Dormant CIC: the accounts and CIC34 you still file every year

In short: A dormant community interest company (CIC) must still send Companies House its accounts and a CIC34 report every year, with the £15 fee, by the normal accounts deadline (GOV.UK: Preparing and filing Companies House accounts, CICs). The CIC34 says what the company did to prepare to trade, or that it was dormant all year. Online, dormant CIC accounts must go as a ZIP package. HMRC is separate: a dormant company files a Company Tax Return only when HMRC sends a notice to deliver one. Taxley's dormant return (£9.50) and CIC pack (£49) prepare both; you upload the package and pay the £15 yourself.

Take the 30-second check to see whether Taxley fits your company, or work out your accounts deadline with the Corporation Tax deadline calculator.

Key facts (checked on 13 October 2026)

Does a dormant CIC have to file accounts and a CIC34?

Yes. Every CIC, including a dormant one, must file a community interest company report on form CIC34 together with its accounts each year. Companies House says the CIC report must be filed whatever the CIC's size and whatever filing exemptions it uses, and that it costs £15 (GOV.UK: CICs). Being dormant changes what you write, not whether you file.

The duty is in the law. Regulation 29A of the CIC Regulations requires the directors to deliver a CIC report for each financial year, small companies included, and applies the Companies Act filing deadlines and late filing penalties to it as if it were a directors' report (CIC (Amendment) Regulations 2012, regulation 2). Companies House says all limited companies must deliver accounts whether they trade or not (GOV.UK: Dormant company accounts), and the CIC Regulator says every CIC, dormant ones included, files a CIC report with its accounts (CIC Regulator: Dormant CICs).

When is a CIC dormant for Companies House?

A CIC is dormant for Companies House if it had no significant accounting transactions in the financial year, meaning nothing it should enter in its accounting records. Companies House ignores a few payments: money for shares taken by the first subscribers, fees for a change of name, a re-registration or a confirmation statement, and a late filing penalty (GOV.UK: Dormant company accounts).

Anything else the company records counts. A grant, a donation, bank interest or a bank charge is a transaction, so a CIC that had any of them in the year files ordinary micro-entity or small accounts with its CIC34, not dormant accounts. Being dormant for HMRC is a different test, covered further down. Our guide to the dormant company tax return compares the two tests side by side.

What do dormant CIC accounts contain?

Dormant accounts for Companies House are short. They hold a balance sheet, last year's figures for comparison and certain notes, with statements above a director's signature and printed name that the company was dormant throughout the period and is exempt from audit under section 480 of the Companies Act 2006. No profit and loss account or directors' report is needed (GOV.UK: Contents of dormant accounts).

The audit exemption applies if the company has been dormant since it was formed. It also applies if it has been dormant since the end of the previous financial year and qualifies as small, among the other conditions Companies House lists. The CIC Regulator says the accounting requirements for a CIC are the same as for ordinary limited companies (CIC Regulator: Annual CIC report and accounts), so these rules apply to a CIC too. Companies House notes that filing a dormant balance sheet doesn't change the company's duty to prepare full accounts for its members.

What do you write on a dormant CIC's CIC34?

Write what the company did to prepare for trading. The CIC Regulator is content for a CIC to be dormant while it prepares to trade, and asks the report to say what it has been doing. If there was no activity at all, state under each part of the form that the company was dormant throughout the financial year (CIC Regulator: Dormant CICs).

The Regulator also finds it helpful when the report says why the company hasn't started trading and when it expects to. Most CICs use the simplified CIC34, which has the parts below (GOV.UK: Form CIC34).

Illustrative wording for a CIC with no activity at all, under each part: "The company was dormant throughout the financial year." Under part 1 you might add a plain sentence such as "The directors expect to start running the community garden in May 2027, once the lease is signed." Use your own facts; the Regulator publishes completed examples on the CIC34 form page.

A dormant CIC normally uses the simplified form. One exception: the Regulator's detailed CIC34 asks a CIC limited by shares for dividend information if it declared a dividend for any of the 4 years before the current one, even if this year was dormant (GOV.UK: Form CIC34).

How do you file a dormant CIC's accounts and CIC34?

Online, put the dormant accounts and the CIC34 as iXBRL files in one ZIP package, upload it on Companies House's CIC service and pay £15 by card. On paper, post the accounts, the CIC34 and a £15 cheque together. Companies House says dormant CIC accounts filed online must go as a package, and its WebFiling service can't take CIC accounts (GOV.UK: CICs).

