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 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 - Every UK limited company (Ltd, PLC, LLP) - Community Interest Companies, Charitable Incorporated Organisations - Non-UK companies with UK establishments (Overseas Companies Register) - Historical records for dissolved companies (kept 20 years)
## The Basic Search [find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk) — the official free portal. Search returns: - Overview (address, incorporation date, status, SIC codes) - Filing history (accounts, confirmation statements, appointments) - People (directors, secretaries, PSCs) - Charges (mortgages and secured lending) - Insolvency (if applicable)
## Reading the Filing History The filing history is the most valuable tab for due diligence. Look for: - **Confirmation statement (CS01)** — filed yearly, confirms directors + shareholders + PSCs - **Annual accounts (AA)** — required within 9 months of year-end - **Appointment/termination of director (AP01/TM01)** — governance changes - **Statement of capital (SH01)** — share issuances - **Charge (MR01/MG01)** — secured debt registered against the company
## 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: - OFSI's UK sanctions list - OFAC's SDN list - The EU Consolidated Sanctions List
## The Free API [developer.company-information.service.gov.uk](https://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](/tools/company-lookup) wraps this API alongside DUNS, EDGAR, KVK, KBO, and 40+ other registries — one query returns unified results.
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.
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'.
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.
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.
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.