What is Companies House? The UK company register explained
Published: 2026-07-25
Companies House is the British company register — the official government agency where all British companies, including Ltd companies, are registered. It is the equivalent of your national company register: you find in it the basic, public data of every company — who runs it, who controls it, its status and how it looks in its accounts. The point is that the register presents data raw and scattered across sections, and the terms and statuses are specialised and easy to confuse. This guide explains what Companies House is, what exactly you find in it, what the register does not show, and when a ready-made report is a better tool than the raw register. This is informational material.
What is Companies House?
Companies House is the British company register and at the same time the government agency that runs it. It is responsible for registering new companies, receiving their annual filings and accounts, and making basic data available to the public. The register mainly holds companies (including the private limited company, i.e. Ltd) as well as other business forms.
The key feature of Companies House is openness: the basic data of every registered company is public. So, knowing a company's name or number, you can confirm that a firm actually exists, check who is behind it and see its documents. That is the starting point for assessing a British counterparty. It is worth noting at once: UKCompany is not Companies House or an authority — we are an independent service that writes up publicly available register data and presents it in your language.
What do you find in the Companies House register?
The register shows a set of basic, public information about a company. The table below lists the most important — from status and company number, through the people running and controlling it, to financial documents and charges. It is exactly this data that makes up the picture of a British firm checked before doing business.
| Data | What it says about the company |
|---|---|
| Company number | unique identifier, 8 characters |
| Status | whether the company is active, dormant or in liquidation |
| Directors | who runs the company |
| Persons with significant control (PSC) | who really controls the company |
| Accounts | the company's financial health |
| Charges | secured debt over assets |
| Confirmation statement | annual confirmation that data is up to date |
What does Companies House not show?
The register is valuable but has limits — worth knowing so you do not jump to conclusions. First, Companies House does not assess a firm's trustworthiness or reliability — it shows data but does not say whether a given company is worth working with. Second, some data is self-declared by the companies, and accounts are sometimes filed late, so the picture is not always fully up to date. Third, the register does not show everything — e.g. ongoing commercial disputes or a full payment history with a counterparty.
So register data is a basis for assessment, not a ready verdict. What tells you most is combining several elements at once: status, controlling persons, charges and accounts — read together, not in isolation.
Companies House and your national company register
Broadly, Companies House plays a similar role to your national company register: it is the official, public source of company data. There are important differences, though. The main one is language and terms: Companies House data is in English and differs from what you know at home. Instead of a beneficial owner there is a PSC (person with significant control), instead of a national number there is a company number, and accounts and statuses have their own English terminology.
It is precisely these differences that mean reaching the register alone is not always enough — you also need to read and interpret the data correctly. We cover the British company form itself in more depth in the guide on what a Ltd company is.
When is a report better than the register?
The register gives raw data but does not turn it into a ready answer. Information is scattered across sections — status in one place, directors and PSC in another, accounts and charges elsewhere — and given without explaining what it means for risk. Assembling this into a coherent picture yourself and correctly reading the statuses and terms (charges, PSC, dormant) can be time-consuming and error-prone, even when English is no barrier.
A UKCompany report is a ready-made write-up of this data: status, directors, PSC, charges, history and financial documents gathered into one PDF, with terms explained and in your language. It is a tool for a decision and a dated record of having checked a counterparty — part of due diligence — not a raw register printout. We are not an authority or Companies House; the fee covers preparing and delivering the finished report, and the data is hosted in the EU in line with the GDPR. We describe the process step by step in the guide on verifying a British company, and you generate the report in the search — the first report after creating an account is free.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Companies House?
- It is the British company register and the government agency that runs it. It registers companies (including Ltd), receives their annual filings and accounts and makes basic, public data available. It is the equivalent of your national company register — except that the data is in English.
- Is Companies House available in English only?
- The register operates in English, and its terms and statuses are specialised (charges, PSC, dormant), so they can be unclear even when English is no problem. A UKCompany report gathers this data into one PDF, with terms explained and in your language — as a ready-made write-up, not a raw printout.
- How do I find a company number?
- The company number is the unique, 8-character identifier of a British company. You find it on the invoice, usually in the footer of the company's website and in the register next to the company. It is the most convenient starting point, because it pinpoints the entity even when names repeat.
- Is Companies House data public?
- Yes, the basic company data is public — but raw and without interpretation. The register shows information scattered across sections and does not assess a firm's trustworthiness or say what a given status or charge means for risk. The value of a UKCompany report is a ready-made write-up: gathering the data into one PDF, explaining the terms and a dated record of the check. The fee covers this write-up and delivering the report.
- Is UKCompany the same as Companies House?
- No. UKCompany is an independent service that writes up publicly available Companies House data and presents it in your language. We are not an authority or a register and do not impersonate Companies House — we deliver a report prepared from register data.
Check a company — your first report is free
Registry data, management, owners and financials — in a single PDF report in your language.
Related guides
- How to check a company in the UK (Companies House)
- Companies House reform (ECCTA): identity verification and what it means for checking a UK company
- How to check a UK VAT number after Brexit (VIES vs HMRC)
- What is a Ltd company (private limited company)?
- Ltd company charges — how to check secured debt
- Invoice from a Ltd company — what to watch out for
This guide is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Laws and registry rules may change — the information held in the relevant country's official registers is always decisive.