# Companies House Search: UK Company Rows from a Name (`accountable_eel/companies-house-search-lookup`) Actor

Search the UK Companies House register by company name. One row per company: number, status, incorporation date, address, postcode. No API key needed.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/accountable_eel/companies-house-search-lookup.md
- **Developed by:** [Adriana Voss](https://apify.com/accountable_eel) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.50 / 1,000 company returneds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Companies House Search: UK Company Rows from a Name

**Type a company name, get one row per matching UK company: number, status, incorporation or dissolution date, registered office address and postcode.**
Reads the official Companies House register (England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland). No API key needed; add your own free key and it switches to the official Public Data API.

**Who uses it:** sales and RevOps teams building UK prospect lists from a name column, KYB and onboarding checks that need the company number before a deeper lookup, and agents that resolve "Tesco" to the right legal entity.

**Related actors:** to look up a company you already have a number for (accounts due dates, SIC codes, insolvency flags) use [Companies House UK Lookup](https://apify.com/accountable_eel/companies-house-uk-lookup). This actor finds the numbers; that one reads the full record.

**Price:** $3.00 per 1,000 companies on the Free plan, less on paid plans. A search with no match returns one row saying so and costs nothing.

### Example rows

| companyNumber | companyName | companyStatus | incorporationDate | postcode | source |
|--|--|--|--|--|--|
| 00445790 | TESCO PLC | active | 1947-11-27 | AL7 1GA | website |
| 05888957 | (a dissolved Tesco entity) | dissolved | null | SE1 2AF | website |

`companyStatus` on the website route is read from the register's own result line: no label after "Incorporated on" means active; a label such as "Liquidation" is passed through; "Dissolved on" and "Closed" map to `dissolved` and `closed`. The dissolved row above has `incorporationDate: null` because the search list does not print it. `companyType` is only filled when you add an API key.

### How to use

1. **In the Apify Console.** Open the actor page and click **Start** — the `queries` field is already pre-filled with a working example. Results land in the run's dataset as soon as each item is found.
2. **Via the API.** Call it directly with a POST request — no Console needed once you have an API token:
   ```bash
   curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~companies-house-search-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>" \
     -X POST \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"queries":["tesco"]}'
   ```
3. **On a schedule.** Save this actor as an Apify **Task** with the input you want, then add a **Schedule** (hourly, daily, weekly) so it runs on its own — no server of your own required.

### Input

```json
{
  "queries": [
    "tesco"
  ]
}
```

One search per line: a company name or part of one (e.g. "tesco"). Each search returns up to the maximum number of matching UK companies, one row per company. Accepted formats: tesco, acme consulting, 00445790.

Put one company name per line in `queries`. `maxResults` (default 20, up to 100) is how many companies each line returns; the register lists 20 per page and the actor reads the pages it needs. Leave `apiKey` empty to use the public register website. A free key from the Companies House developer site (a few minutes, no approval wait) is optional; it stays your own, is marked secret and is never written to the dataset. The API allows 600 requests per 5 minutes per key.

### Output

One row per company. Missing values are `null`. Every row carries `companyUrl` (the Companies House page), `sourceUrl` (the search page) and `scrapedAt`.

| query | found | status | searchQuery | companyCount | companies | matchRank | companyNumber | companyName | companyStatus | companyType | jurisdiction | incorporationDate | dissolutionDate | openedDate | registeredOfficeAddress | postcode | matchedPreviousName | companyUrl | source | sourceUrl | scrapedAt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| tesco | true | OK | <search query> | <companies returned for this search> | \<all companies returned (full array)> | \<rank in the register's results> | <company number> | <company name> | <company status> | \<company type (api key only)> | <jurisdiction> | <incorporation date> | <dissolution date> | \<opened date (overseas establishments)> | <registered office address> | <postcode> | <previous name that matched> | <companies house company page> | \<route used (website or api)> | <search page url> | 1970-01-01T00:00:00.000Z |

A search with no match comes back as one row with `"found": false`, `"status": "NOT_FOUND"` and a message, and is never charged. A block or error page comes back as `BLOCKED` and is never charged either.

### Pricing

Pay-per-event. A flat per-run fee covers session/proxy warmup; you're billed
per item only when data is actually found and returned — see
`.actor/pay_per_event.json` for exact prices. A miss is never charged.

