Company details search

The details you can view free

• 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

What each field actually means

• Registered name — the legal name, which may differ from the trading name
• Registration number — the permanent unique identifier for the entity
• Status — whether the company is active, dissolved or in an insolvency process
• Incorporation date — when the entity came into existence, not when trading began
• Company type — Ltd, PLC, LLP, CIC and so on, which affects filing obligations
• Jurisdiction — England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland
• Registered office — the official correspondence address, often an accountant's office
• Previous names — earlier registered names, kept against the same number
• SIC codes — the activity the company declared, which can be broad or dated

Recording company details correctly

If you are putting company details into a contract, invoice or supplier record, use the registered name exactly as it appears on the register, including punctuation and the correct suffix, and always pair it with the registration number.

A contract naming a trading name rather than the registered entity can create avoidable arguments later about who is actually party to it.

• Copy the registered name exactly, including Limited or Ltd as filed
• Always include the registration number alongside the name
• Record the registered office as the official address for notices
• Note the date you checked, because register data changes

Details the free summary does not include

Officers, persons with significant control, filing history, accounts dates and registered charges are not shown in the free summary on this site. They appear in the optional PDF report, and the same information is also published free by Companies House directly.

• 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

How current the details are

Details are retrieved live from the Companies House public register when you search, so they reflect what has been filed and processed at that moment. Filings can be late, and Companies House does not independently verify most of what it receives.

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. The same underlying public data is available directly from Companies House free of charge. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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

• 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.
• Company Address SearchFind a UK company's registered office address on the Companies House register, understand how it differs from a trading address, and see why many companies share the same address.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.