Closed or struck off at the BCE: what it means

You open the record of a client, supplier or prospect in the BCE and read "closed", sometimes with a mention of striking off. What happened? Has the business disappeared, gone bankrupt, merged? The word alone does not say. Here is how to read this status, what it may cover, and what to do next.

Active or closed: what the status says

Every business registered with the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises (BCE) has a status: it is active or closed (stopped). A closed business no longer carries on an activity in the sense of the register. Its record can still be consulted, with its number, its name and the history of its data, but it no longer appears among active businesses.

The status answers a single question: is the business still active? It does not say why it is not. For that, you need to read another field.

The legal situation explains why

The BCE record contains a legal situation, which describes the state of the business: normal situation, dissolution, liquidation, bankruptcy, merger, ex officio striking off, and others. This is what gives the reason for the closure. The most common cases:

A self-employed person stopping

A natural person who ends their activity asks for their enterprise number to be closed. This is the simplest case: the activity stops, the person goes on existing.

Dissolution and liquidation of a company

A company can be dissolved voluntarily by its shareholders, then liquidated. During liquidation, it keeps its legal personality for the needs of the liquidation: its documents then carry the words "in liquidation". Once the liquidation is closed, it disappears.

Closed bankruptcy

A bankruptcy does not make the business "closed" right away: the procedure takes time. It is usually when the bankruptcy is closed that the company ceases to exist. To find out whether a partner is in an ongoing bankruptcy, read our article on that subject and the bankruptcy list.

Merger or absorption

A company absorbed by another disappears as an entity, but its activity continues under the number of the absorbing company. A client "closed" for this reason is not necessarily a lost client: you need to find the company that took it over.

Ex officio striking off

In certain cases provided for by law, the BCE can strike a business off ex officio, for example when a legal entity has stopped filing its annual accounts for several financial years. An ex officio striking off can be withdrawn if the business regularises its situation. It is a signal to take seriously: a company that no longer meets its basic obligations deserves a close look.

The list of closed companies

To follow these movements across the country, Company Belgium publishes the list of closed companies, with a page per region and per period. Two points are worth knowing to read it correctly:

• The date is the BCE publication date, not the date of the decision. The BCE open data does not date these changes: the only reliable date is that of the file bringing them.
• The reason is not guessed. The BCE open data only publishes active businesses: when a business leaves it, the reason is not given. The list does not make it up; to know it, open the business's record.

As with bankruptcies, self-employed people are counted without being named: they are natural persons.

Your partner is closed: what now?

The right reaction depends on the reason and on your relationship with the business:

• It is a client with open invoices: check whether it is in liquidation or bankrupt. In the first case, contact the liquidator; in the second, file your claim in the bankruptcy file.
• It is a supplier: secure the continuity of your supplies and check who takes over the guarantees and ongoing contracts, especially in a merger.
• It is a prospect: remove it from your lists, or find the company that took over its activity.
• You are about to sign: do not sign with a closed business without understanding why, and ask your accountant or lawyer for advice if in doubt.

Check before working together

The simplest is still to check the status when it matters: before a quote, an order or a contract. A company search on Company Belgium gives access to the official record, and a credit report completes the picture with the filed accounts.

For an overview of the register, also compare closures with new companies: both lists rely on the same BCE data.

In short

"Closed" only says that a business is no longer active at the BCE. The reason is in its legal situation: a self-employed person stopping, liquidation, closed bankruptcy, merger or ex officio striking off. The list of closed companies shows you these movements, dated from their publication by the BCE; each business's record gives you the reason.

Frequently asked questions

What does "closed" mean at the BCE?

That the business is no longer active in the register. The status does not give the reason: the legal situation on the record (dissolution, liquidation, closed bankruptcy, merger, ex officio striking off...) explains it.

Can a company struck off ex officio become active again?

Yes, in some cases. An ex officio striking off can be withdrawn when the company regularises its situation with the BCE. So check the up-to-date record before drawing conclusions.

Where can I see recently closed companies?

Company Belgium publishes the list of closed companies from the BCE open data, dated from the day the BCE published the change, with a page per region and per period.