Is the information on Companies House accurate?

Companies House is a record of the information that has been filed by companies. While it is the official record and there are penalties for filing false information, it relies on the companies themselves to submit accurate and timely data. There can be delays, omissions, or errors in the information provided.

How often is the Companies House data updated?

The online 'Companies House search' service is updated in near real-time as new documents are filed and accepted. The API also provides this live data. In contrast, the 'Free Basic Company Data' bulk download file is a snapshot that is generated once a month, so it is not as current.

Can I find a list of all directors in the UK?

You can search for individual company directors by name using the main search service to see their current and past appointments. The bulk data files also contain this information, allowing you to compile a comprehensive list, though this requires technical skills to extract and organise the data from the raw files.

What's the difference between a confirmation statement and annual accounts?

A confirmation statement is a filing that confirms the company's information held by Companies House (e.g., registered office, directors, SIC codes, PSCs) is correct at a specific point in time. Annual accounts are a detailed financial report, showing the company's financial activity and position over the previous financial year.

Are sole traders listed on Companies House?

No, sole traders and traditional business partnerships are not registered with Companies House. The register is specifically for incorporated entities like private limited companies (Ltd), public limited companies (PLC), and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP). Sole traders register directly with HMRC for tax purposes.

Companies House list of companies UK: Your Complete Guide

Updated 16 October 2026 · 8 min read

The Companies House list of companies uk is the United Kingdom's official, public register of all incorporated businesses. Maintained by Companies House, an executive agency of the UK government, this comprehensive database is the definitive source for information on limited companies, Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs), and other registered legal entities. Its primary purpose is to ensure corporate transparency by making key statutory information about UK companies easily accessible to the public, fostering trust and a fair business environment.

This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to effectively use this powerful free resource. We will cover what the register is and what data it contains, provide a step-by-step tutorial on searching for companies, and explain how to access bulk data via free downloads and the API. Furthermore, we'll clarify the limitations of the register—what it doesn't contain—and discuss when using a pre-prepared company database can save you significant time and effort.

Understanding the UK's Official Company Register

Companies House is the United Kingdom's registrar of companies. Every limited company in the UK must be registered with this body, from small single-person businesses to large public limited companies (PLCs). Its role is legally mandated under the Companies Act 2006. The core functions of Companies House are to incorporate and dissolve limited companies, examine and store the information they are legally required to provide, and make this information available to the public.

The register is not just a static list; it's a dynamic record that is constantly updated with new filings. These include annual accounts, confirmation statements, changes in directors or their details, and updates to the registered office address. By making this information public, Companies House plays a crucial role in corporate governance, allowing suppliers, customers, researchers, and the general public to verify a company's legal status and review its history.

What Free Company Data Can You Access?

Since 2015, Companies House has made a vast amount of its data available for free, a move designed to stimulate innovation and increase transparency. When you look up a company, you can access its full record without charge. This includes not only basic details but also the complete filing history as scanned PDF documents.

Key pieces of information that you can find for free include:

Company Name and Number: The unique identifier for each entity.
Registered Office Address: The official legal address of the company.
Incorporation Date: The date the company was legally formed.
Company Status: Whether the company is active, dissolved, in liquidation, etc.
Nature of Business (SIC Codes): The industry codes that describe the company's activities.
Filing History: A chronological list of all documents filed, including annual accounts and confirmation statements, available as PDFs.
Officer Information: Details of current and past directors and secretaries, including their name, service address, nationality, country of residence, and date of birth (month and year only).
Persons with Significant Control (PSC): Information about the individuals who ultimately own or control the company.
Mortgage Charges: Details of any charges registered against the company's assets.

How to Find a Company on Companies House

Searching the register is a straightforward process through the official 'Companies House search' web service, which is designed to be user-friendly. Follow these steps to find company information:

Go to the Service: Navigate to the official 'Companies House search' website (find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk).
Enter Your Search Term: Use the main search bar to look for a company. You can search by the company name, company registration number (CRN), or the name of a director or officer.
Filter Your Results: If your search returns many results, you can use the filters on the left-hand side to narrow them down. You can filter by company status (e.g., active, dissolved), incorporation date, and other criteria.
Select a Company: Click on the name of the company you are interested in from the search results. This will take you to that company's overview page.
Explore the Company Profile: On the company's page, you will find several tabs. The 'Overview' tab gives a summary, 'Filing history' provides access to all submitted documents, 'People' lists the officers and PSCs, and 'Charges' details any registered mortgages. You can view or download any document in the filing history as a PDF.

Accessing Bulk Company Data: Free Downloads and APIs

For users who need to analyse data across many companies, Companies House provides several ways to access information in bulk, moving beyond single-company lookups.