### Example runs

Paste any of these into the Input tab and press Start. All three return rows with no key and no account beyond an Apify login.

**One name, the default shape.**

```json
{ "queries": ["tesco"] }
```

**Several names, first 5 matches each.**

```json
{ "queries": ["monzo", "revolut", "wise payments"], "maxResults": 5 }
```

**A longer list for one name, 60 companies.**

```json
{ "queries": ["acme"], "maxResults": 60 }
```

### Use it from Clay, n8n, Make, or an AI agent

This actor runs synchronously over plain HTTP — call it directly from a script, a workflow tool, or an AI agent, no Apify Console needed once you have an API token.

```bash
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~companies-house-search-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>" \
  -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"queries":["tesco"]}'
```

**n8n.** Add an HTTP Request node: Method `POST`, URL `https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~companies-house-search-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>`, Body Content Type `JSON`, JSON Body `{"queries":["tesco"]}` (swap in an expression from an earlier node for a real value).

**Clay.** Add an "HTTP API" column: Method `POST`, URL `https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~companies-house-search-lookup/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>`, Body `{"queries":["{{search}}"]}`, mapping the row's search into the `queries` array.

**MCP.** In Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client with the Apify MCP server, ask for "companies house search scraper" — the agent will find and run this actor.

# Actor input Schema

## `queries` (type: `array`):

One search per line: a company name or part of one (e.g. "tesco"). Each search returns up to the maximum number of matching UK companies, one row per company. Accepted formats: tesco, acme consulting, 00445790. You're only charged for the ones we actually find — a miss costs nothing.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Optional. Stop the run once this many results have been found — useful for a quick, cheap sample. Leave blank for no limit.

## `testRun` (type: `boolean`):

Turn this on to test your input on a small sample before running the full list. Turn it off to process everything.

## `onlyFound` (type: `boolean`):

Only keep rows where something was actually found. Misses are always free, whether or not you show them here.

## `includeKeywords` (type: `array`):

Optional. Only keep results that mention at least one of these words (e.g. a job title, a city, a product name). Leave empty to keep everything.

## `excludeKeywords` (type: `array`):

Optional. Drop any result that mentions one of these words. Leave empty to skip nothing.

## `apiKey` (type: `string`):

Not needed. Without a key the actor reads the public Companies House register website. With your own free key it reads the official Public Data API instead (company type included, 100 results in one call, your own rate limit of 600 requests per 5 minutes). Get one in a few minutes at https://developer.company-information.service.gov.uk/ (register a REST application).

## `columns` (type: `array`):

Choose which pieces of information to include in each result row. All are included by default.

## `expandRows` (type: `boolean`):

When on, each company found gets its own row instead of being grouped under its search. You're still only charged once per search, no matter how many rows it produces.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

Parallel requests. Keep conservative — this target has no browser fallback, so getting blocked costs more than slow-and-steady.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Apify Proxy config. This target is a free public API that needs no proxy — defaults to off, but you can turn one on if you prefer.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "queries": [
    "tesco"
  ],
  "testRun": false,
  "onlyFound": false,
  "includeKeywords": [],
  "excludeKeywords": [],
  "columns": [
    "searchQuery",
    "companyCount",
    "companies",
    "matchRank",
    "companyNumber",
    "companyName",
    "companyStatus",
    "companyType",
    "jurisdiction",
    "incorporationDate",
    "dissolutionDate",
    "openedDate",
    "registeredOfficeAddress",
    "postcode",
    "matchedPreviousName",
    "companyUrl",
    "source",
    "sourceUrl"
  ],
  "expandRows": true,
  "maxConcurrency": 5,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "queries": [
        "tesco"
    ],
    "includeKeywords": [],
    "excludeKeywords": []
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("accountable_eel/companies-house-search-lookup").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "queries": ["tesco"],
    "includeKeywords": [],
    "excludeKeywords": [],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("accountable_eel/companies-house-search-lookup").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "queries": [
    "tesco"
  ],
  "includeKeywords": [],
  "excludeKeywords": []
}' |
apify call accountable_eel/companies-house-search-lookup --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,accountable_eel/companies-house-search-lookup"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/geW9GEuF6N9LtDblj/builds/3LZMdaMLBYxW7gB59/openapi.json