Country-specific guidance Current

Verifying a company client's registration details

Cross-check what the client tells you against Companies House's own register.

A company client's own paperwork is a starting point, not confirmation. This guide sets out how to cross-check a company's registration details against the public record. It is general information, not legal or compliance advice.

Action plan

1 Search the company on the Companies House register The free, public register is the first cross-check, before relying on anything the client provides.

Companies House's Find and update company information service, accessible through GOV.UK, lets you search a company for free by name or company number and see its registered details, including its registered office address and date of incorporation. Run this search before treating any document the client has provided as confirmed.

  • Search the company by name or company number on the Companies House register
  • Note the registered office address and date of incorporation the register shows
  • Treat a company that doesn't appear on the register, or appears under a different name, as a discrepancy to resolve

Done when: The company has been located on the Companies House register and its registered details noted

GOV.UK: get information about a company
2 Compare the company number and status against what the client provided A mismatch on the company number or an unexpected status is worth resolving before proceeding.

Compare the company number and current status the register shows against what the client has told you or provided in its own documents. Companies House's register reflects a company's current status directly, including where a company has been dissolved or has other filing issues on record, so a mismatch here is worth resolving rather than assuming it is a simple typo.

  • Compare the company number on the register against the number the client provided
  • Check the company's current status, not only its name and number
  • Resolve any mismatch directly with the client before proceeding

Done when: Company number and status have been compared against the client's own documents, with any mismatch resolved

GOV.UK: get information about a company
3 Keep the register search itself as part of your evidence The search is worth recording, not just the outcome.

Keep a record of the register search itself, including when it was carried out and what it showed, alongside the client's own documents. This gives you a dated, independent cross-check that sits alongside, rather than replaces, your firm's other due diligence records.

  • Record the date the register search was carried out and what it showed
  • Keep the search result alongside the client's own registration documents
  • Repeat the search if there is a long gap before the relationship actually starts

Done when: The register search and its result are kept as evidence alongside the client's own documents

See requesting beneficial ownership information from a corporate client