How to Search Companies House and Access Official Company Records in the UK (2025 Guide)
Companies House, the UK’s official corporate register, is a mine of red flags, paper trails, and buried ownership links with over 16.5 billion searches in a single year. And in 2025, it’s changing fast.
The organisation is being moulded by new powers under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, from identity verification to real-time filing analysis. In short, the register is becoming more of a gatekeeper than a mere librarian, as is the case with the Singapore company register.
But these changes are still in progress. Identity verification requirements won’t be fully implemented until late 2026, and self-reported data remains the norm. This comprehensive guide explores what has changed, what's coming next, and how to leverage the data effectively in 2025.
Key Takeaways
Companies House provides free access to UK company data, though the information can be difficult to parse and is sometimes unreliable. Use this guide to understand what's available, master effective search techniques, and discover when to turn to enhanced tools like Kyckr for superior data quality.
What is Companies House?
Companies House operates as the UK's official business register under the Department for Business and Trade (formerly BEIS). The organisation comprises three distinct registrars:
Companies House Cardiff – covering England & Wales
Companies House Edinburgh – covering Scotland
Companies House Belfast – covering Northern Ireland.
It oversees the incorporation and registration of over 500,000 companies yearly, holding information on them all.
Available Data Types
Companies House provides access to:
Company registration details
Director and officer information
People with Significant Control (PSCs)
Filing history, including accounts and confirmation statements
Important note: Most information is freely accessible, but not all data comes in machine-readable formats. Unfortunately, PDFs remain the default format for many core documents, which means endless scrolling, squinting, staring and swearing under breath.
The Changing Role of Companies House
Companies House has changed through the adoption of AI, digitised records, machine-readable datasets, and collaboration between government departments.
It has transformed from a passive record-keeper into a more proactive gatekeeper, with new powers to challenge suspicious information and improve data accuracy. While not yet a full auditor, the shift is underway.
This is best evidenced by its role in Operation Hammerhead, as recently outlined by the 2025 National Risk Assessment.
Companies House data was used to identify 41,000 UK corporate structures with a single director, all registered as dormant at the same handful of addresses.
The operation led to uncovering the owner of the North Korean shipping fleet as the beneficial owner of a vast money laundering operation.
This work is still ongoing. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (ECCTA) 2023 introduced sweeping reforms designed to clean up the register, make the data more reliable, and enable Companies House to detect corporate abuse.
Understanding Companies House Data and Its Applications
1. Company Registration and Officer Details
The basics include company name, number (CRN), registered office address, incorporation date, and lists of current and former directors.
Best used for:
Verifying legal existence
Identifying key officers
Screening for sanctions or Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs)
Cross-referencing against internal or third-party watchlists
2. People with Significant Control (PSC) Register
Launched in 2016, the PSC register was amongst the first public Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) databases in the G20. It catalogues individuals holding more than 25% of shares or voting rights, or those wielding significant influence over the board.
Best used for:
Uncovering beneficial ownership structures
Mapping control hierarchies
Investigating hidden interests or nominee arrangements
3. Filing History and Financial Accounts
Annual accounts, confirmation statements, charges, director changes, and liquidation filings are all available for free.
Best used for:
Identifying insolvency warning signs
Tracing asset movements
Spotting irregular filing patterns or phoenixing behaviour
4. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Codes
Every UK company has to have a SIC code describing its business activities. But misuse is widespread and often deliberate.
Best used for:
Checking for inconsistencies between stated activity and actual operations
Flagging vague or suspicious business sectors
Cross-referencing with transaction types and patterns
5. Real-Time Monitoring via API
Companies House offers both a REST API and a Streaming API for real-time alerts on filings, insolvency proceedings, and charges.
Best used for:
Automating KYB/KYC verification processes
Continuous monitoring of high-risk entities
Bulk data analysis using internal or external analytical tools
Types of UK Companies on the Register
Companies House registers several distinct entity types:
1. Public Limited Company (PLC)
Shares are publicly traded with the ability to raise capital through public offerings. These companies must meet strict regulatory requirements.
2. Private Limited Company by Share (Ltd)
The most common UK company type features privately held shares and limited liability for shareholders.
3. Private Unlimited Company
Members bear unlimited liability, making this structure less common due to higher financial risk exposure.
4. Private Limited Company by Guarantee
Members contribute a predetermined amount in case of winding up. These entities have no shareholders or share capital.
5. European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG)
A legacy EU-wide structure for cross-border business. EEIGs are no longer available for new registration in the UK post-Brexit, but may still appear on the register.
6. Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
Partners enjoy limited liability in this hybrid structure combining partnership and corporation features.
