Official information about every limited company and limited liability partnership (LLP) incorporated in the UK is held at Companies House. Most of this data is published on a public register that anyone can access and search for free.
The quickest and easiest way to check the public company record is online using Companies House Service (CHS), which facilitates more than 2.2. billion free searches every year.
Find company information on Companies House Service
Introduced in 2015, Companies House Service provides free access to information and real time updates on more than 4 million limited companies registered in the UK. This includes private companies limited by shares or guarantee, limited liability partnerships (LLPs), and public limited companies (PLCs).
The details that you can view on the public company record via Companies House Service include:
Basic company data
- Company name and registration number
- Registered office address
- Status of company (e.g. active, dormant, dissolved)
- Date of company formation (incorporation) and/or dissolution
- Filing dates of last annual accounts and confirmation statement
- Due date of next annual accounts and confirmation statement
- Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes, which describe the nature of a company’s business activities
- Previous company names, and when the change(es) occurred
Details of members
- Name of each subscriber (first shareholders or guarantors who agreed to set up the company and added their names to the memorandum of association)
- Names of all current and past members (shareholders and guarantors)
- Dates on which they became and/or ceased being members
- Service (‘correspondence’) addresses
Details of company directors (aka ‘company officers’)
- Name(s) of every current and past director
- Current and past service address details of each director
- Appointment and/or termination date of each director
- DOB (month and year elements only)
- Country of residence and nationality
- Current and past appointments to other companies
- Director disqualifications
Details of company secretaries (aka ‘company officers’)
- Name(s) of every current and past company secretary
- Service address details (current and previous)
- Appointment and/or termination date of each secretary
- Current and past appointments to other companies
Details of People with Significant Control (PSCs)
- Name(s) and service address(es) of every current and past Persons with Significant Control
- Date on which each individual became and/or ceased to be a PSC of the company
- DOB (month and year elements only)
- Country of residence and nationality
- Nature of each PSC’s control in the company (i.e. percentage of shareholdings and/or voting rights)
- Current and past appointments to other companies
Company documents and filing history
- Certificate of Incorporation
- Articles of Association
- Annual accounts
- Confirmation Statements (and Annual Returns, prior to 30 June 2016)
- SAIL address (Single Alternative Inspection Location)
- Where statutory company registers are located (registered office, SAIL, or Companies House)
- Mortgage and charge data
- Company name changes
- Previous registered office and SAIL addresses
- Information about company shares
- Resolutions
- Insolvency details
- Striking off actions
- Notices and charges for late filing of statutory documents
How to use Companies House Service
You can search the public company record online on Companies House Service by:
- Visiting https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk
- Entering the company name, company registration number, or officer name in the search box
- Selecting the appropriate company or officer name from the list of search results
- Clicking on the headers in the company listing page to find the information you require:
- ‘Overview’ – shows basic company details
- ‘Filing history’ – provides details of all filed actions relating to the company, including scanned copies of documents such as accounts and confirmation statements
- ‘People’ – provides information on all past and present officers (directors and company secretaries) and PSCs of the company
- ‘More’ – option to download company information snapshot
Within each company listing, you also have the option to ‘Follow’ the company. The ‘follow’ service from Companies House is a convenient way to keep track of companies and receive instant alerts when there is any change to their activities or they update their details.
This service is free to use, but you need to first register an email address and password on Companies House Service. Once you’ve registered, you can follow a company by:
- Signing into your account
- Searching for the company you want to follow
- Selecting the company name from the list of results
- Clicking on ‘Follow this company’ in the company listing
You can also search for company information using the WebCheck service from Companies House. However, you need to register to use this service, and you have to pay £1.00 for copies of certain company documents.
