A dormant company is one that has had no 'significant accounting transactions' during the accounting period. This means no money has moved in or out of the company's bank account, except for shares paid on incorporation and filing fees paid to Companies House.
Companies may go dormant for various reasons: holding intellectual property or a company name for future use, being an off-the-shelf company awaiting activation, or having temporarily ceased trading. A dormant company still exists as a legal entity and must continue filing at Companies House.
Dormant companies can file simplified 'dormant company accounts' which require minimal information. They are also usually exempt from audit requirements and may be exempt from Corporation Tax if they have no income.
BORSCH.AI identifies dormant companies through their SIC code (99999 — Dormant Company) and accounts filing category. There are currently over 700,000 dormant companies on the UK register.