UK Companies House Scraper

Collect public UK Companies House company profiles from company-name or number searches and known registry URLs. Export available status, type, address, incorporation dates, SIC codes and optional nested officers, filing history and persons with significant control. Registry facts support separate research and review rather than a legal or financial assessment.

Quick start

Start with a known company URL or a short company-name search, set a small per-query limit and enable only the nested sections you need. The existing example combines Tesco discovery, an exact number and a direct profile:

{
  "queries": ["tesco", "00002065"],
  "companyUrls": [{ "url": "https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00445790" }],
  "maxResultsPerQuery": 2,
  "includeOfficers": true,
  "includeFilingHistory": true,
  "includePersonsWithSignificantControl": false,
  "maxOfficersPerCompany": 5,
  "maxFilingsPerCompany": 5
}

Prefer a video guide? This short Apify walkthrough shows you how to set up and run an Actor. It uses a different Actor, but the setup steps are the same.

What you get

One saved company profile with companyNumber, source and profile URLs, available registry attributes and a collection time. Selected officer, filing and PSC sections can be nested in the profile, with warnings if an optional section could not be collected. Company search results exclude officer-only matches.

Who is it for?

• Business-data teams matching registry entities to their own company records.
• Compliance researchers reviewing source-linked status and filing information.
• Employer researchers enriching known company identities without treating registry facts as current hiring information.
• Market analysts segmenting observed company samples by available SIC codes and addresses.

How you can use the data

• Enrich a known Tesco entity. Use the existing 00445790 profile URL and retain companyNumber, status, address and source link beside your own record. Exact identity is safer than accepting a similarly named search result.
• Review a small name-search sample. Search tesco with a two-company limit and compare companyNumber, previousNames and jurisdiction before joining results to a CRM. A name match is a candidate, not proof that two records describe the same business.
• Prepare a filing review. Enable filing history with a small nested cap and keep dates, types, descriptions and available PDF links. A processing filing can lack a document URL, and the Actor does not evaluate the contents or certify compliance.
• Inspect optional people and control records. Enable officers or PSCs only when needed, retaining source context and warnings. Empty PSC data can reflect an exemption or unavailable section rather than proving no controlling person exists. Keep registry status distinct from a risk judgment.

Input settings

Setting	JSON key	Type / default	Description
Company names or numbers	queries	optional array, UI examples only	Company names or exact company numbers. Provide this list or companyUrls, with up to 1000 entries per list.
Company profile URLs	companyUrls	optional array, UI examples only	Known HTTPS Companies House profile URLs or eight-character company numbers.
Maximum companies per query	maxResultsPerQuery	integer, default 10	Maximum company profile records to save for each search query.
Include officers	includeOfficers	boolean, default true	Fetch each company's People page and include officer/director summaries.
Include PSCs	includePersonsWithSignificantControl	boolean, default false	Fetch persons with significant control when the tab is available.
Include filing history	includeFilingHistory	boolean, default true	Fetch recent filing rows and PDF links.
Maximum officers per company	maxOfficersPerCompany	integer, default 10	Caps nested officer records per company.
Maximum filings per company	maxFilingsPerCompany	integer, default 10	Caps nested filing-history records per company.
Maximum concurrency	maxConcurrency	integer, default 3	Number of company profiles fetched in parallel. Keep moderate for GOV.UK pages.
Maximum run time in seconds	maxRunSeconds	optional integer, 60–270	Optional safety budget. The Actor stops admitting new company requests before the budget to preserve saved records and progress.
Use Apify Proxy	useProxy	boolean, default false	Direct access by default. Optional managed proxy access can incur extra charges.
Proxy configuration	proxyConfiguration	optional object, UI prefill only	Existing managed settings, customer proxy pools or explicit direct access. See input help for precedence.

Each query or URL must be nonempty and at most 2048 characters. Leave unused lists empty. An API call with neither list is invalid rather than a request for the form's example companies.

