As the Registrar of companies, Companies House holds information on all companies registered in the UK. With the register being held online, there are several ways to utilise its search functions to discover information. People may choose to access this information for a range of reasons including market or competitor research, financial information for investment purposes and due diligence on a new client or company officer.
Main search
The main function to search the register can be conducting using a company name or number, or officer name. Search results will display the company name, number, date of incorporation (or dissolution), registered office address and if a corporate appointment, the number of appointments held.
The company search results will present different individual or company profiles which contain more detailed information on specific entities including filing history, filing dates, appointments and resignations, company status and type, registered office address, activity and PSC and any registers held on the public register.
Advanced search
You may have conducted a search with the main search function but have limited information or too many results. To filter out irrelevant results, you can opt to do an advanced company search providing more information on one or more fields:
- Company name: Include or exclude specific words
- Registered office address: Search with a full or partial address
- Incorporation date: You can limit your search to a specific range
- Company status: E.g., active, dissolved, liquidation, administration, insolvency
- Nature of business: Restrict your search to companies with a specific SIC code
- Company type: E.g., private limited company, limited by guarantee, CIC, LLP, overseas company, overseas entity
- Company subtype: Community interest company, private fund limited partnership
- Dissolved date: Limit to a specified range, going as far back as 1st January 2010
Company name availability
Looking to register a new company? Avoid any unnecessary incorporation delays by checking whether the proposed name is already taken (or a very similar version e.g. using ‘2’ instead of ‘to’). If there are existing companies with the name, you will be told the company name, registered company number, date of incorporation and the type of company.
Alphabetical company search
Look up a company with results automatically in alphabetical order to find its company number and status. Each company will be linked so that you can view the company’s profile and history.
Dissolved company
Using this search function, you can look up any company dissolved between 1st January 1989 and 31 December 2009 using the company name and number. This search allows you to filter results alphabetically and whether the name was current as of the date of dissolution, or a previous company name.
Companies dissolved from 1st January 2010 can be found using the main search function. Further information on a dissolved company may be available by contacting the Companies House contact centre.
Disqualified directors
Looking for a disqualified director or want to confirm that a proposed director has not been disqualified?
You can review a full list of individuals filtered alphabetically that have been disqualified along with the following information:
- Director’s name
- Director’s full date of birth (including the day)
- Nationality
- Address provided by the disqualifying authority
- Start and end dates
- Case or sanction list reference
- The company name the individual was acting for at the time of disqualification (if applicable)
- Reason for disqualification