Step 1: Check the CIC was dormant for the whole year

Go through the bank statements and records for the full financial year. Any grant, donation, sale, interest or bank charge means the company wasn't dormant for Companies House, so it needs micro-entity or small accounts instead of dormant ones. Write down what the directors did to prepare for trading, because the CIC34 reports it even when the accounts are dormant.

Step 2: Prepare the dormant accounts and have the directors approve them

Prepare a dormant balance sheet with last year's figures, the notes, and the statements that the company was dormant throughout the period and claims the section 480 audit exemption. The directors approve the accounts and a director signs the balance sheet. The accounts and the CIC34 must cover the same period and show the same company name and number.

Step 3: Write the CIC34 and have a director sign it

Use the simplified CIC34 unless the detailed one applies. Under each part, describe the preparations for trading, or state that the company was dormant throughout the financial year. Write the year-end date in full, such as "31st March 2026", so it matches the accounts. A director signs and dates the report; a handwritten signature is no longer required.

Step 4: Upload the package online, or post both documents with a cheque

Online, have software build one ZIP holding a folder named CIC- plus the company number, with an accounts folder and a cic34 folder containing one iXBRL file each. Upload it on Companies House's File your annual CIC report and accounts service, signed in with the authentication code, and pay £15 by card. On paper, send the accounts, the CIC34 and a £15 cheque payable to Companies House together in one package.

Step 5: Check Companies House has accepted both documents

Search for the company on the Companies House register and check its filing history shows the new accounts for the right period; the CIC34 goes on the public record with them. If Companies House rejects the filing, correct it using the reason it gives and file again before the deadline, because late filing penalties apply to dormant accounts too.

When are a dormant CIC's accounts and CIC34 due?

On the same day as any private company's accounts: normally 9 months after the end of the accounting reference period. First accounts covering more than 12 months are due 21 months after incorporation, or 3 months after the accounting reference date if that is later. Companies House allows the same time and charges the same penalties for dormant accounts (GOV.UK: Dormant accounts deadlines).

Worked example: a dormant CIC filing its second or later accounts, with the normal 9-month deadline.

A private company's late filing penalty is £150 if the accounts arrive up to a month late, rising to £375, £750 and then £1,500 when they are more than 6 months late (GOV.UK: Penalties for late accounts). Companies House needs the CIC34 with the accounts, so send them together. Our guide to Companies House late filing penalties covers appeals.

Does a dormant CIC need to file a Company Tax Return?

Only if HMRC sends a notice to deliver one. A company is usually dormant for Corporation Tax if it hasn't started trading, or has stopped trading and has no other income. Once you have told HMRC the company is dormant, it doesn't file another return unless HMRC sends a further notice (GOV.UK: Dormant companies and associations).

If a notice already covers the period, file a return showing the company was dormant. A nil return is still a return, and the first late filing penalty applies even when no tax is due: £200 for a return whose filing date is on or after 1 April 2026, and £100 for an earlier filing date (GOV.UK: Company Tax Return penalties; GOV.UK: Increases to late filing penalties). Tell HMRC about dormancy with its dormant company service.

HMRC's test isn't the Companies House test. Earning interest or receiving any other income makes a company active for Corporation Tax, and a company that becomes active must tell HMRC within 3 months of the start of its accounting period (GOV.UK: Corporation Tax trading and non-trading). Our dormant company tax return guide covers the HMRC side in detail.

How long can a CIC stay dormant?

The CIC Regulator sets no fixed limit, but it wants a CIC to start trading as soon as it can. Its filing guidance says CICs, unlike ordinary companies, aren't expected to stay dormant for an extended period of 5 years, and that a CIC which does will fail the community interest test and hear from the Regulator (CIC Regulator: Filing by post, dormant CICs).

Each year's CIC34 is the place to show progress. Saying what the directors did, why trading hasn't started and when it should, gives the Regulator that picture (CIC Regulator: Dormant CICs).

What changes for dormant CICs from 1 April 2028?

Paper filing closes. Companies House says that from 1 April 2028 CICs must deliver their accounts and CIC report as a package through its online File package accounts service. Its paper route, which today also takes dormant accounts, ends then, so a dormant CIC that posts its filing now will need software for the package from that date (GOV.UK: CICs).

