Check if a company is registered in the UK

What registration does and does not prove

Registration means an entity was incorporated and appears on the public register. It is a fact about paperwork, not a verdict on the business.

A company can be registered and dormant, registered and insolvent, or registered yesterday by someone with no track record. Registration is a starting point for confidence, not the end of the question.

• Proves: the legal entity exists and is recorded
• Proves: the registered name, number and office as filed
• Does not prove: the business is trading
• Does not prove: the business is solvent or pays on time
• Does not prove: the person contacting you represents that company

How to check, step by step

• Take the registration number from the invoice, quote or website footer if you have one
• Search by that number, because it is unique and unambiguous
• If you only have a name, search the most distinctive word of it
• Compare the registered office address with the address you were given
• Check the status is active rather than dissolved or in liquidation
• Check the incorporation date against how long the business says it has traded

What you see free when the company is found

• Registered company name
• Company registration number
• Company status, such as active or dissolved
• Incorporation date
• Company type
• Jurisdiction
• Registered office address
• Previous company names
• Nature of business and SIC codes

If the company is not there

A blank result is not automatically a red flag, but it does need explaining. Work through the likely causes before drawing conclusions.

• It is a sole trader or unregistered partnership, which never appears on the register
• You searched a trading name rather than the registered name
• The spelling or spacing differs from the filed name
• The number was mistyped, or needs leading zeros to make eight characters
• It is registered outside the UK, on a different country's register

Sensible extra checks

If a company checks out on the register but something still feels wrong, the mismatch is usually between the company and the person contacting you. Confirming a registered entity does not confirm who is emailing about it.

• Contact the company through details you found independently, not details in the message
• Compare bank details against a source you already trust before paying
• Check whether the name and number given to you point at the same record
• Be cautious where a very recent incorporation is presented as a long-established business

Keeping a record of your check

If you need to show that you checked, the optional PDF report gives you a dated document covering the wider register sections, with the retrieval time printed on every page.

• Everything in the free company summary
• Current and former officers, with appointment and resignation dates where recorded
• Persons with significant control recorded on the register
• Accounts and confirmation statement dates and filing position
• Registered charges, and whether they are outstanding or satisfied
• Insolvency information where it exists
• A filing history summary
• A dated, formatted A4 PDF you can download, print, email and keep

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.

Frequently asked questions

Related pages

• 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.
• Check Company StatusWhat UK company status values mean, including active, dissolved, liquidation, administration and proposal to strike off, and how to check the status of a company.
• Free UK Company SearchSearch any UK registered company free of charge. View company status, registration number, registered office, incorporation date and SIC codes with no account and no sign-up.
• Company Number LookupLook up a UK company by its registration number. Understand CRN formats including SC, NI and OC prefixes, and confirm which company a number belongs to free of charge.
• Company reportsThe optional downloadable PDF report and what it costs.
• Sample Company ReportSee the structure of the UK Company Information Report PDF section by section, page by page, so you know exactly what you receive before you order one.