The primary method is the 'Free Basic Company Data' product. This is a complete snapshot of all active companies on the register, provided as a very large CSV file and updated monthly. It can be downloaded directly from the Companies House website. This file contains key data points like company name, number, registered address, status, account category, and SIC codes. It's an incredibly powerful resource for large-scale analysis but requires software capable of handling millions of rows (like a database or programming language) to be used effectively.

For more dynamic and real-time needs, Companies House offers a free Application Programming Interface (API). This is aimed at developers who want to integrate live company data directly into their own software or applications. The API provides access to company profiles, officer appointments, filing history, and more. While free to use, it is subject to rate limits, which control how many requests can be made in a given time period. Users should consult the official documentation for technical details.

Finally, for very specific or certified information needs, Companies House may offer paid services for certified copies of documents or tailored data extracts. It is best to check the official website for information on any current paid offerings and their associated fees.

Companies house list of sic codes: Classifying Business Activities

The 'Companies house list of sic codes' refers to the Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities (SIC) codes that every UK company must use to describe its business. When a company is incorporated, it must provide at least one SIC code that represents its primary trade, and it can provide up to four.

These five-digit codes are part of a standardised hierarchy, allowing for businesses to be categorised in a consistent way. For example, code '62012' stands for 'Business and domestic software development'. The purpose of these codes is primarily for government agencies like the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to compile statistics about the state of the UK economy. However, they are also widely used by businesses for B2B marketing, competitor analysis, and market research to identify companies operating in specific sectors.

Companies must review their SIC codes annually as part of their confirmation statement and update them if their business activities have changed. A full, searchable directory of all valid codes is available on the 'SIC codes list' section of the Companies House website.

What Information Isn't on the Register?

While the free data is extensive, it's important to understand what Companies House does *not* provide. The register is a repository of statutory information, not a marketing database. This means several key pieces of data that businesses often want are not available.

Business Email Addresses and Phone Numbers: This is the most common misconception. Companies House does not collect or publish general contact details like email addresses or telephone numbers.
Company Website URLs: This is not a required piece of information, so it is absent from the official record for the vast majority of companies.
Employee Numbers: Specific employee counts are generally not available as a distinct data field. This information may be mentioned within the full annual accounts of larger companies, but it is not easily searchable or available in bulk data.
Turnover and Profit Figures: While these are included in filed annual accounts, they are contained within PDF documents. They are not available as simple, searchable data points in a spreadsheet format across all companies.
Ready-Made Marketing Lists: You cannot use the service to generate a filtered list for download, such as 'all software companies in London'. The free bulk data file is a raw, unfiltered dump of all companies, which you must then process yourself.

When to Use a Ready-Made Company Database

The free data from Companies House is an invaluable resource, but working with it requires effort. Filtering the multi-gigabyte bulk data file to create a targeted list for a sales or marketing campaign requires technical tools and a significant time investment. You must parse the data, filter by SIC code and address components, and then try to find contact details from other sources.

This is where a ready-made database becomes a time-saving alternative. If your goal is to quickly obtain a clean, usable list of companies in a specific industry or location, and especially if you need data not on the register like email addresses and websites, a commercial solution is often more efficient. Kontabase offers ready-made company databases in easy-to-use Excel/CSV formats, which can include fields like business emails and are pre-filtered by industry. This allows you to bypass the data processing stage and focus directly on your business objectives.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the information on Companies House accurate?: Companies House is a record of the information that has been filed by companies. While it is the official record and there are penalties for filing false information, it relies on the companies themselves to submit accurate and timely data. There can be delays, omissions, or errors in the information provided.
How often is the Companies House data updated?: The online 'Companies House search' service is updated in near real-time as new documents are filed and accepted. The API also provides this live data. In contrast, the 'Free Basic Company Data' bulk download file is a snapshot that is generated once a month, so it is not as current.
Can I find a list of all directors in the UK?: You can search for individual company directors by name using the main search service to see their current and past appointments. The bulk data files also contain this information, allowing you to compile a comprehensive list, though this requires technical skills to extract and organise the data from the raw files.
What's the difference between a confirmation statement and annual accounts?: A confirmation statement is a filing that confirms the company's information held by Companies House (e.g., registered office, directors, SIC codes, PSCs) is correct at a specific point in time. Annual accounts are a detailed financial report, showing the company's financial activity and position over the previous financial year.
Are sole traders listed on Companies House?: No, sole traders and traditional business partnerships are not registered with Companies House. The register is specifically for incorporated entities like private limited companies (Ltd), public limited companies (PLC), and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP). Sole traders register directly with HMRC for tax purposes.

Official Companies House Resources

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