The dormant balance sheet changes too. From the same date, a company claiming an audit exemption, the dormant companies exemption included, must give an enhanced statement from the directors on the balance sheet that names the exemption and confirms the company qualifies (GOV.UK: Audit exemption as a dormant company). Our guide to Companies House software-only filing from 2028 covers the wider changes for every company.

Can Taxley prepare a dormant CIC's tax return and CIC34?

Yes, and you do the final upload. Taxley's dormant return files a nil Company Tax Return (CT600) with HMRC for £9.50 and prepares dormant accounts. Its CIC pack, £49, then writes the CIC34 and builds the ready-to-upload ZIP around those accounts. You upload the package on Companies House's CIC service and pay the £15 there.

Taxley (taxley.co.uk) is UK online software that prepares and files the CT600 with HMRC and, for most companies, the annual accounts with Companies House. For a CIC it doesn't send the accounts to Companies House itself, because only a person can file a CIC's accounts and CIC34 there, not filing software: by uploading a package online (the only online route for dormant accounts), or on paper before 1 April 2028.

1. Start a return and choose Dormant. Keep the micro-entity accounts in the return rather than the CT600-only option, because the CIC pack is built from those accounts.
2. Check the balance sheet, confirm the declaration and pay. Taxley files the nil CT600 with HMRC.
3. Open the CIC pack on the filing page and answer its questions, writing your preparations or the dormant statement under each part.
4. Check the CIC34 preview, then pay £49 once the accounts are final.
5. Download the ZIP and a printable CIC34 (PDF), then upload the ZIP on Companies House's "File your annual CIC report and accounts" service and pay £15.

The CIC pack is an add-on to a paid Taxley return with accounts, so it suits a dormant CIC that also has a return to file for the period. If HMRC hasn't asked for a return, you don't need one, and for accounts delivered before 1 April 2028 you can post the dormant accounts and CIC34 instead. The pack prepares the simplified CIC34 only and tells you before you pay if the detailed one is needed. Your CIC34 answers are your own statement as a director, and Taxley is software, not legal or tax advice. Take the 30-second check to see whether Taxley fits your company, or see what the dormant return includes.

Frequently asked questions

Does a dormant CIC still pay the £15 Companies House fee?

Yes. Companies House charges £15 to file the CIC report whatever the CIC's size and whatever filing exemptions it uses, and its paper route covers dormant accounts too. Pay by card when you file online, or by cheque payable to Companies House when you file on paper.

Does a dormant CIC still file a confirmation statement?

Yes. Like every other limited company, a CIC confirms the information Companies House holds about it at least once a year. GOV.UK says a dormant company must still file annual accounts and a confirmation statement, whether it is dormant for Corporation Tax or for Companies House.

What if the CIC received a grant but hasn't started its activities yet?

Then it wasn't dormant for Companies House, because receiving the grant is a transaction the company records. File micro-entity or small accounts with the CIC34 and describe the preparations for trading in the report. Whether HMRC needs a return depends on its own tests and on any notice it sends.

Is a CIC that is dormant for HMRC also dormant for Companies House?

Not necessarily. HMRC looks at whether the company is trading or has other income, such as interest. Companies House looks at whether any significant accounting transaction happened, and an ordinary bank charge counts as one. Check both tests separately for the same year.

Does a dormant CIC's CIC34 go on the public register?

Yes. The CIC Regulator says the CIC report is placed on the public register and can be downloaded by anyone. Any contact details you add to the form also become public, so leave out anything you don't want published, such as a personal phone number.

General information, not personalised legal, tax or accounting advice.

Sources (checked on 13 October 2026):

• Companies House: Preparing and filing Companies House accounts, section 13 (dormant company accounts)
• Companies House: Preparing and filing Companies House accounts, section 18 (CICs)
• Companies House: Deadlines and penalties for filing accounts
• Companies House: File your annual CIC report and accounts
• CIC Regulator: Community interest companies guidance, annual CIC report and accounts
• CIC Regulator: CIC business activities, forms and step-by-step guidelines
• CIC Regulator: Form CIC34, community interest company report
• The Community Interest Company (Amendment) Regulations 2012, regulation 2 (regulation 29A)
• The Community Interest Company Regulations 2005, Part 7
• GOV.UK: Dormant companies and associations
• GOV.UK: Corporation Tax, trading and non-trading
• GOV.UK: Company Tax Returns, penalties for late filing
• GOV.UK: Increases to Corporation Tax late filing penalties