A locked, empty shopfront at night, a notice taped inside the glass.

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A company that owes me money has been dissolved. Can I still get paid?

The short answer

Usually not. A dissolved company no longer exists, so to chase it you first have to ask a court to restore it5. If the strike-off is only proposed, any creditor with an invoice can object1, and an accepted objection holds it off for 6 months3. After dissolution you have 6 years6 to apply, and restoring is worth the cost only if the company still held money or property.

Mara, WolfX research desk
Written with AI, checked by a person · 8 October 2026

England and Wales only. WolfX is software, not a law firm.

The numbers

The numbers that matter.

6 monthsHow long an accepted objection holds off the strike-off.3

2 weeksHow long before the strike-off date Companies House says to object.4

6 yearsFrom dissolution, to ask a court to restore the company.6

About £300The Registrar's costs of a restoration claim, as the official guide estimates.8

What you can add

A £4,000 debt, a company that held £1,800

Say a company owed you £4,000 and was dissolved 14 months ago. Its last accounts showed £1,800 in the bank, and say that was still there: that cash passed to the Crown4 on dissolution. Restoring the company does not pay the debt. The official guide says a restored company is regarded as having continued in existence as if it had not been struck off and dissolved8. Read plainly, the debt is owed again. From the company, you can usually get back no more than it held.

£1,800.00Cash the company held when it was dissolved

£300.00The Registrar's costs, as the official guide estimates them8

£1,500.00Left, before court fees and any solicitor

That is the best case: you are the only creditor and every pound is found. It is £2,500 short of the £4,000 you are owed, and the restoration court fee comes off it too: ask the court for its current amount. If the restored company still will not pay, so does the fee to claim the debt from it. If the company held less than these costs, restoring it loses you money.

The road ahead

Two roads: object in time, or restore it.

Step 1: Read the company's record
Look the company up on the Companies House register and read its status. If it says Dissolved, go to step 4. If a Gazette notice4 proposing to strike it off is on its record, go to step 2.
Cost: FreeTime: 5 minutes
Step 2: Not dissolved yet? Object with your invoice
A creditor can object1 once the notice is out, with an invoice as proof, through Companies House's online service2. The letter below goes in with it.
The notice gives the strike-off date, usually within 2 months and sometimes 28 days4. Aim to object at least 2 weeks before it4.
Cost: FreeTime: 15 minutes
Step 3: Objection accepted? Use the 6 months to claim
If it is accepted, the company is not struck off for another 6 months3. Ask for payment with a letter before action, then start a court claim.
Need longer? Tell Companies House before the deadline and show progress. Another invoice is unlikely to do; a started court claim may3.
Cost: Court fee, by claim sizeTime: Up to 6 months
Step 4: Check for a director's personal promise to pay
A limited company's debts are its own. Its owners answer for them only up to what they put in11.
A director who signed a promise to pay if the company did not is different: that promise is the director's own, made to you. Dig out your credit application and ask a solicitor who does debt recovery whether it can still be enforced.
Cost: FreeTime: 10 minutes
Step 5: Dissolved already? Find out what it held
Read its last accounts on the Companies House register for cash and property. Its assets passed to the Crown4, bank balance included.
Then ask the Bona Vacantia Division, the Crown's office for such property, whether it holds the cash10. If the registered office was in Lancashire or Cornwall, ask the Duchy's solicitors4.
Cost: FreeTime: An hour, then a reply
Step 6: Ask the court to restore it
The Companies Act 2006 lets a creditor apply5 within 6 years of dissolution6, with claim form N208 and a witness statement. You normally pay the Registrar's costs, which the guide puts at usually around £3008, plus the court fee.
If the directors applied to strike it off and did not send you the copy creditors must get within 7 days4, that is a ground to restore it7. The court may also restore a company on any ground it thinks just.
Cost: Court fee and about £300Time: Varies by court
Step 7: Then collect from the restored company
Restoring the company does not pay you. It lets you take recovery action against it9, such as a court claim.
If the Crown holds its cash, a creditor can apply for it to be repaid10 to the company, free of charge.
Cost: Free to applyTime: Up to 20 working days

A letter you can copy

Objection to a strike-off, with proof of the debt

Use it once the Gazette notice is on the company's record and before the strike-off date. Save it as a PDF and upload it with your invoice.

New email

SubjectObjection to striking off: , company number

To the Registrar of Companies, I object to , company number , being struck off the register. owes my business for . Invoice , dated , was due on and has not been paid. A copy of the invoice and a statement of account dated are attached. The Gazette notice of gives as the date for striking the company off. I ask that it is not struck off while this debt is unpaid. Please confirm the date until which the company will stay on the register. If the debt is paid, I will tell you at once so that I can withdraw this objection. If you believe any of this is wrong, please tell me before and say why. Yours faithfully,

Tap a highlighted gap to see what goes in it.

Upload it with your invoice in the Companies House objection service. You need a Companies House account and the company's number. Each document must be less than 6 months old and show the company's full name. If your invoice is older, add a statement of account dated this week. GOV.UK does not say whether that is enough. Companies House tells you if the objection is accepted. Keep that message and diary the end date it gives. If it gives none, ask.

When not to bother

When it isn't worth it

The company held nothing. Restoring it means paying the Registrar's costs8 and a court fee, and a company with no money cannot repay either. Check its accounts and ask the Bona Vacantia Division before you pay anything.
The debt is a few hundred pounds. The Registrar's costs alone are usually around £3008, so restoring cannot come out ahead. Check for a director's promise to pay, then move on.
It was dissolved more than 6 years ago. A court application has to be made within 6 years6 of dissolution, so that road is shut. A director's promise to pay is still worth checking.
You want the director investigated. The Insolvency Service protects the public, not creditors9 and usually declines unpaid debt alone. Report broken strike-off rules to Companies House.
It was registered in Scotland or Northern Ireland. This page covers England and Wales. The Crown's office for a dissolved company's property is different there4.

The Wolf's note

The early move is the cheap one: the date is printed on the Gazette notice and an objection costs nothing. After dissolution, you are paying to open a door, so look in the room first. What the company held is the most it can pay you.

Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX

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