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.


Service availability and planned maintenance

Essential service maintenance

Our Webfiling and software filing (XML gateway) services will be unavailable from 8pm on Sunday 3 March until 1am on Monday 4 March.

The Set up a limited company and register for Corporation Tax service will be unavailable from 5pm on Friday 1 March until 9am on Monday 4 March.

This is essential work to include new requirements set out in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency (ECCT) Act.

Find company information

You can:

From 1 November 2022 you will not be able to order copies of company information by phone or by post with a cheque, postal order or similar. You can download this information for free.

Find out how to search the Companies House register.

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

Data products

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

Our advanced company search has replaced the DVD directory.

Our dissolved search index has replaced the dissolved company name DVD.

Read about Companies House data products.

File information for your company

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

You can:

Read about filing your Companies House information online.

Using and developing software

Software filing products 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 better this option is likely to be.

Incorporation services

You can:

Paper forms

You can upload documents to Companies House instead of sending a paper form by post.

If you send paper forms to Companies House by post you must use the correct address or your post will be re-directed.

Register of Overseas Entities

The Register of Overseas Entities came into force in the UK on 1 August 2022 through the new Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022.

Overseas entities who want to buy, sell or transfer property or land in the UK must register with Companies House and tell us who their registrable beneficial owners or managing officers are.

Register an overseas entity and tell us about its beneficial owners.

Agent assurance codes

A UK-regulated agent must carry out verification checks on beneficial owners and managing officers of an overseas entity before it can be registered. The agent must request an agent assurance code before they can file any verification statements with Companies House.

Agent assurance codes for registering an overseas entity.

Protected online filing (PROOF)

Our protected online filing (PROOF) scheme lets you protect your company from unauthorised changes to your records. It free to use and is designed for users of both our online filing and software filing services.

With PROOF, your company will only be able to file certain information online using the authentication code. This includes any changes to your:

  • registered office address
  • officers details
  • company name by special resolution

Follow companies on the register

‘Follow’ is a part of our Find and update company information service which sends free email alerts for company transactions.

The alert tells you what information a company has filed with Companies House, as soon as we’ve accepted it. The email also includes a link to the filing history of the company, where you can download a copy of the document for free.

How to follow companies.

Certified copies and certificates

You can order:

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

Ordering certified copies and certificates from Companies House.

Customer service standards

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

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. It also outlines the steps we may take to deal with unacceptable behaviour. This policy applies to all our customers.

Call recording

Calls are recorded for training and quality assurance purposes. Other calls made directly to Companies House may also be recorded for the same purposes.

These recordings will be erased 18 months from the date of the call, unless there’s a business need to keep them. We will not keep any calls for longer than is necessary.

British Sign Language (BSL)

Our video relay service allows Deaf BSL users to call Companies House through a team of SignVideo interpreters. You can contact us during our standard hours, Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6pm.

Using British Sign Language to contact Companies House.

Accessibility

Our services are designed to be accessible and easy to understand. We can also provide reasonable adjustments to help users who need extra support 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, email 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.

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.

Managing your Companies House credit account.

Welsh service

Companies House can support users who prefer to do business in Welsh.

Read about the Companies House Welsh language service.