Search a company by name in the UK

How to search by name

• Type the most distinctive word first — brand words beat generic ones
• Leave off Limited, Ltd or PLC when you are unsure of the exact suffix
• Try alternate spellings, spacing and hyphenation
• Try a shorter fragment if a long name returns nothing
• Search the old name if you are working from an old document

Why names are unreliable identifiers

Company names can be changed at any time, and the register keeps the old ones against the same registration number. Groups often register several near-identical names, and dormant entities are frequently registered purely to protect a brand.

The result is that a name search often returns several plausible candidates. Picking by instinct is where mistakes happen.

Confirming you have the right company

• Compare the registered office address with the address you were given
• Check the incorporation date against how long the business claims to have traded
• Check whether the candidate is dissolved rather than active
• Look at previous names, which may explain a mismatch
• Ask for the registration number and confirm it points at the same record

What you see free once you have the right result

• 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

Trading names and brands

A brand or shopfront name is often not the registered name, so it may not appear on the register at all. UK companies must show their registered name and number on business correspondence, so the legal name is usually in the small print of a website footer, invoice or terms page.

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.

When a document is better than a search result

If you have resolved a messy name into a specific registered entity and need to record that conclusion, the optional PDF report captures the company name, number, retrieval date and the wider register sections in one file.

• 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

• 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.
• 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.
• UK Business SearchSearch UK businesses on the Companies House register. Confirm the registered entity behind a trading name, check its status and see registered office details 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.