Companies House Search: The Complete Guide (UK, 2026)

    Free UK company search via Companies House. Look up any registered UK company, filings, directors, PSCs, and beneficial owners — with API tips.

    3 min read·Updated Jul 9, 2026

    Companies House Search: Quick Answer

    Companies House is the UK's official business registry. Free search at find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk returns full filing history, directors, People with Significant Control (PSCs), and financial accounts for any of the 5+ million UK registered companies.

    Companies House
    UK Government executive agency responsible for incorporating and dissolving limited companies.
    Company number
    8-character ID (usually 8 digits, sometimes prefixed SC/NI/OC) assigned at incorporation.
    PSC
    Person with Significant Control — anyone owning >25% or holding >25% voting rights.
    Filing history
    Every document filed since incorporation — publicly viewable and downloadable.

    Companies House is the world's most open free company registry. Every UK limited company's filings — from incorporation to dissolution — are searchable, downloadable, and API-accessible without a fee. This guide covers the search UI, PSC register, filing history, and API.

    What Companies House Covers

  1. Every UK limited company (Ltd, PLC, LLP)
  2. Community Interest Companies, Charitable Incorporated Organisations
  3. Non-UK companies with UK establishments (Overseas Companies Register)
  4. Historical records for dissolved companies (kept 20 years)

    5. The Basic Search

    find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk — the official free portal. Search returns:

  5. Overview (address, incorporation date, status, SIC codes)
  6. Filing history (accounts, confirmation statements, appointments)
  7. People (directors, secretaries, PSCs)
  8. Charges (mortgages and secured lending)
  9. Insolvency (if applicable)

    10. Reading the Filing History

    The filing history is the most valuable tab for due diligence. Look for:

  10. Confirmation statement (CS01) — filed yearly, confirms directors + shareholders + PSCs
  11. Annual accounts (AA) — required within 9 months of year-end
  12. Appointment/termination of director (AP01/TM01) — governance changes
  13. Statement of capital (SH01) — share issuances
  14. Charge (MR01/MG01) — secured debt registered against the company

    15. The PSC Register

    Introduced in 2016 under the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act. Every UK company must declare its Persons with Significant Control — those owning >25% shares, holding >25% voting rights, or having significant influence.

    For B2B due diligence, cross-check PSCs against:

  15. OFSI's UK sanctions list
  16. OFAC's SDN list
  17. The EU Consolidated Sanctions List

    18. The Free API

    developer.company-information.service.gov.uk — free with rate limits (600 requests / 5 min). Endpoints for company profile, filing history, officers, PSCs, and full-text search. Ideal for CRM enrichment or KYC automation.

    LemReveal's Company Lookup wraps this API alongside DUNS, EDGAR, KVK, KBO, and 24 other registries — one query returns unified results.

    Bulk Data

    The free monthly basic snapshot at download.companieshouse.gov.uk contains all 5+ million company records with core fields (name, number, address, status, SIC). A single CSV is around 500MB. Useful for building lookup tables or feeding a graph database.

    Common Search Pitfalls

  18. Companies can change name and previous names appear in the 'Previous names' section — don't assume the current name is the only searchable one.
  19. Dissolved doesn't mean the company never existed — dissolved records remain publicly searchable for 20 years.
  20. 'Active' status doesn't equal 'trading' — a company can be filing statutory documents while dormant.

    21. Ask this page

    Step-by-Step

    1. 1

      Open the search portal

      Go to find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk — the official free search maintained by Companies House.

    2. 2

      Search by name or number

      Enter the company name (autocomplete suggests matches) or the 8-character company number. Both work.

    3. 3

      Open the overview

      The overview shows registered address, incorporation date, company type, SIC codes, and current status (Active / Dissolved / Liquidation).

    4. 4

      Review filing history

      Click 'Filing history' to see confirmation statements, annual accounts, appointments, and charges. Download individual filings free as PDF.

    5. 5

      Check PSC + directors

      'People' tab lists current + past directors and PSCs. Cross-reference the PSC list against sanctioned-persons lists for KYC.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Is Companies House free?+

    Yes. All company data, filings, and downloads are free. Since 2015, Companies House has been fully open — no fees for viewing or downloading any document.

    What's a company number?+

    An 8-character identifier assigned at incorporation. English/Welsh companies use 8 digits (e.g. 12345678). Scottish companies prefix 'SC' (SC123456). Northern Irish use 'NI', Charitable Incorporated Organisations use 'CE'.

    Can I bulk-download Companies House data?+

    Yes. Companies House provides a free basic dataset (5+ million records) as a monthly snapshot at download.companieshouse.gov.uk. The free API (developer.company-information.service.gov.uk) supports live per-company queries.

    What does the PSC register show?+

    Anyone owning more than 25% of shares, holding more than 25% of voting rights, or having significant influence. Includes name, nationality, month/year of birth, country of residence. Introduced in 2016 for beneficial ownership transparency.

    How current is Companies House data?+

    Filings appear within 24 hours of submission. Annual accounts and confirmation statements are only current to the last filing date — an active company files a confirmation statement at least once a year.

    What is this number?

    Paste any business identifier — VAT, LEI, company number, DUNS, ABN, CNPJ, CIN, CIK — and we will tell you what it is and who issues it. Where this decoder supports the identifier's check digit, it also validates it; other results are clearly marked as format-only matches.

    Nothing leaves your browser — the check runs locally.

    Previous

    ABN Lookup: Search by ABN, ACN or Business Name

    Next

    How to Read SEC Filings: 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K and Form 4

    Was this article helpful?

    Related Articles

    D-U-N-S Number Lookup: Business Locations, Registry Checks and UEI

    Find and interpret D-U-N-S business-location identifiers, distinguish SAM.gov UEI, and cross-check the legal entity against official company records.

    How to Read SEC Filings: 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K and Form 4

    Understand SEC filing types, find key sections in 10-Ks and 10-Qs, interpret 8-K events and Form 4 trades, and use a CIK to follow a public company.

    VAT Number Check: How to Validate Any EU VAT ID Free

    Free VIES-based VAT number validation for all 27 EU member states, plus UK, Norway, Switzerland. Includes API, bulk validation, and common error fixes.