Check a UK Company Before You Pay.
Search Companies House by name or company number. See status, filings, insolvency and directors, then the records that never appear on the company file.
How to use a company number
A UK company number is usually eight digits, or a prefix such as SC, NI or OC followed by digits. It is printed on invoices, letterheads and the Companies House file, and it points at one company. A name can collide with trading styles and dissolved predecessors, so if you have the number, search that. Sole traders have no company number and no Companies House record; if someone cannot give you one, this check will not produce a company file.
What Companies House shows, and what it hides
The company file is official and limited. It answers questions about one company number. The risk often sits in the director history and on registers that never appear there.
What the company file actually shows
Companies House shows this company's status, registered office, appointed officers, accounts and confirmation-statement deadlines, charges and any insolvency procedure. That is the official file for one company number. It is not a credit score and it is not a verdict on the people you met.
The company number is the exact match
An eight-digit number, or one with a prefix such as SC, NI or OC, points at one company. A name search can hit several similar names, trading styles and dissolved predecessors. If the quote or invoice shows a number, use that. If it does not, ask for it before any money moves.
Other companies of the same directors
Companies House holds every other appointment, but only if you open each officer and walk the list. Almost nobody does. That is where dissolved, liquidated and struck-off history actually lives, and it is the part a clean-looking new company does not show on its own file.
Phoenix companies are not labelled
A company can fail owing customers, and the same people can start again under a new name, sometimes from the same address. The new company has a clean record because it has no record. Companies House does not flag this. You only see it if you follow the directors.
HSE and tribunals sit on other registers
Convictions, prohibition notices and employment tribunal decisions are official, and they are not on the company file. A company can look tidy at Companies House and still have recent enforcement or tribunal history. Those records are in the full report.
Sole traders have no Companies House record
A sole trader is not a limited company. There is no company number, no officers list and no filing history to check. If someone will not give you a company number, they may be a sole trader, or they may be using a trading name that is not the legal entity. Ask which it is.
Official sources, listed honestly
We query Companies House on every search. Everything else is either in the paid report, checked only when an API key is set, or a link for you to verify yourself. We do not invent ticks.
Companies HouseWe query this
Company status, incorporation date, registered office, officers, filing history, charges and insolvency records. This is the official company file, and we query it on every search.
A company number is the exact match. A name search can return several similar names, so confirm the number on the quote or invoice before you pay anyone.
HSE convictions and enforcement noticesPaid report
Health and Safety Executive prosecutions that resulted in a conviction, plus improvement and prohibition notices served on the business.
These records are not on the Companies House file. They appear in the full report. The register covers a limited recent window and new cases appear a few weeks in arrears, so a clean result is recent history, not all history.
Employment tribunal decisionsPaid report
Published employment tribunal judgments naming the firm as respondent, from HM Courts and Tribunals Service.
Decisions have been published online since 2017 only. A listed decision does not mean the firm lost: read the judgment. These sit in the full report, not the free check.
FCA Financial Services RegisterWhen keys are set
Whether an authorised firm, appointed representative or warning-list record matches this company. Most UK companies are not on this register, and that is normal.
We query the official API when the keys are configured. A tick is shown only when the company number matches. Name-only or substring hits are discarded. Absence usually means the firm is not authorised to offer financial services, not that something is wrong.
ICO register of fee payersNot auto-checked
Whether an organisation is listed as paying the data protection fee. Many firms that handle personal data should appear here.
The ICO register is HTML-only and has no company-number field, so we do not claim an automatic result. Use the official search if the firm handles personal data.
Charity Commission for England and WalesWhen keys are set
Whether this company number is a registered charity in England and Wales. Most limited companies are not charities.
We query the official API only when the key is configured. A tick needs a company-number match, or a Companies House legal form that is already a charitable incorporated organisation. Scotland and Northern Ireland use different regulators and are not searched.
What to ask before you pay
None of this is rude. A company that intends to do the work answers every one of these in a single email.
