GDE-072 |
Companies House research | |||||||
Corporate intelligence | ||||||||
October 2026 | ||||||||
01
What it is
A Companies House search is a lookup of the UK's official company register, using the free Find and update company information service to read a company's status, filings, officers, owners and charges. Investigators use it to test who runs and controls a UK company and whether its records hold together.
Companies House is the UK registrar for companies and limited liability partnerships. Every company files accounts, an annual confirmation statement and changes to its officers, and those filings become public. Most of the register is information companies file about themselves.
That is changing. Since 18 November 2025, directors and people with significant control (PSCs) must verify their identity, and officer entries now show whether that check is complete. A PSC is anyone holding more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, able to appoint or remove a majority of the board, or with significant influence or control. Journalists, due diligence teams and fraud examiners all rely on the register.
| When to use this guide
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02
How do you run a Companies House search on a company and its directors?
Four free tools and eight steps take you from a company name to a sourced map of its officers, owners and filing record.
Three of these tools are free to search with no account, and the fourth needs only a free registration.
Find and update company information: Free, no login to search. The official service covers live and dissolved companies, officers, disqualified directors, charges and insolvency, with filing documents free to download from 2003. Signing in adds free Follow alerts on new filings.
The Gazette: Free, no login. The UK's official public record publishes insolvency notices, winding-up petitions and strike-off notices that add dates the register may not show.
OpenCorporates: Free basic search; some features need an account. It draws company data from official registries in more than 140 jurisdictions, which helps when a PSC or shareholder is a company registered outside the UK.
Companies House API: Free, registration required. It returns the same records as structured data. Use it for many companies at once, since the web service is not intended for bulk downloads.
| Before you begin Stop at the login. Searching the register and downloading filings needs no account; sign in only if you want Follow alerts. If a third-party data site asks you to register, return to the official register, which shows the same public record free. Legal considerations. Director and PSC details are personal data under the UK GDPR, so collect only what the investigation needs and record your lawful basis. Companies House does not publish home addresses or full dates of birth, so treat any other site that shows them with care. |
Search by name, then record the eight-character company number from the result: names change, numbers do not. A prefix tells you more, such as SC for a Scottish company or OE for an overseas entity.
The overview shows the registered office, company type, nature of business codes and when the next accounts and confirmation statement are due. An overdue flag, a recent move of registered office or a status such as liquidation tells you where to look next.
Open Filing history and save the accounts, confirmation statements and appointment and resignation forms as PDFs. Line up each filing date against the events you are investigating, and read any full accounts for turnover, staff numbers and related parties.
On the People tab, open each director and secretary, current and resigned, and follow the name to the officer's appointments page, which lists every company linked to that record. Note the month and year of birth, nationality and correspondence address for matching.
Officer entries now state whether identity verification is complete and, where an Authorised Corporate Service Provider carried out the check, which provider and when. Existing directors verify when they file their first confirmation statement after 18 November 2025, so read the status alongside that date.
Open the PSC list and record each nature of control, such as the band of shares or voting rights held. Where the PSC is a company, follow it on the register or, if it is registered abroad, on OpenCorporates or its home registry, until you reach a person or a dead end. Record which.
The Charges tab lists secured lending and who holds it, and an Insolvency tab appears when proceedings are on record. Search The Gazette for the company name and number to find winding-up petitions or strike-off notices.
Use advanced search to list companies at the same registered office, or incorporated in the same date range with the same nature of business code. Include dissolved companies, searchable from 2010. Treat any cluster as a lead to test, not a finding.
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03
Where a Companies House search misleads an investigation
Most errors come from reading filed data as checked fact, or a shared name or address as a shared identity.
Same name read as same person in a director search: The officer search matches names, so a common name returns many unrelated people, and one person can sit under separate records if details were entered differently. Verifying check: match month and year of birth, nationality and correspondence address, and confirm the link on each company's own officer list.
Formation agent address read as a shell network: Thousands of companies can share the registered office of a formation agent, accountant or virtual office provider. Verifying check: identify who occupies the address before you treat co-location as a connection.
Unverified director read as a breach: Existing directors can verify up to their first confirmation statement after 18 November 2025, so an unverified status may still be within time. Verifying check: check the confirmation statement date on the overview before you describe it as a failure to verify.
No PSC read as concealment: Some companies are exempt, including those whose shares trade on a UK regulated market, and others file a statement that no registrable person exists. Verifying check: read the PSC statements filed and the company type before you draw a conclusion.
Filed figures read as checked fact: Most of the register is filed by companies themselves, and small companies can file micro-entity accounts with very few figures. Verifying check: corroborate figures and roles against an independent source, such as court records, contracts or the company's own published material.
Chain of custody: A registry finding is only as strong as your record of what the register showed and when, because companies can file corrections and change officers after you look. Save each document as you retrieve it so an editor or a court can see exactly what you relied on.
Download every filing you rely on as the PDF Companies House supplies, not a screenshot
Save the overview, officer and PSC pages with the retrieval date and time
Hash each saved file with SHA-256 and log the hash in your case notes
Record the company number and officer appointment links alongside every name
Capture Gazette notices and any third-party registry pages at the point you use them
04
Go deeper
One reference card and one Methods tutorial for taking registry research further.
CARD · COR-001
Company registry research across jurisdictions
Companies House, OpenCorporates and Orbis, used to trace officer networks and group structures.
METHODS · BLOCK 07 · SIGNAL TIER
Link tender awards to beneficial owners and payment data
TED, OCDS data and company registries, linked into a document chain from tender notice to payment.
Evidentiary standard
Signal & Shadow operates to the LST-001 evidentiary standard. All claims are graded against the LST-001 v1.0.3 confidence tiers (Confirmed, Corroborated, Reported, Alleged) per the canonical voice and structural specification.
About Signal & Shadow
Signal & Shadow is an independent forensic investigation and methodology practice publishing tutorials, reference cards, and forensic dossiers for working practitioners. Founded by Derek Bowler.