How to restore a dissolved company: RT01 or court order

Two routes to restore a dissolved company

There are two ways back onto the register. Administrative restoration is an application to the Registrar of Companies, with no court hearing. Restoration by court order is a claim made to the court.

Which route you can use depends on who struck the company off, how long ago, whether it was trading and who is applying. Check the dissolution date and the striking-off history on the company's Companies House page before you start.

Source: Company restoration guide (court route)

Who can use administrative restoration

For the ordinary sections 1000/1001 registrar route, the applicant was a director or member at strike-off, the company was carrying on business or in operation, and the application is within 6 years of dissolution. Other registrar strike-offs, including false-basis and registered-office rectification cases, have different evidence requirements; check the detailed restoration guidance.

Registrar strike-off often follows missed filings, such as accounts or confirmation statements that were never delivered. If the directors applied to strike the company off themselves, for example with form DS01, you cannot use RT01. You need a court order instead.

Source: Apply for administrative restoration to the register (RT01)

Steps to apply with form RT01

An RT01 application goes in as one postal package: the form, the overdue filings, any fees and penalties, the £341 fee and, where needed, a waiver letter. Work through these steps in order.

1. Check the ordinary route conditions and actual strike-off basis. If they are not met, obtain specialist review of other administrative or court routes.
2. Bring the filings up to date. You must send the documents that were outstanding when the company was dissolved, such as annual accounts and confirmation statements.
3. Establish actual filing fees, section 453 penalties and relevant-person fines or financial penalties, with payment evidence. Accounts becoming due after dissolution and before restoration do not attract restoration late-filing penalties.
4. If the company had assets when it was dissolved, get a bona vacantia waiver letter. This is written consent from the Crown's representative to the restoration.
5. Complete form RT01 and post everything together to the Companies House main office in Cardiff, with a £341 cheque or postal order payable to 'Companies House'. GOV.UK gives a postal address only.
6. Wait for the registrar's confirmation letter. The company is restored once the registrar sends it.

Source: Restore a dissolved company

The bona vacantia waiver letter

When a company is dissolved, its remaining property can pass to the Crown as bona vacantia, meaning ownerless goods. That is why money left in the bank when a company is struck off is so hard to recover. In England and Wales the Bona Vacantia Division of the Government Legal Department deals with this. In the Duchy of Lancaster and Duchy of Cornwall areas, GOV.UK says you may need to contact Farrer and Co instead.

GOV.UK explains how to apply in its WA1 guidance, using form BVC14. It costs £64, with no VAT. The Government Legal Department aims to process applications within 20 working days, so ask for it early.

If the Treasury Solicitor has already dealt with any of the company's assets, you must pay the full costs of dealing with them before a waiver letter is issued.

Source: Apply for a waiver letter (WA1)

Getting back money that passed to the Crown

Restoration does not send money back automatically. Once the company is restored, an eligible person, such as a director, secretary, creditor or liquidator, can apply on form RA15 for the release of cash that passed to, or was collected by, the Bona Vacantia Division at dissolution.

GOV.UK says there is no charge or fee deduction for the RA15 application, and processing usually takes up to 20 working days from receipt of a complete and correct application.

Source: Apply for a repayment after a company has been restored (RA15)

Restoration by court order

Use the court route if administrative restoration is refused or you do not meet its conditions. The restoration guide lists people who can apply, including former directors and members, creditors at the time of dissolution, pension fund trustees or managers, people with an interest in the company's land, and anyone else who appears to the court to have an interest.

Court applications generally must be made within 6 years of dissolution, with no limit for personal injury claims. An application after administrative refusal may be possible within 28 days even after the ordinary deadline; get specialist advice. In England and Wales you use form N208 and pay a £326 court fee, as shown on GOV.UK and in the HMCTS civil court fees list (EX50). The restoration guide says the registrar's costs, normally paid by the claimant, are usually around £300. Legal advice is a separate cost if you take it. Court fees change, so check the HMCTS fees list before you apply.

If the court agrees, it issues an order, which you send to the registrar. The company is restored when the order is delivered. The restoration guide says it is then regarded as having continued in existence, as though the strike-off and dissolution had not happened.

Source: Company restoration guide (court route)

Common mistakes when restoring a company

Check these points before you post an RT01 or start a court claim.

• Using RT01 after a voluntary strike-off. A company closed by its own directors needs a court order.
• Sending RT01 without the missing accounts and confirmation statements. The filings must be brought up to date as part of the application.
• Leaving the waiver letter until last. It can take around 20 working days, and costs for any assets already dealt with must be paid first.
• Assuming restoration returns cash automatically. You apply separately to Bona Vacantia on RA15.
• Missing the 6-year limit. Check the dissolution date on the register as soon as you find out the company has gone.

Get help with restoration

SimpleFilings can review your answers, check which restoration route appears to apply and list the documents you need before any application is made. The current request is review-only with no ordinary checkout. Any separately agreed supported service would include the £341 government fee in the total alongside the £4.99 service fee, after actual delivery/payment arrangements are established. Waiver costs, outstanding filing fees and penalties remain separate. We do not provide court representation or legal advice, and a company is only restored when Companies House or the court confirms it.