What is the company number?
It should appear on the quote, invoice or letterhead. Search that number, not a trading name. If they cannot give you one, they are not a limited company, and the Companies House part of this check will not apply.
Does the name on the quote match the registered company?
Trading names are common. The contract and the bank details should match the legal company you just checked, not a similar name or a dissolved predecessor. A mismatch is worth stopping for.
Who are the appointed directors, and are they the people you are dealing with?
The people who can bind the company are on the officer list. If you are negotiating with someone who is not appointed, ask who is, and get the agreement in the company's name.
What happened to their other companies?
If the report names earlier companies that were dissolved or put into insolvency, ask about them directly. A straight answer is useful. A blank look or a change of subject is also information.
Why is a large payment needed before any work is done?
A deposit can be normal. A large percentage of the total before anyone has started is not something you should take on trust, especially if the company is new, late with filings, or in an insolvency procedure.
Can I see the insurance certificate?
Insurer name, policy number, cover limit and expiry. There is no public database of live policies, so the check that is actually available is confirming the insurer is an authorised firm on the FCA register.
What the company check is not
It is not a credit score, not a recommendation, and not proof that a company is honest or competent. A clean Companies House file means nothing bad has been recorded on that company number, which is not the same as nothing bad having happened. We do not automatically check ICO, Gas Safe, HMRC AML supervision or professional-body memberships. Use this as one input alongside a written contract, the questions above, and never paying large sums up front to a company you have not identified.
If you already know the trade
This page is the generic company-number job. The trade pages add the registers that apply to that work.
Common questions
How do I check a UK company by company number?
Type the company number into the search above. It is usually eight digits, or a prefix such as SC, NI or OC followed by digits. That is an exact match at Companies House, which is why it is better than a name if you have it. You will get the company status, age, registered office, insolvency position, whether filings are overdue, and a red, amber or green verdict.
What does Companies House actually show?
The official file for one company: legal status, incorporation date, registered office, appointed officers, people with significant control, accounts and confirmation-statement history, charges, and any insolvency procedure. Small companies usually do not file a profit and loss account, so turnover is often not public.
What does Companies House hide?
It does not follow directors to their other companies unless you click through each officer. It does not label phoenix patterns. It does not include HSE convictions or notices, employment tribunal decisions, ICO fee-payer status, or most trade and professional registers. Those sit on other official sites, which is why a company-number search on its own is not the whole job.
Can you check a sole trader?
Not through Companies House. Sole traders do not file a company record, so there is no company number, no directors and no filing history. If the person you are paying cannot give you a company number, this page will not produce a company file. HSE and tribunal records can still exist under a trading name, but that is a different and weaker match.
What does the free company check include?
Company status and age, registered office, insolvency status, whether accounts or confirmation statements are overdue, director count, and a red, amber or green verdict with the top warning signs. Enough to see whether the company you are about to pay is active, late, or already in a procedure.
What does the £4.99 report add?
The full director network with every other company each director is involved in and what happened to it, phoenix pattern analysis, charges and secured borrowing, HSE conviction and enforcement-notice history, employment tribunal decisions, and a PDF you can keep. That is the part Companies House will not put on one screen.
Do you automatically check ICO, FCA and the Charity Commission?
ICO is not auto-checked: the register is HTML-only and has no company number, so we give you the official link. The FCA register is queried when the API keys are set, and a tick is shown only on a company-number match; most companies are not on it. Charity Commission is queried only when that key is set, and most companies are not charities. We do not auto-check Gas Safe, HMRC AML supervision or professional-body memberships.
Is this the same as the builder or accountant check?
No. This page is the company-number job: what the Companies House file shows, what it hides, and how to search by name or number. If you already know the trade, use the builder, accountant or letting-agent page for the registers that apply to that work.
Check the company before the money leaves
Free check, about twenty seconds, no sign-up. Full report £4.99 if you want the director history, HSE and tribunal records.