Companies House guidance covers liquidation, receivership, administration and corporate voluntary arrangement, as well as giving general information on insolvency:
We recommend taking professional advice (from a solicitor or insolvency practitioner) before going ahead with any of these proceedings.
Please note that matters relating to striking off a company or LLP from the Register, where no liquidation or insolvency proceeding is taking place, are dealt with separately in the following guidance:
A voluntary liquidation, which can be either a members' voluntary liquidation or a creditors' voluntary liquidation, is brought about by resolution of the company and is conducted by a qualified practitioner. A compulsory liquidation is brought about by an order of the court and can be conducted by the Official Receiver or a qualified practitioner.
Anyone undertaking the duties of liquidator, administrative receiver, administrator or supervisor of a corporate voluntary arrangement must be a qualified insolvency practitioner. Those holding the position of receiver or manager do not need this qualification, nor does anyone who was already in office before the Insolvency Act 1986 (for England, Wales and Scotland) or the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (for Northern Ireland) was implemented.
Complaints can be made through the single Complaints Gateway.
Not always. In a members' voluntary liquidation, the directors swear a statement, known as a declaration of solvency, to say the company will be able to pay all its debts within a period not exceeding twelve months. In this circumstance the company is not 'insolvent'.
No.The Registrar cannot defer the dissolution which follows a liquidation proceeding. For voluntary liquidation, an application can be made to the court to defer dissolution (for England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland). For compulsory liquidation, an application would need to be made to the Secretary of State in England and Wales, or the Department for Trade, Enterprise and Investment in Northern Ireland. In Scotland, an application may be made to the court to defer the date of dissolution.
The deferral notice/order must be filed with the Registrar following the registration of the concluding documentation in the liquidation and before the date of dissolution. Once dissolution takes place, you will have to apply to the court to have the dissolution declared void.
For more information on deferring dissolution, please see the relevant legislation:
For England and Wales:
- Section 201 of the Insolvency Act 1986 for voluntary liquidation, and.
- Sections 202, 203 and 205 of the Insolvency Act 1986 for compulsory liquidation.
For Northern Ireland:
- Article 166 of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 for voluntary liquidation, and.
- Article 167 to Article 169 of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 for compulsory liquidation.
For Scotland:
- Section 201 of the Insolvency Act 1986 for voluntary liquidation, and.
- Sections 204 and 205 of the Insolvency Act 1986 for compulsory liquidation.
It is possible for a creditor to petition the court to have a company placed into compulsory liquidation. Please refer to the guidance and seek professional advice.
Forms LQ01 and LQ02 (for England and Wales and Northern Ireland) and Form 600 (for England and Wales) are available from Companies House website.
- Statutory insolvency forms for England and Wales are prescribed by the Registrar of Companies in the Registrar's rules.
- Statutory insolvency forms for Scotland are available from the Accountant in Bankruptcy website.
- Statutory insolvency forms for Northern Ireland are not available from Companies House. They can be viewed by obtaining the relevant legislation on www.opsi.gov.uk or from The Stationery Office (TSO).
