How to use Companies House search
Companies House is the UK’s free official register of companies. Here’s how to search it, how to read a company record, and — just as important — what it doesn’t tell you.
What Companies House is
Companies House is the UK government body that registers companies and publishes their information. Every UK limited company and LLP is legally required to file certain details there, and the whole register is free to search on GOV.UK. It is the authoritative source for who a company is, who runs it, who owns it, and what it has filed.
The official search is at find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. It is genuinely free — you do not need an account to look a company up.
How to search it
- Search by name or number. Type the company name, or its 8-character company registration number, into the search box. The number is the reliable option, because names can be similar or change.
- Open the record. You’ll see the company’s status (active, dissolved, in liquidation), registered office, incorporation date and type.
- Check the people. The officers tab lists current and former directors; the PSC tab shows the people with significant control — the real owners.
- Read the filings. The filing history lists everything the company has submitted, including its accounts, which you can download.
How to read a company record
A few things on the record are worth knowing how to interpret:
- Status. “Active” is normal. “Dissolved”, “liquidation” or “proposal to strike off” mean you should stop and ask questions.
- Accounts & confirmation statement dates. If either is overdue, that is a red flag — a company keeping up with its filings is a basic sign of good order.
- Previous names. Several recent name changes can be innocent, or can be a way to shed a reputation. Worth noting.
- Registered office. An address shared with hundreds of other companies is usually a formation agent, not real premises.
What Companies House doesn’t tell you
The register is a filing system, not an analysis. It gives you the documents, but leaves the interpretation to you. It will not tell you:
- Whether the company is financially healthy — you have to read and understand the accounts yourself.
- Whether a director has a history of failed or dissolved companies elsewhere.
- Whether the company or its people appear on sanctions, disqualification or insolvency registers.
- What any of it means for your decision to trade, lend or sign.
Companies House alternatives
For simply viewing a company’s filings, the official Companies House service is free and hard to beat — use it. Where people look for an alternative is when they want the data interpreted rather than raw: financial health read for them, risk flagged, related companies joined up, or a shareable report for a file. That is the job of tools like Verivello. There is no reason to pay to read the register itself.
Frequently asked questions
Is Companies House free to use?
Yes. Searching the Companies House register and viewing company records — status, registered office, directors, filing history and filed accounts — is completely free on the official GOV.UK service. Some historical documents are also free to download. You only pay if you order certified copies. Verivello is also free to search; it reads the same official data and explains it in plain English.
What is the Companies House website?
Companies House is the UK’s official registrar of companies, and its register is published for free at find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk (part of GOV.UK). Every UK limited company and LLP must file information there — directors, ownership, accounts and changes — and anyone can look it up.
How do I search Companies House for a company?
Go to the Companies House service on GOV.UK and type the company’s name or 8-character company number into the search box. Open the matching record to see its status, registered office, officers and filing history. If you are not sure of the exact name, searching the company number is the most reliable way, because names can be similar or change over time.
What does Companies House not tell you?
The register is a filing system, not an analysis. It shows the raw documents but will not tell you whether a company is financially healthy, whether a director has a trail of failed companies, whether the business is sanctioned, or what the accounts actually mean. It also does not join up related information — you have to read each filing and interpret it yourself. That interpretation layer is exactly what Verivello adds.
What is the difference between Companies House and Verivello?
Companies House is the free official source of the raw filings. Verivello reads that same official data and turns it into a plain-English answer — flagging risk signals, summarising the accounts, connecting a director to their other companies, and screening against sanctions and other registers. Think of Companies House as the record, and Verivello as the read on it.
Can I trust the information on Companies House?
The information is filed by the companies themselves and is the official public record, so it is authoritative — but it is not independently audited for accuracy, and it can be out of date between filings. Treat it as the primary source, and cross-check anything that looks unusual (for example, overdue accounts or a very recent change of name) before relying on it.