Companies Act 2014 section 738

Restoration on application to court

Section 738 sets out the rules governing how a company that has been struck off the register can be restored through a court application, including who may apply, the time limits, and the conditions the court must be satisfied of.

• A company struck off the register may be restored by court order if the applicant has been disadvantaged by the strike-off, the application is made within 20 years of dissolution, and the court considers it just and equitable.
• Applications may be brought by the company itself, a creditor, a member or officer at the date of dissolution, or a person entitled to be registered as a member through a share transfer or transmission by operation of law.
• The word "disadvantaged" is used rather than the older term "aggrieved," which provides greater certainty where the person applying may themselves have been responsible for the dissolution in the first place.
• Once the Registrar receives a certified copy of the court order within 28 days of its perfection, the company is treated as having continued in existence as though it had never been struck off.