Check company status
Company status is the single most useful field on the register. It tells you whether a company still legally exists and, if it does not, what happened to it.
Free to search. Company Search UK is an independent service and is not Companies House or part of the UK Government.
The main status values
- Active: the company is registered and has not been dissolved
- Dissolved: the company no longer exists as a legal entity
- Liquidation: a formal winding-up process is under way
- In administration: an administrator has been appointed
- Receivership: a receiver has been appointed over assets
- Proposal to strike off: an application or notice to remove the company from the register has been made
- Voluntary arrangement: a formal arrangement with creditors is in place
Why status matters before you trade
A dissolved company cannot enter into contracts, hold assets or be invoiced. If a business is presenting itself under a dissolved company's name and number, that is a genuine problem worth raising before money changes hands.
Active status, on the other hand, only means the company exists. It is not a statement that the company is solvent, funded or reliable, and it is not a credit check.
Free website search compared with the paid PDF report
Searching this site and viewing a company summary is free. The optional PDF report is paid, and what you are paying for is convenience: retrieval, formatting, a dated snapshot and a document you can download and keep. The underlying information is public and is also available directly from Companies House at no charge.
Free on this website
No charge
- Company name, number and status
- Incorporation date, company type and jurisdiction
- Registered office address
- Previous company names
- Nature of business and SIC codes
UK Company Information Report
£14.99 one-off, per report
- Everything in the free summary
- Officers, and persons with significant control
- Filing position, accounts dates and filing history summary
- Registered charges and insolvency information
- A dated, formatted A4 PDF to download, print, email and keep
Frequently asked questions
Related pages
- UK Company SearchFree UK company search by name or company number. View company status, registered office, incorporation date, company type and SIC codes from the Companies House public register.
- Check Filing HistoryHow to read a UK company's filing history, what the common filing types mean, and what a company's filing pattern does and does not tell you.
- Check Company AccountsHow UK company accounts appear on the public register, what micro-entity, small, dormant and full accounts mean, and how to check accounts filing dates.
- UK Company Information ReportSee exactly what the UK Company Information Report contains, how it compares with the free company summary, and when a dated downloadable PDF of register information is worth ordering.
- Is a Company Active?Check whether a UK company is still active on the Companies House register. Understand active, dormant, dissolved, liquidation and strike-off statuses and what each one means for you.
- Is a Company Registered?Check whether a company is registered in the UK. Confirm it exists on the Companies House register, see its number, status and registered office, and learn what to do if it is missing.
Check a UK company now
Searching and viewing the company summary is free. Add the optional UK Company Information Report for £14.99 only if you want a dated PDF you can download, print, email and keep.
Independent of Companies House
Company Search UK is an independent service. It is not Companies House, it is not part of the UK Government, and it is not affiliated with or endorsed by either. Information comes from the Companies House public register and is presented as recorded at the date and time of retrieval. Nothing on this site is a credit report, credit score, identity or anti-money-laundering check, certified document, professional due diligence, or legal, financial or accounting advice.