Form AA02: the dormant accounts paper form, and when not to use it
AA02 covers one narrow case — never-traded companies limited by shares. What the form contains, who cannot use it, and why paper is the slow lane.
By PromptFiling · Published · Reviewed
What AA02 is
AA02 is the Companies House paper template for dormant company accounts, and it covers one case only: a company limited by shares that has NEVER traded since incorporation, whose only accounting transaction is the subscriber shares taken on formation, and which is not a subsidiary. Inside that boundary it is free to file and deliberately simple — a two-page form, not a set of accounts you have to design.
What the form actually contains
A balance sheet with a single asset line — 'called up share capital not paid' if the subscriber has not yet paid for their share, or cash at bank if they have — matched by the same figure under capital and reserves. Then the statutory statements: the company was entitled to audit exemption under section 480 of the Companies Act 2006, members have not required an audit under section 476, the directors acknowledge their responsibilities for accounting records and accounts, and the accounts are prepared under the small companies regime. A director signs and dates it. That is the whole document.
Who cannot use it
A company that traded at any point in its history, even years ago, cannot file AA02 — it files dormant accounts through the online or software route instead, assuming it is dormant now. Nor can a company limited by guarantee, a subsidiary, or any company with a transaction beyond the subscriber shares in its records. The form's narrowness is the point: it exists for the company that was formed and then did precisely nothing.
Paper is the slow lane
AA02 goes by post and joins a scanning and processing queue; online and software filings are typically acknowledged the same day. Near a deadline that difference is the whole game — lateness is measured to the day Companies House receives acceptable accounts, and a rejected paper form makes the round trip at postal speed. From 1 April 2028 the question retires: the paper and web accounts routes close, and software becomes the only way to file (see 'Companies House software-only filing from 1 April 2028').
The £1 example, worked
A never-traded company with one £1 subscriber share files a balance sheet reading: called up share capital not paid, £1; net assets, £1; capital and reserves — called up share capital, £1. Both sides balance at one pound and the statements above do the legal work. The same layout, produced by software instead of biro, is what passes the Companies House validator — ours does, verbatim, and the how-to guide shows the full worked example.
Official sources
Sources checked .
Guidance, not advice. Reviewed against gov.uk and legislation.gov.uk sources.