ECSH32734 - Companies House

The Companies House register contains public information about all companies incorporated in the UK. It holds information on:

  • The Company itself, such as name, number, industry classification (SIC codes), date of incorporation, memorandum and articles of association (company constitution)
  • Company directors, secretaries and persons with significant control (PSCs).
  • Registered office address.
  • Shareholder and share capital information (shareholder names and addresses, share classes and number of shares held).
  • Annual accounts (a balance sheet and notes (for small companies, this is often abbreviated) and full accounts for larger companies).
  • Records of mortgages and charges created by the company and notices when these charges are satisfied (removed).
  • Company status and insolvency information (see below for more details).
  • Confirmation statements (annual confirmation that the company data is correct).

It also holds information about other legal entities, such as limited liability partnerships (LLPs) and community interest companies (CICs), as well as the Register of Overseas Entities (entities who want to buy, sell or transfer property or land in the UK).

Records for active companies are kept indefinitely. For dissolved companies, key records remain public for 20 years.

Companies House is also the registering authority for Authorised Corporate Service Providers (ACSPs).

What is an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP)

An ACSP is an individual or business authorised by Companies House to:

  • File company information on behalf of clients.
  • Carry out identity verification checks for directors, persons with significant control (PSCs), and others submitting filings.

ACSPs act as authorised agents of Companies House, ensuring compliance with new transparency and anti-fraud requirements under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) and The Registrar (Identity Verification and Authorised Corporate Service Providers) Regulations 2025.

ACSPs can be accountants, solicitors, company formation agents, or other trust or company service providers (TCSPs) supervised under The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017).

ACSPs were introduced to:

  • Improve corporate transparency and reduce misuse of UK company structures.
  • Prevent economic crime, fraud, and money laundering.
  • Ensure that Companies House knows who is filing information and that those individuals are properly verified.
  • Support the new mandatory identity verification regime for directors and PSCs (effective from 18 November 2025).
    Historically, anyone could submit filings with minimal checks, creating loopholes for fraudulent activity. The introduction of, and requirement to be registered for ACSPs close these gaps by adding a layer of assurance.

Historically, anyone could submit filings with minimal checks, creating loopholes for fraudulent activity. The introduction of, and requirement to be registered for ACSPs close these gaps by adding a layer of assurance. 

Read this short blog from Companies House on ACSPs: What you Need to Know.

How are ACSPs regulated?

ACSPs must be supervised by a UK anti-money laundering (AML) supervisor. This can include the Professional Body Supervisors as well as HMRC, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Gambling Commission. HMRC will remain the MLR supervisor for ACSPs that it would already supervise, for example accountancy service providers (ASPs), TCSPs or estate agency businesses that are not supervised by a Professional Body or the FCA. An ACSP cannot register with HMRC unless it carries out supervised activity.

In order to be an ACSP, a business must register with Companies House, provide AML supervisory details, and pay a £55 registration fee. It must:

  • Notify Companies House of any changes to its supervision within 14 days.
  • Maintain AML supervision at all times.
  • Provide additional information on request (for example, proof of compliance with its relevant obligations under the MLRs).

ACSPs themselves must complete identity verification before approval.

ACSPs must: 

  • Verify identities of directors, PSCs, and anyone filing documents before submission. 
  • Follow Companies House identity verification standards.
  • Keep records of identity checks for 7 years. 
  • Use their ACSP account to submit filings securely.
  • Update registration details promptly (address, anti-money laundering (AML) supervisor, senior contacts). 
  • Maintain compliance with AML obligations alongside their Companies House requirements. 
  • Ensure staff added to the ACSP account are authorised and trained to carry out these functions effectively.

Non-compliance can lead to fines, suspension of ACSP registration, or criminal prosecution for the business and its board of directors.

You can read more information on Being an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) on GOV.UK

Using Companies House data

Where a compliance check involves an entity shown on the register, Companies House must be monitored throughout the life of the case to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information on the business.

Before sending a letter, you must check you are using the correct registered office address. The registered office address must be an “appropriate address” as required by regulation 28 of ECCTA 2023, for example not a PO box.

If there is a company secretary, this is the person to whom all correspondence should be addressed. If there is no company secretary or the company secretary is another limited company, then you should address it to any director of the business.

You should also check:

  • The nature of the business (SIC) fits with the information you know about the business.
  • That officers (for example directors and company secretary) and beneficial owners have applied for either an approval or fit and proper test, depending on the supervised activities the business carries out – see ECSH45792 for further details. You can also check other businesses they are associated with, using details of current and previous directorships.
  • Filing history (to view confirmation statements and end of year accounts).

You must regularly check that the company is still active. If not, follow the guidance below.

  • Where the company is dormant - You should write to the business owners to understand the likelihood of it trading again and the circumstances around this. You should ask the business to deregister if it does not intend to carry out supervised activities. If intelligence or open source checks suggest the business is trading, you may need to consider suspending the business’s registration until its compliance with MLR 2017 can be confirmed.
  • Where the company is active but in liquidation or administration - if you identify this before you start your compliance check you should check if this meets the rejection criteria and discuss with your manager. You may be asked to continue to work your case as normal to address a specific risk. Where an insolvency practitioner has been appointed, they will be your contact for the business. Where the insolvency practitioner does not have access to the information or records you need to complete your check, you should consider using powers under regulation 66 to compel connected persons (for example officers and managers) to provide specified information, documents or attend a meeting.

Please note, where an insolvency practitioner is appointed, unless the business is still actively trading, the insolvency practitioner is not a beneficial owner, officer or manager (BOOM) and the business' registration does not need to be updated to include them - see ECSH45791 for more information.

  • Where there is a proposal to strike off – HMRC may decide to object to the winding up of a company.

  • Where the company is dissolved - This is likely to meet case rejection criteria as the company no longer exists. You cannot contact a business which is dissolved although, where a case warrants it, you may be able to contact previous officers – please discuss with your manager and use additional support available, where needed.


You can find more information on all of the above, and how to use Companies House data effectively, in the Insolvency library.

If you find that information held on Companies House is incorrect, you should ask the business to update it.

(This content has been withheld because of exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act 2000)

Where there has been a material change, you must establish whether the business has updated its anti-money laundering supervision (AMLS) registration. You can check the information held in Companies House against the latest application in Enterprise Tax Management Platform (ETMP). If it has not, you will need to consider if a type 3 penalty is appropriate.

You may additionally see excerpts from Companies House when conducting transaction testing, as businesses may use information on the register as part of their customer due diligence (CDD) checks and to satisfy their obligations under regulation 30A. You should check the information on Companies House to ensure that a business has carried out CDD on the correct entity and has correctly verified the identity of beneficial owners.