three months and is not facing insolvency proceedings. Second, that they have complied with sections 1006 and 1007 and have given, or will give, copies of the application to the people those sections list. The form warns that it is an offence to knowingly or recklessly give false or misleading information.

What the paper form asks

The DS01 has four sections:

Company details. The company number and the company name in full. Both must match the Companies House register.
The application. The declarations above.
Authentication of the directors. A name and a date for each director who signs.
What to do next. A reminder about the copies duty and about withdrawing the application. You do not fill anything in.

The last page has an optional box for presenter information. Companies House warns that everything on the form appears on the public record, including any contact details you give.

Copies of the application

Within 7 days of the day you apply, the signing directors must make sure a copy goes to:

members, usually the shareholders;
creditors, including existing and likely ones such as banks, suppliers, former employees who are owed money, landlords or tenants, guarantors, personal injury claimants, HMRC and the Department for Work and Pensions;
employees;
managers or trustees of any employee pension fund;
any director who did not sign the application.

Someone who becomes a director, member, creditor, employee or pension fund manager or trustee after you apply must also get a copy within 7 days of that happening. The duty runs until the company is dissolved or the application is withdrawn.

You can post a copy to, or leave it at, an individual’s last known address, or a company’s or other body’s registered or principal office. For a creditor, you can also use the place of business that the company has dealt with, such as the branch that sent an invoice. Keep proof of posting or delivery. If you applied online, you can sign in to the service afterwards and download a copy of the application.

Failing to give copies is an offence, and the ordinary offence carries a fine. If the failure is meant to conceal the application, section 1006 allows up to 7 years in prison or a fine on indictment, and up to 12 months or a fine on summary conviction in England and Wales. The DS01’s own notes quote the 12-month figure.

What happens after you file

Companies House writes to tell you whether you filled in the application correctly. If it is acceptable, Companies House:

registers the application and puts it on the public register;
sends an acknowledgement;
notifies the company at its registered office;
publishes a notice in the Gazette and places a copy on the company’s record.

If there is no reason to delay, the registrar strikes the company off at least 2 months after the notice. A second Gazette notice then confirms that the company no longer legally exists. Our strike-off guide covers objections, what dissolved means and restoring a company.

Withdrawing an application

Withdraw the application immediately if the company changes its mind or stops being eligible. Use form DS02, online or by post. Companies House says paper forms take longer to process, so use the online service.

Section 1009 of the Companies Act lists what triggers the duty after you apply. A director who is in office at the end of a day on which one of these happens must secure the withdrawal immediately:

the company changes its name, trades or carries on business;
the company makes a disposal for value of property or rights that it did not need to hold for the application, or engages in other activity beyond what the application, its outstanding affairs or the law require;
a compromise or voluntary arrangement is proposed, an administration application is made or an administrator is appointed, a winding-up petition is presented, or a receiver or manager is appointed.

Failing to withdraw is an offence that carries a fine. It is a defence to show you did not know of the application or took all reasonable steps.

Mistakes that get an application returned or delayed

Mistake	What to do instead
Filing while the company is ineligible	Check the three-month tests and the insolvency tests first
Missing name or date on the paper form	Print each signing director’s name and date it in section 3
Too few directors signing	Get a majority: 2 of 3, or 4 of 6
No fee, or a cheque from the company’s own account	Enclose £18 by cheque or postal order payable to Companies House from another account, or apply online
Company name or number wrong or missing	Copy both exactly from the register
Copies not sent within 7 days	Diary the date and keep proof of posting
Money or assets left in the company	Deal with them first, because the Crown takes what is left, including later HMRC refunds
Staff, HMRC or final accounts not dealt with	Follow the redundancy rules, tell HMRC and send final accounts and the tax return

Companies House says many paper forms come back because they are incorrect, and a returned form delays the application. If the company has staff, our HR1 form guide covers collective redundancies.

Records and data licences

The DS01 asks nothing about records, but the company’s records are among its assets, and they may be licensable.

Decide what happens to the records before you file, because the remaining assets pass to the Crown when the company is dissolved. The timing rules around the application are unsettled for a data licence, and we explain them in the strike-off guide. For how long the law asks you to keep records, see how long to keep business records.

Personal data in the records stays under UK GDPR until nobody is reasonably likely to identify the people it relates to. Removing names is not enough, and anonymising is itself processing that needs a lawful basis. Take advice before any records that hold personal data leave the company, and see our guide to anonymising company data.

Check the records before they are destroyed

Some company records can be licensed for AI training. Answer four questions to see whether yours might qualify, without sharing any files.

Check eligibility

Next steps

Choose online if you can, check the company passes the tests, and diary the 7-day copies duty before you press submit.

Frequently asked questions

How much does the DS01 form cost?: As of November 2026, Companies House charges £13 to apply online, paid by debit or credit card, and £18 for the paper form, paid by cheque or postal order. The cheque cannot come from the account of the company you are striking off. Any accountant's fee for final accounts is separate.
Can I strike off a company online?: Yes. Companies House runs an online service called Close your company online. You need to sign in or create sign-in details, the company number, the company authentication code, an email address for each person signing, and a debit or credit card or a Companies House account. Companies House recommends it over the paper form.
How many directors must sign the DS01?: A sole director signs alone, both directors sign if there are two, and a majority signs if there are more than two. The form's own example is 4 out of 6 directors. The online service says more than half of the directors need to sign before the application can be submitted.
Who must get a copy of the application?: Within 7 days of applying, the directors must send a copy to members, creditors, employees, managers or trustees of any employee pension fund, and any directors who did not sign. People who become one of those later must also get a copy within 7 days, until the company is dissolved or the application is withdrawn.
Can I withdraw a strike-off application?: Yes, online or by post on form DS02. You must withdraw it immediately if the company changes its mind or stops meeting the criteria, for example by trading, changing its name or becoming subject to insolvency proceedings. Failing to withdraw is an offence.