How do you research a UK company on Companies House?
Search the company on the free Companies House register, then read 5 tabs: overview, filing history, people, charges and insolvency. Private limited companies must file accounts 9 months after their financial year ends (GOV.UK), so overdue filings, officer churn and new charges are the first signals to check.
What can you find on Companies House?
Companies House is the UK government register of companies. For each company it shows the registered name and number, status, registered office, nature of business codes, filing history with downloadable accounts and confirmation statements, current and past officers, people with significant control, and registered charges (Your Company Formations). Searching and downloading are free.
People ask the same questions about it: is this company real, who owns it, is it trading, and can I trust what it filed. The steps below answer them in about 30 minutes, with one caution at the end about what the register does not prove.
Step 1. Find the right company and note its number
Search by name at the Companies House service and open the match. Write down the 8-character company number, since names change and similar names are common. Check the status (active, dissolved, in liquidation), the incorporation date and the nature of business codes. A company that claims to trade while the register shows it as dormant or dissolved deserves a hard look (Your Company Formations).
Step 2. Read the filing history and accounts
Open the filing history and download the last 3 sets of accounts. Look at net assets, cash, debts owed to and by the company and, where given, turnover and profit. Check the dates against the deadlines:
| Filing | Deadline | What a late filing suggests |
|---|---|---|
| Annual accounts | 9 months after the financial year ends | Weak administration or financial stress |
| First accounts | 21 months after incorporation | Same, for a new company |
| Confirmation statement | At least every 12 months, within 14 days of the review period ending | Basic upkeep missed |
| Charge (form MR01) | 21 days from the day after the charge is created | Late registration needs a court order |
Sources: accounts deadlines from GOV.UK; confirmation statement from GOV.UK; charges from GOV.UK.
Many small companies file "filleted" accounts with a balance sheet but no profit and loss account (Price Bailey). A planned change requiring small companies to publish their profit and loss from April 2027 was paused in January 2026 (Rapid Formations). If turnover is missing, our guide on estimating private company revenue shows how to build a range.
Dormant accounts carry their own meaning. Companies House treats a company as dormant when it had no significant transactions in the year (GOV.UK). Dormant accounts from a company with a live website and customers are a warning sign.
Step 3. Check the officers
The people tab lists current and resigned directors and secretaries, with appointment dates, nationality and month and year of birth. Click each name to see their other appointments, active and dissolved. Patterns worth noting include directors who resign soon after appointment and individuals with a very large number of unrelated appointments (Your Company Formations). Search the disqualified directors register too.
Since 18 November 2025, new directors must verify their identity before Companies House records the appointment, and existing directors confirm verification with their next confirmation statement (CMS).
Step 4. Find who controls it
The people with significant control list names anyone holding more than 25% of shares or voting rights, directly or indirectly, or with the right to appoint or remove a majority of the board (GOV.UK). Holdings are shown in bands: over 25% to 50%, over 50% to under 75%, and 75% or more (legislation.gov.uk). If the controller is another company, follow the chain, which our guide on finding who owns a company explains.
Step 5. Check charges and insolvency
The charges tab lists secured lenders, the date each charge was created and whether it is satisfied. A recent cluster of new charges can signal fresh borrowing or stress. The insolvency tab, where present, shows administration, liquidation or a voluntary arrangement. A first Gazette notice of a proposal to strike off means the company may be removed from the register.
Step 6. Follow the company for future changes
Register a free account and select "Follow this company" to get an email each time a filing is accepted, including officer changes, a new registered office and dissolution (GOV.UK). Developers can pull the same data through the free Companies House public data API with a key from the developer hub.
What does Companies House not prove?
The register records what was filed. It does not confirm that a company is solvent, trading or a good counterparty (Your Company Formations). A thread on the AccountingWEB forum for accountants reports that Companies House has accepted documents without checking their content and acts only when someone raises a query (AccountingWEB). Identity checks on officers since November 2025 tighten this for people, not for figures. Match the accounts to bank references, customers and other records before relying on them.
Where does Tamarly Intelligence help?
Tamarly Intelligence is Tamarly's research platform on companies, funds, countries and markets, built from official filings and open data. UK Companies House is one of its sources, alongside SEC EDGAR, European ESEF filings and GLEIF, and every figure links to the filing or record it came from. The law firms workflow screens clients against the US (OFAC), UK, EU and UN sanctions lists.
Tamarly does not cover every UK company and says so when it does not. On Level 2 and above you can have Tamarly research a company from your portfolio and build a sourced profile of it.
Research UK and US private companies from official registers free for 7 days
Frequently asked questions
Is Companies House search free?
Yes. Searching the register, viewing officers and people with significant control, and downloading filed accounts cost nothing. Filing documents has fees, such as £14 to register a charge online (GOV.UK), but reading the register does not.
How do I find out who owns a UK company?
Open the people with significant control list on its Companies House page. It names anyone with more than 25% of shares or voting rights, or the right to appoint most of the board (GOV.UK). Smaller shareholders appear in the confirmation statement where the company reports them.
Why can't I see a UK company's turnover?
Many small companies file filleted accounts that leave out the profit and loss account, so turnover is not on the register (Price Bailey). The balance sheet still shows net assets, cash and debts.
About the author. Melvine Manchau is the founder of Tamarly and author of the Tamarly Newsletter. He previously worked at PwC, Salesforce, BlackRock/eFront and Lazard.
About Tamarly Research. Tamarly Research is part of Tamarly Media, which holds no investment positions. Tamarly is a New York research house that studies how AI is changing regulated institutions.