What Is a Gazette Notice? First and Second Gazette Notices Explained

A gazette notice is an official legal notice published in The Gazette - the UK's official journal of record. If you have ever asked yourself "what is a gazette notice and what does it mean for a company?", the short answer is this: a notice in The Gazette carries legal force. For companies, gazette notices are most commonly associated with insolvency and with the strike-off process, where they mark key formal stages that can culminate in a company being dissolved. Understanding the gazette notice meaning - and the important distinction between a first and second notice - is essential for any director, creditor, or third party with an interest in a UK company.

What Is The Gazette?

The Gazette is the UK's official journal of record, published by The Stationery Office on behalf of the UK Government. It has three regional editions:

• The London Gazette - for companies registered in England and Wales.
• The Edinburgh Gazette - for companies registered in Scotland.
• The Belfast Gazette - for companies registered in Northern Ireland.

All three editions are available to search free of charge at the-gazette.co.uk. Publication in The Gazette gives legal notice to the world at large - you cannot claim ignorance of something properly published there. This is why government and statutory bodies use it to communicate actions that have legal consequences, from changes in the law to insolvency and dissolution proceedings.

Types of Notice in The Gazette

The Gazette covers a wide range of legal notices. The main categories relevant to businesses and creditors are:

• Corporate insolvency notices - winding-up orders, appointment of liquidators and administrators, proposals for company voluntary arrangements (CVAs), and related court orders.
• Personal insolvency notices - bankruptcy orders, individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) proposals, and discharge from bankruptcy.
• Company strike-off and dissolution notices - the registrar's intention to remove a company from the Companies House register (first notice) and confirmation that the company has been struck off (second or final notice). These are published under the Companies Act 2006 and are the focus of this article.

For most directors and creditors monitoring a trading company, it is the strike-off and dissolution notices that matter most.

First vs Second Gazette Notice

Within the strike-off process there are two distinct types of gazette notice, and confusing them is a common mistake. The table below explains the difference:

Notice	What it means	What happens next
First Gazette notice	The registrar at Companies House is giving public notice of its intention to strike off the company. The company has not yet been dissolved.	An objection window opens. The registrar must wait at least 2 months before proceeding. Directors, creditors, and other interested parties can act to stop the dissolution during this period.
Second Gazette notice	The registrar has confirmed that the company has been struck off the register and dissolved. The company no longer exists as a legal entity.	The dissolution is complete. Recovery of assets or restoration of the company requires further formal steps - administrative restoration or a court order.

In short: the first notice is a warning with a live objection window; the second gazette notice is confirmation that it is done. The gap between the two must be at least 2 months, giving interested parties time to act. For the full step-by-step timeline - including what triggers each stage and exactly how to object - see our detailed guide to the first gazette notice for compulsory strike-off.

How to Search The Gazette for a Company

There are two main ways to find gazette notices relating to a specific company:

• The Gazette website (the-gazette.co.uk). You can search by company name or company number. The site lets you filter by notice type and date, so you can quickly find any strike-off or dissolution notices relating to a company.
• The Companies House public register. Strike-off and dissolution notices published in The Gazette also appear on the Companies House register against the relevant company record. Searching by company name or number on the Companies House website will show the current status and any relevant gazette entries.

Both sources are free. Searching both is worth doing, as the Companies House register will also show the company's current filing status - useful context when assessing whether a first notice is likely to be followed by dissolution.

What to Do If Your Company Is Listed in The Gazette

If you discover that your company - or a company you have an interest in - has been listed in The Gazette as subject to compulsory strike-off, time is the critical factor. The objection window following a first gazette notice is at least 2 months, but it closes fast and there is no automatic extension.

The key actions are:

• Act immediately. Identify why the notice was issued. The most common causes are an overdue confirmation statement or overdue annual accounts. Filing the missing documents is often enough to cause Companies House to suspend the strike-off.
• Bring filings up to date. Log in to Companies House WebFiling, file any outstanding confirmation statements and accounts, and pay any applicable late-filing penalties. Keep records of the filings as evidence.
• Object formally if needed. Any person with a legitimate interest - a director, creditor, shareholder, or counterparty to a live contract - can write to the registrar objecting to the strike-off. State the grounds clearly and include evidence (for example, proof that the company is actively trading, or details of an outstanding creditor claim).
• Consider your options if the company is already dissolved. If you have missed the first notice and a second gazette notice has been published, the company is already struck off. Restoration is still possible - but it requires either an administrative restoration application (within six years, for former directors or members) or a court order.

For a full explanation of how to stop a compulsory strike-off and how to restore a company after dissolution, see our guides to the first gazette notice for compulsory strike-off and what compulsory strike-off means. If a company has already been dissolved, our article on what happens when a company is dissolved covers bona vacantia, asset recovery, and restoration routes in detail.

Monitor a Company's Status

The best time to catch a gazette notice is before the dissolution clock starts running. Use our free company search tool to check a company's current status and filing history instantly - no account required. You can also monitor a company's status and filing changes over time, so you are alerted as soon as something new appears on the Companies House register.