United Kingdom: what can be established about a company
Companies House is free, complete and machine-readable: officers, persons with significant control, filing history, charges, insolvency events and the accounts themselves are open to anyone, with a public API and streaming feed. The PSC register has been public since 2016 and the Register of Overseas Entities since 2022. The main limit is reliability rather than access: filings were historically unverified, which the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 is changing, with identity verification of directors and PSCs mandatory for new appointments from 18 November 2025 and phased in for existing ones over the following twelve months.
Identifiers
| Identifier | Format | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Company number | 8 characters, e.g. 01234567, SC123456, NI012345, OC/LP prefixes | Companies House number; prefix indicates Scotland, Northern Ireland, LLPs and other types |
| FCA Firm Reference Number (FRN) | 6 or 7 digits | Authorised firms on the Financial Services Register |
| VAT registration number | GB + 9 digits | HMRC; checkable through the VAT number validation service |
| LEI | 20-character ISO 17442 | Required for most regulated market participants |
Sources
Each with what it discloses, how it is accessed, and our coverage level.
Registry
Companies House (Find and update company information)Free record of every UK company, LLP and registered overseas entity: officers, PSCs, registered office, SIC codes, filing history with document images, accounts, confirmation statements, charges and insolvency events.Companies House · Historically unverified; identity verification became mandatory for new directors and PSCs on 18 November 2025 with a 12-month transition for existing ones. Dissolved companies drop off the public index after a period but remain in bulk data.
open web
partial
partial
Registry
Companies House API and streamingREST API for company profiles, officers, PSCs, filing history and document fetching; streaming API for real-time changes; bulk data products.Companies House · Free with an API key and rate limits (600 requests per five minutes at the review date; check the authority).
open API
partial
partial
Beneficial ownership
People with significant control (PSC) registerPublic register of individuals and relevant legal entities holding over 25 per cent of shares or votes, the right to appoint a majority of the board or significant influence, with month and year of birth, nationality and nature of control.Companies House · Self-reported and until 2025 unverified; statements such as 'no PSC identified' are common. PSC data is included in the API and bulk products.
open web
partial
partial
Beneficial ownership
Register of Overseas EntitiesOverseas entities that own UK land must register and disclose their beneficial owners, verified by a UK-regulated agent; the register is public and linked to land registry titles.Companies House · Covers property-owning overseas entities only. Trust information is available on application rather than openly.
open web
planned
planned
Securities filings
FCA National Storage MechanismRegulated information published by listed issuers: annual reports, inside information announcements, major shareholding notifications (TR-1) and PDMR transactions.Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) · Listed and admitted issuers only. AIM companies publish through the regulatory news services and the AIM Rules rather than the NSM.
open web
partial
partial
Regulators
Financial Services Register and FCA enforcementAuthorisation status, permissions, individuals and disciplinary history of regulated firms; final notices and enforcement outcomes are published on the FCA site.Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) · Appointed representatives and unregulated firms appear only by exception (e.g. warning list). The register has a free API.
open API
partial
partial
Regulators
CMA cases and ICO enforcementCompetition and consumer enforcement cases, merger decisions and market studies; the ICO publishes monetary penalties and enforcement notices separately.Competition and Markets Authority (CMA); Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) · Other sectoral regulators (Ofcom, Ofgem, HSE, Environment Agency) publish separately and are not all ingested.
open web
planned
planned
Courts
Find Case Law and BAILIIJudgments of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court and Upper Tribunals since 2003 on Find Case Law, with wider historical coverage on BAILII.The National Archives (Find Case Law); BAILII (charity) · Published judgments only. County Court judgments against companies are a separate paid register (Registry Trust); pending claims are not searchable by party.
open web
partial
partial
Sanctions
UK Sanctions List and OFSI consolidated listAll designations under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, with aliases, identifiers and the regime under which each is listed.Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (UK Sanctions List); HM Treasury OFSI (consolidated list of asset-freeze targets) · Published in CSV, XML and PDF with unique IDs. The OFSI list covers financial sanctions; the UK Sanctions List also covers trade, transport and immigration measures.
open web
full
full
Insolvency
The Gazette insolvency noticesStatutory notices of winding-up petitions and orders, administrations, liquidator appointments, creditors' meetings and strike-off, searchable by company name and number.The Stationery Office on behalf of HM Government (London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes) · Data feeds are available. Insolvency events also appear in the Companies House filing history, usually with a short lag. Individual insolvency is on the Insolvency Service's separate register.
open web
full
full
IP offices
UK Intellectual Property Office searchUK trade marks, patents and designs with applicant and proprietor names; comparable UK rights created from EU marks after 2020.Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) · Proprietor names are free text and not linked to company numbers; address matching helps.
open web
partial
partial
Procurement
Contracts Finder and Find a TenderPublic sector contract opportunities and awards above thresholds, with supplier names and, under the Procurement Act 2023, a central debarment list.Cabinet Office · Supplier identifiers are inconsistent in older records; Scotland and Wales run their own portals.
open API
planned
planned
Caveats
- Openness is not accuracy: until identity verification is complete, officer and PSC entries are self-declared and historically unverified.
- Small and micro companies file abridged accounts without a profit and loss account; reforms under the 2023 Act to require more are being phased in (check the authority for dates).
- Names are not unique over time: a company number is permanent but names can be reused by later companies after a change or dissolution.
- Scottish limited partnerships and some overseas entities have thinner records; LLPs do not have PSC-style members' interests beyond the PSC register.
- The Register of Overseas Entities covers only entities owning UK land; other foreign owners of UK companies are visible only through the PSC register.
Questions
Is Companies House data free?
Yes. The public register, document images, accounts, the API and bulk data are free. Companies House charges for filing, not for searching.
Who are the beneficial owners of a UK company?
The PSC register names anyone with more than 25 per cent of shares or votes or equivalent control. It is public but self-reported; identity verification of PSCs began on 18 November 2025 and is being phased in over a year.
Are UK company accounts available?
Every company files accounts with Companies House and they are free to download. Small and micro companies file reduced accounts that may omit the profit and loss account.
How quickly do changes appear?
Electronic filings usually appear within a day; paper filings take longer. Insolvency notices appear in The Gazette on publication and in the filing history shortly afterwards.
Sources
- Companies House, Find and update company information
- Companies House, Developer hub (API)
- GOV.UK, People with significant control (PSCs)
- GOV.UK, Register an overseas entity
- FCA, National Storage Mechanism
- GOV.UK, Financial sanctions: consolidated list of targets
- The Gazette, Insolvency notices
- CMS, Identity verification became mandatory from 18 November 2025
Reviewed 26 October 2026. Rules and fees change; confirm with the authority before relying on them.
A brief on a company in United Kingdom
Coverage stated by section; official document fees at cost.