7. Limited Partnership
General partners have unlimited liability, whilst limited partners are only liable up to their investment amount.
8. Sole Trader (Exception)
Sole traders are not registered with Companies House; they register with HMRC, and the business has no legal separation from the individual.
Step-by-Step Companies House Search Guide
Follow this comprehensive process to access official company records:
1. Access the Official Website
Navigate to the Find and update company information service on GOV.UK.
2. Use the Search Function
Enter a company name, registration number (CRN), or officer name into the search bar.
3. Refine Your Results
Add keywords or location data to filter results, particularly useful for common company names.
4. Review Search Results
The results display:
Company name
Company number
Registered address
5. Access Detailed Information
Select a company to view:
Current status (active/dissolved)
Director names and details
Complete filing history
6. Download Required Documents
Access and download filings, including:
Annual accounts
Confirmation statements
Incorporation certificates
Essential Documents Available for Download
Incorporation Documents: Certificate of Incorporation, Articles of Association, Memorandum of Association
Annual Accounts: Balance sheets, profit/loss statements, audit reports
Confirmation Statement (CS01): Company structure, directors, PSCs, and registered office address
Director Changes (AP01/TM01): Appointment and resignation records
Change of Registered Office (AD01): Filings updating the company's registered address
Charges (MR01): Secured loan information against company assets
Application to Strike Off (DS01): Filed when a company seeks removal from the register
Liquidation Forms: Statement of Affairs, Liquidator's Statement of Proceedings
Companies House APIs and Data Products
In contrast to other corporate registers, Companies House provides several programmatic and bulk data access options:
APIs
REST API: Provides most website data, excluding shareholder information. Registration is required for access.
Streaming API: Delivers real-time changes to filings, charges, and insolvency cases. Limitations: Does not flag director disqualifications and doesn’t provide truly real-time updates for all document types. Some filings may still take time to appear.
Streaming API: Delivers real-time changes to filings, charges, and insolvency cases. Limitation: Does not flag director disqualifications.
URI Access: Returns data in multiple formats (HTML, RDF, JSON, XML, CSV, YAML).
Data Products
XML Gateway: Paid subscription access supporting machine-to-machine queries at £4.70/month plus data fees (15% discount on monthly volume available).
Company Data Product: Monthly snapshot of active companies. Includes SIC codes, status, and historical names. Available in CSV format.
Accounts Data Product: Daily and monthly dumps of XBRL-filed accounts. Only includes electronically submitted filings (approximately 60% of total).
PSC Data Product: JSON format delivery. Complete snapshot of all People with Significant Control.
Follow Service: Free email alerts for changes to any followed company, with links to downloadable filings.
Critical Limitations and Red Flags in Companies House Data
Even though ECCTA reforms are underway, Companies House data still presents significant challenges.
1. Identity Fraud and Stolen Details
Historically, registering companies using stolen identities or listing deceased individuals as directors was alarmingly straightforward, fuelling various forms of financial crime, from fraudulent loan and grant applications to shell company establishment.
The scale is substantial: in one instance, 1,020 limited companies were incorporated using stolen identities, with fraudulent addresses used to deceive individuals or obtain illicit funds. Until mandatory identity verification (IDV) becomes fully operational by 2026, cross-verification can’t be an afterthought.
Phoenixing Schemes
"Phoenixing" describes a deceptive practice where individuals or directors repeatedly operate through companies that are intentionally liquidated or dissolved, abandoning unpaid debts. These operators then re-register under new names, often continuing similar business activities to evade liabilities.
Financial crime professionals should conduct thorough investigations into directors' histories, examining patterns across multiple companies and jurisdictions. This cannot be done with only Companies House data; it requires instant, real-time access to over 300 official corporate registers worldwide, and instant UBO verification, which Kyckr provides.
SIC Code Manipulation
Fraudsters frequently exploit vague SIC codes like "Other business support services" to mask illegal activities. The problem is that there are currently no direct government regulations or penalties for incorrect SIC code usage, which significantly hinders risk analysis and identification of suspicious entities.
SIC codes, intended for legitimate purposes like statistical classification and industry-specific risk assessment, are actively misused by criminals as a "smoke screen" to conceal illicit operations. Companies House has been actively "locating discrepancies" and conducting exercises to improve core data items, including SIC codes. But there’s still lots of work to be done.
Professional tip: Never take SIC codes at face value. Always investigate further.
Accounting Period Loopholes
Shortening an accounting period by just one day resets the filing deadline, potentially providing up to three additional months. This delay creates a window for "cooking the books" or postponing the inevitable revelation of financial distress.
