Companies House

What Companies House does

Companies House is the statutory registrar of companies in the United Kingdom, operating as an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business and Trade and headquartered in Cardiff, Wales. Its core function is to incorporate and dissolve limited companies and LLPs, maintain the official UK company register, and make company information publicly available. The agency serves the entire UK corporate population — more than 5 million registered entities — along with their directors, People with Significant Control, and the professional intermediaries that file on their behalf.

The technology platform centres on the WebFiling online submission system, the Companies Register database, the public Company Information Search service, a Document Upload service, and — most recently — the mandatory Identity Verification Service for directors, PSCs and LLP members introduced under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. WebFiling was temporarily taken offline in March 2026 to remediate a security vulnerability introduced in an October 2025 update, which exposed directors' personal data across approximately five million companies. Distribution is entirely through GOV.UK self-serve channels, supplemented by an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) network that conducts filings and identity verification on behalf of clients, and bilingual English/Welsh services.

Companies House is funded through a combination of government appropriations and statutory filing fees for incorporation, confirmation statements, accounts, and document retrieval. As a government body it is not commercially positioned; strategic direction is set by UK policy, particularly the post-ECCTA expansion into identity verification, beneficial ownership transparency, and active economic-crime enforcement in coordination with the FCA, Insolvency Service, NCSC, and ICO.

Name

Companies House

Legal name

Companies House

Website

https://companieshouse.gov.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1844

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Companies House is the UK government statutory registrar of companies, incorporating and dissolving limited companies, maintaining the official corporate register, and providing public company information and mandatory director identity verification for the entire UK business population.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Registry Services

NAICS

Directory and Mailing List Publishers (513140), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519)

akta.pro primary industry

Business Registration & Corporate Affairs (Registries) (BPAIAOAA)

Keywords

• Company registration services
• Corporate registry filings
• Company information search
• Identity verification service
• Business compliance filings

Headquarters

HQ city

Cardiff

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Funded as an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business and Trade. Receives government appropriations for operational funding.
2. Filing Fees and Charges: Generates revenue through fees charged for company incorporation, filing documents, company searches, and document retrieval services.

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Companies House incorporates and dissolves UK limited companies, registers statutory company information, and makes that information publicly available. It operates the WebFiling electronic filing platform and the Identity Verification Service mandated under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, alongside company information search, document upload, confirmation statement filing, and company dissolution services delivered through GOV.UK.

Product overview

Companies House is a unified platform offering a comprehensive suite of company registration and filing services for UK businesses. The core offering consists of WebFiling (for online document filing), Company Information Search (for public company records lookup), Identity Verification Service (mandatory for directors and PSCs), Document Upload Service, Company Incorporation, Confirmation Statement Filing, and Company Dissolution. These services are integrated through the gov.uk platform and are delivered as government services rather than commercial software products. The system processes company filings, maintains the official UK company register, and enforces identity verification requirements under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• WebFiling Platform Online filing system that allows users to submit company documents, confirmation statements, and changes to company details electronically, replacing paper-based filing for UK companies and their advisers.
• Company Information Search Free public search service enabling users to find and retrieve information about UK registered companies, including filing history, director details, and registered addresses.
• Identity Verification Service Identity verification service for UK company directors, People with Significant Control (PSCs), and LLP members, mandated under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 and available directly via Companies House or through Authorised Corporate Service Providers.
• Document Upload Service Electronic filing service that allows users to upload and submit certain documents to Companies House online instead of posting paper forms.
• Company Incorporation Service Statutory service for incorporating and registering new limited companies in the UK, including company name approval and initial filing procedures.
• Confirmation Statement Filing Annual filing service enabling UK companies to confirm and update their company information, including directors, secretaries, registered office address, and share capital.
• Company Dissolution Service Service for dissolving and removing UK limited companies from the official register, including striking off inactive companies.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Intellectual Property Office (IPO)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2026Companies House and IPO joined forces in May 2026 to warn businesses about unsolicited payment requests and help identify scams.
• Department for Business and TradecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompanies House is an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Business and Trade, which provides oversight, policy direction, and government funding.
• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUnder UK AML reform proposals, the FCA is taking over AML/CTF supervision for professional services firms in 2026, working alongside Companies House identity verification requirements ahead of FATF evaluation in 2027.
• Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompanies House reported the March 2026 security vulnerability to the ICO, which is the UK data protection regulator.
• National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompanies House reported the March 2026 security incident to the NCSC, the UK government's lead technical authority on cybersecurity.
• UK Civil Aviation AuthorityminorOthersThe UK CAA handles customer claims related to ATOL-protected bookings from bankrupt travel companies, working with Companies House records for affected businesses.
• Insolvency ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Insolvency Service continues crackdown on companies exploiting the UK business register, working with Companies House to tackle economic crime, including China-based clients.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Dun & Bradstreet: Global commercial provider of business data, analytics, and KYC feeds that aggregates official registry data (including UK data). Adjacent rather than competitive: Companies House is the authoritative source D&B and similar vendors license from.
• GOV.UK One Login (Government Digital Service): UK government single-sign-on and identity platform used across public services including Companies House identity verification. Adjacent infrastructure provider enabling cross-government digital identity, rather than a direct registry competitor.

Regional players

• Bundesanzeiger (German Federal Gazette): Germany's official federal gazette and company publication platform for corporate filings, financial statements, and statutory disclosures. Comparable in registry and publication function but operates under a different legal-publishing model than Companies House.

Direct peers

• Corporations Canada (Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada): Federal Canadian corporate registry responsible for incorporating companies and maintaining the public register of Canadian corporations. Closest international peer to Companies House in mandate, statutory role, and digital services model.
• Delaware Division of Corporations: State-level corporate registry in the United States that incorporates and maintains official records for more than a million Delaware entities. Direct functional analogue of Companies House as a statutory company registrar and public information source.
• Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), Singapore: Singapore's national regulator of business registration, public accountants, and corporate service providers. Operates the equivalent company registry function and is a strong comparator for Companies House's digital-first delivery model.
• Companies Registration Office Ireland: Ireland's central repository of public company information and statutory company registration office. Directly comparable to Companies House in scale, function, and statutory authority within an English-speaking common law jurisdiction.

Broad incumbents

• HMRC (HM Revenue & Customs): UK government tax authority and large executive agency operating digital services at national scale. Comparable to Companies House as a UK public-sector body delivering mandatory digital services to businesses and individuals, though with a different statutory purpose.
• ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission): Australia's integrated corporate, markets, and financial services regulator that maintains the company register and handles business names. Comparable to Companies House but with a much broader financial regulatory remit beyond pure company registration.
• Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), India: Indian government ministry administering the Companies Act and operating the MCA21 portal for company incorporation, filings, and public registry access. Comparable in registry function at far larger scale, with broader regulatory and insolvency responsibilities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CompaniesHouse
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TheCompaniesHouse/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/CompaniesHouse
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/companies-house

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Companies House