What a Shelf Company Can't Give You
A shelf company gives you an earlier incorporation date and a company that's ready to use. It doesn't give you a trading history, customers, a credit rating, trading accounts or tax history, because it hasn't traded. Its filed accounts will show that it was dormant.
What you get
- A company with its original incorporation date and number.
- A clean filing history: annual returns filed, with dormant accounts.
- Statutory registers, share certificates and its constitution.
What you don't get
- Trading history: no customers, contracts or turnover.
- Credit record: credit agencies look at trading and payment history, not the incorporation date.
- Tax track record: no history with Revenue beyond its basic registration, if any.
Name, number, incorporation date and filing history, confirmed in writing before you pay.
Using the incorporation date honestly
It's fine to say the company was incorporated in a given year. Don't suggest it has been trading, or has experience or results it doesn't have: that can mislead customers and lenders, and may breach consumer or contract law. Anyone checking the CRO register can see the dormant accounts.
Sources
Last checked 14 November 2026 against the Companies Act 2014, CRO and RBO guidance. This is general information, not legal or tax advice for your company.