How Company Search UK works
From a free search to a finished, dated PDF report in four steps.
Searching and viewing the company summary is free. The £14.99 PDF report is optional.
Step 1: Search the register
Enter a company name or company registration number. Suggestions appear as you type, and the search covers companies registered in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, including numbers beginning SC or NI.
Step 2: Check the free company summary
Open a result to see the company's registered name, number, status, incorporation date, company type, jurisdiction, registered office address, previous names and SIC codes. This summary is free, unlimited and needs no account.
Step 3: Order the report if you need one
If you need officers, persons with significant control, filing position, charges and a document you can keep, order the UK Company Information Report for £14.99. You confirm the company at checkout, so there is no chance of paying for the wrong one.
Step 4: Download your PDF
The report is generated automatically once payment succeeds, usually within a minute. A download link appears on your order confirmation page, ready to save, print or forward to a client, colleague or adviser.
What you get free, and what the report adds
The free summary answers the question most people arrive with: does this company exist, what is it called on the register, what is its number, and is it still active. It covers the registered name and number, company status, incorporation date, company type, jurisdiction, registered office address, previous names and the SIC codes describing the nature of the business.
The optional report is for the times when a summary on screen is not enough — when you need the fuller picture in one place, or a dated document that can be filed, attached to an email or handed to someone else.
- 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, outstanding or satisfied
- Insolvency information where it exists
- A filing history summary
- A dated A4 PDF you can download, print, email and keep
See the company reports page for the full comparison, or open the sample company report to see the document before you order.
Choosing the right company
Most ordering mistakes come from picking a company with a similar name. Company names are not unique in the way numbers are, and a company can be renamed at any time while keeping its original registration number.
- Search by company registration number where you have one
- Check the registered office address against the paperwork you hold
- Check the incorporation date is consistent with how long the business claims to have traded
- Look at previous names if the trading name does not match the register
- Confirm the company name and number on the checkout page before paying
Our guides on company number search and company status explain both in more detail.
Payment and delivery
Payment is a single £14.99 charge taken securely by our payment provider. There is no subscription and no recurring charge. Once payment succeeds, the report is generated automatically and a download link appears on your order confirmation page, usually within a minute.
Keep the link to that confirmation page. It contains a secure access token that lets you download the report again. If you lose it, contact us with your order reference and we will help.
How current is the information?
Company data is retrieved from the Companies House public register when you view a company and again when a report is prepared. The retrieval date and time is printed on every page of the report. Companies House updates the register as filings are received, so a recent change may not yet appear, and the register records what companies have filed rather than an independently verified position. Read more about our data sources and updates.
What this service is not
- Company Search UK is independent: not Companies House, not part of the UK Government and not affiliated with or endorsed by either.
- Reports are not official or certified Companies House documents.
- Nothing here is a credit report, credit score or creditworthiness assessment.
- Nothing here is legal, financial, accounting or investment advice.
- Registration on the public register does not mean a company is solvent, trustworthy or safe to trade with.