Watch for repeat offenders, as this behaviour often signals financial stress or deliberate concealment of illicit activities.
Opaque Ownership Structures
Circular ownership schemes and offshore entities are specifically designed to obscure real beneficiaries. Whilst the PSC register helps, high-threshold ownership rules (25%+) leave significant gaps, and uncovering links to overseas entities requires access to official registers in multiple jurisdictions.
Setting up a single access point to an official corporate register can take months. Even then, some official registers, like Italy, are difficult to access without local support. By integrating the Kyckr API into your KYB solution, financial crime professionals get instant access to 300 official corporate registers from a single access point.
UBO Registry Weaknesses
Despite the UK's PSC register's existence, effectively tracing UBOs remains a significant global challenge. International standards for beneficial ownership disclosure vary. KYB datasets across jurisdictions aren’t harmonised.
Plus, most registration systems simply rely on self-certification. Even on Companies House, some companies list themselves or provide vague declarations such as ‘no registrable PSC.’ While this can be legitimate in limited cases, it’s often used to obscure real ownership, and enforcement remains limited.
This is why relying solely on the Companies House PSC register for UBO verification is explicitly insufficient, especially for high-risk entities or complex structures. As stated, financial crime professionals need to cross-reference Companies House data with datasets from multiple jurisdictions.
Legacy Data and Real-Time Gaps
Whilst Companies House offers a streaming API providing real-time changes to certain filings, much publicly available data is updated periodically rather than instantaneously, with historic entries remaining unverified. Moreover, Companies House only provides static snapshots rather than continuous, comprehensive live feeds.
Professional recommendation: Integrate the Kyckr API with access to 300+ official company registers.
ECCTA 2023: Reforms for Financial Crime Professionals
Enhanced Powers for Companies House
The Registrar can now:
Query, reject, or remove suspicious filings
Intervene in misleading company names
Share intelligence with law enforcement agencies
Impact: Between March and July 2024, Companies House removed 100,400 entries and rejected 10,200 suspicious applications.
Mandatory Identity Verification (IDV)
From Autumn 2025, all new directors, PSCs, and filers must verify their identities via:
GOV.UK One Login (using photo ID or bank details)
An Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP)
Critical deadline: Existing officers have until the end of 2026 to comply.
Address, Email, and Lawful Purpose Requirements
Key changes include:
No more PO boxes: registered offices must be genuine addresses
Companies must declare a lawful business purpose
Email addresses (REA) are now mandatory for communications
These changes directly target ghost companies and mass incorporation fraud.
Centralisation of Registers
From 2025, Companies House will become the single source of truth for:
Directors
Secretaries
PSCs
This eliminates inconsistent internal registers.
Failure to Prevent Fraud Offence (FTPF)
From 1st September 2025, large companies can be criminally liable for employee fraud, even without senior management involvement, unless they can prove reasonable prevention procedures were in place.
Implication: Financial crime professionals must proactively review and strengthen internal controls immediately.
Professional Best Practices
Always combine Companies House data with third-party sources such as OpenCorporates, Land Registry, and court records for comprehensive due diligence
Leverage bulk downloads and sophisticated CSV handling, which massively outperform single-record browsing for "pattern of life" insights.
Don't overlook red flags in micro-entity filing,s as these are frequently abused by those seeking to avoid scrutiny.
Stay alert to UK company law changes because the data landscape is evolving rapidly.
Why Consider Enhanced Platforms Like Kyckr?
Companies House is becoming more proactive in 2025, with stronger powers and cleaner data. But gaps remain. Outdated filings, unverifiable PSCs, and data lags that criminals still exploit.
Regulated firms must use official sources for due diligence. But accessing multiple global registers takes time. Kyckr offers a single access point to live data from 300+ official sources, including hard-to-reach jurisdictions.
Use Companies House wisely. But don’t rely on it alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I search Companies House effectively?
Visit the official GOV.UK site and enter a company name, CRN, or officer name in the search bar. Use additional keywords or location data to refine results.
What documents can I download from Companies House?
You can access incorporation documents, accounts, confirmation statements, director changes, charges, and liquidation forms.
Is Companies House data verified and reliable?
Not always. The system relies on self-reporting, which is why reforms are underway to improve accuracy and enforcement. Always cross-reference with additional sources for critical decisions.
When should I use third-party data providers?
Consider aggregators of official corporate registry data when you need real-time data, verified information, or are conducting high-risk due diligence.
How will ECCTA reforms affect my work?
The reforms will provide more reliable data, but also introduce new compliance obligations. Stay updated on implementation timelines and adjust your procedures accordingly.
