About our services

Information on the range of digital services we offer to help you search or file company details and the statutory fees we charge.

What is Companies House?

Find company information

You can:

Find out more about searching the Companies House register.

Read our disclaimer on the supply of company information through our services.

Data products and DVD directory

Companies House offers a number of different data products, including:

We also offer a DVD directory with basic company details on all live companies registered in the UK, and companies that have been dissolved in the last month.

The dissolved company name DVD has been withdrawn. It’s been replaced by the online dissolved search index on our Find and update company information service.

Find out more about our data products and DVD directory.

File information for your company

It’s easier and quicker to file your information online.

Find out more about the benefits of filing online.

You can:

Using and developing software

Software filing packages let you send us information through our eXtensible Markup Language (XML) gateway.

If you file a lot of documents, you might find this fits into your workflow more easily. The more documents you file, the more beneficial this option is likely to be.

Find more information on:

Incorporation services

You can:

Paper forms

You can still post paper forms to us, but public access to our offices is restricted to protect the welfare of our employees. Check our office opening times for more information.

It’s also taking longer than usual to process paper forms because of coronavirus (COVID-19). You should file your information online where possible.

As part of our response to COVID-19, we’ve introduced a service to Upload a document to Companies House.

For more information, see Sending your forms to Companies House during COVID-19.

Protected online filing (PROOF)

Designed for users of our online filing or software filing service, the protected online filing (PROOF) scheme can help you prevent fraudulent changes to your company.

This free service lets you protect your company from unauthorised changes to your records. It prevents the filing of certain paper forms, including:

  • changes to your registered office address
  • changes to your officers details
  • changes to your company name by special resolution

Find out more about our PROOF service.

Follow

Follow is a part of CHS which lets you receive free email alerts of company transactions. The alert tells you instantly what’s been filed with us, as soon as we’ve accepted it.

The email alert includes a link to the filing history of the company, where you can download a copy of the document for free.

Find out how to follow companies on CHS.

Information centres

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we have closed our offices to the public in:

  • Belfast
  • Edinburgh
  • London

Certified copies and certificates

You can order:

  • a certificate of incorporation with certified facts
  • a certified copy of a document held on the register

Find out how to order certified copies and certificates from Companies House.

Same day services

You can use a same day service to electronically file a change of company name, or incorporate a company (software filing only). You must apply before 3pm. If you apply after 3pm, your application will not be processed until the next working day.

You can use a same day service to upload a reduction of capital (form SH19). You must upload the form SH19 and any relevant supporting documents by 11am. If you upload your documents after 11am, we’ll process them the next working day. Read more about the same day service to upload a form SH19.

We have suspended all other same day services until further notice.

Customer service standards

The Companies House customer charter sets out the standards of service we aim to provide. It also provides information on how you can give us feedback on your experience of doing business with us.

 Vulnerable customer pledge

We recognise that complying with statutory obligations can be difficult for users who find themselves in vulnerable situations, and we pledge to support customers during these periods.

Unacceptable customer behaviour

Companies House is committed to providing an excellent service to our customers and we will always do our best to help. In return, we expect our customers to behave appropriately and treat our employees with courtesy, consideration and respect.

Our unacceptable behaviour policy lets both employees and customers know what we consider to be unacceptable and outlines the steps we may take to deal with such behaviour. It applies to all our customers.

Accessibility support

Our services are designed to be accessible and easy to understand. We can also provide reasonable adjustments to help users who need assistance because of a disability or health condition.

Give us feedback

To help us make sure that we’re maintaining our standards or highlight areas for improvement, you can complete our customer satisfaction survey.

It only takes a few minutes to complete.

All the information you supply when completing a survey will be treated with the utmost confidentiality in line with our privacy statement.

 How to say thanks

If you’d like to say thanks and tell us about a person or team at Companies House who has given you a brilliant level of service - send your email to thanks@companieshouse.gov.uk.

This could be someone who has:

  • gone out of their way to help you
  • been genuinely interested in your needs and responded to them
  • helped you deal with a difficult situation

The person will be told that you appreciated their effort and may even receive an award or gift voucher for their service.

See what others have said.

Companies House fees

We charge a statutory filing fee for some of our services.

Some of our fees are set by regulations and confirmed by parliament. Some fees are administratively set by a fees determination.

See the full list of Companies House fees.

eBilling service

If you have a credit account with us, you can access and manage these accounts using the Companies House eBilling service.

Find out how to manage your Companies House credit account.

Welsh service

Companies House has a service for Welsh companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) who prefer to use the Welsh language when conducting business with us.

Find out more about the Companies House Welsh service.

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