Microproduct data guidebeginner

Companies House Register

Public UK company, officer, and filing records for building company-status, officer, and industry-lookup tools.

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At a glance

Difficulty
Beginner — comfortable for a first prototype
Size
Large · ≤10 GB
Formats
JSON, CSV
Access
API or Download
API key
Required
Provider
Companies House
Updates
Daily
Data terms
Companies House public register terms

From source to product signal

Test a product idea in four steps

The Companies House API returns public register records for UK companies. Start with one company number after creating a free API key. Register data can lag filings, dissolved companies remain searchable, and you remain responsible for data-protection rules when publishing officer details.

1

Check the setup

  • Python 3.10 or newer
  • A notebook environment such as Jupyter or Google Colab
  • A free Companies House API key saved in the COMPANIES_HOUSE_API_KEY environment variable
2

Access the data

  1. 1.Register a Companies House developer account and create an API key.
  2. 2.Read the data-products page, including the notice that the public register has no reuse licence restrictions.
  3. 3.Request one company profile by company number.
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3

Run the Python example

Install the packages, then run the notebook cell.

python -m pip install pandas requests

import os
import pandas as pd
import requests

response = requests.get(
    "https://api.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00000006",
    auth=(os.environ["COMPANIES_HOUSE_API_KEY"], ""),
    timeout=30,
)
response.raise_for_status()
profile = pd.json_normalize(response.json())
print(profile.filter(regex="company_name|company_number|company_status|sic").head())
4

Test a useful signal

Look up one UK company's status and SIC codes

Test whether the public register can power a company-status card.

  1. 01Keep company number, name, status, and SIC codes.
  2. 02Record the accounts and confirmation-statement due dates if present.
  3. 03Explain that officer and address fields are personal data and that register lag can make a "live" status stale.

Dataset details

Companies House is a government source. Last verified 2026-08-18. Temporal coverage: live companies on the public register.

Theme

Markets & Economics

Domains

BusinessCorporate FilingsRegulation

Data types

Registry DataDocuments

Tasks

Entity ResolutionCompany ResearchScreening

Geography

United Kingdom

Formats

JSONCSV

Provider

Companies House

Data terms

Companies House public register terms