Output data

The existing illustrative row is a shape example rather than fresh registry evidence:

{
  "query": "tesco",
  "companyName": "TESCO PLC",
  "companyNumber": "00445790",
  "companyStatus": "Active",
  "companyType": "Public limited Company",
  "incorporationDate": "27 November 1947",
  "registeredOfficeAddress": "Tesco House, Shire Park, Kestrel Way, Welwyn Garden City, United Kingdom, AL7 1GA",
  "sicCodes": ["47110 - Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating"],
  "profileUrl": "https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00445790",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-07-03T00:00:00.000Z"
}

JSON key	Label	Type	Description
query	Query	string	Search term or supplied company reference that led to this record.
companyName	Company name	string	Name displayed on the public company profile.
companyNumber	Company number	string	Registry identifier used to deduplicate companies.
companyStatus	Status	string / null	Public registry status, when available.
companyType	Type	string / null	Legal entity type displayed by the registry.
incorporationDate	Incorporation date	string / null	Registry date as displayed, not a normalized date.
dissolutionDate	Dissolution date	string / null	Dissolution date when shown.
registeredOfficeAddress	Registered office	string / null	Public registered office address, not necessarily a trading location.
sicCodes	SIC codes	array	Available activity classification codes and labels.
previousNames	Previous names	array	Earlier names and displayed periods.
jurisdiction	Jurisdiction	string	United Kingdom.
sourceUrl	Source URL	string	Search or input reference associated with the record.
profileUrl	Profile URL	string	Official company profile link.
officers	Officers	optional array	Selected people summaries with available roles, dates and appointment links.
filings	Filings	optional array	Selected filing dates, types, descriptions and available document links.
personsWithSignificantControl	PSCs	optional array	Available control records or a displayed exemption notice.
warnings	Warnings	array	Optional non-sensitive warnings when an officer, filing, or PSC section could not be collected. The company profile is still saved.
scrapedAt	Collection time	string	ISO timestamp for the collected profile.

Download your results

Open your run's dataset, choose Export and select JSON, CSV or Excel. JSON keeps nested fields together. CSV and Excel are useful when you want to review the records in a spreadsheet.

See Apify's download and export guide for the available formats and field options.

Pricing

After input validation, a run with sufficient charge capacity charges one start event. Each company profile is charged as an item after it is saved to the dataset. Officers, filings and PSC data are nested in that profile rather than separate company rows. Optional-section failures can leave a saved and charged profile with warnings, and a valid empty search can retain its start charge without item charges.

Keep search and nested-section limits small, and allow for Apify platform usage such as compute, storage and optional proxies. See the live Pricing tab for current rates and account discounts.

Tips for best results

• Use exact company numbers for identity. Name searches are useful for discovery and matching variants.
• Keep first searches small. The per-query cap limits discovery, while nested officer and filing caps limit detail work.
• Request only useful nested sections. Optional-section failures can be recorded in warnings while the company profile remains available.
• Use direct URLs for repeat enrichment. Keep companyNumber and collection time in your own destination before comparing snapshots.
• Review source status carefully. A registry status is not a complete assessment of trading activity, financial health or legal compliance.

Limits and caveats

Companies House search can return officers and other result types, but this Actor saves company profiles only. Searches can contain fewer companies than the requested limit. Results are deduplicated by company number, so repeated sources do not guarantee repeated rows.

Some companies have no exposed PSC data or show an exemption notice. Filing documents may still be processing and lack a PDF link. Optional officer, filing or PSC retrieval failures can leave the base profile with warnings, and nested lists are capped rather than complete by default.

A readable search with no company candidates, or company targets returning unavailable responses, can finish successfully with an empty dataset and a reason in RUN_SUMMARY. Unavailability does not prove privacy or deletion. Blocking or extraction errors are not classified as legitimate empty results. If every attempted profile fails unexpectedly, the run fails. Available profiles can remain after an isolated failure, while deadline, dataset-saving or charging failures can fail the run after earlier rows were delivered.

The Actor stops admitting work when its item charge capacity is exhausted. Its internal processing budget remains finite even if a platform timeout is increased. PENDING_WORK and RUN_SUMMARY are best-effort reports, not automatic continuation inputs. A restarted run that already charged company records fails rather than delivering duplicates.

Public registry information can be incomplete or updated after collection. Keep scrapedAt and the source URL with your own comparisons. Use data lawfully, respect privacy and database requirements, and do not use it for prohibited or abusive purposes. No legal or financial conclusion is produced.

Automation and integrations

Save your settings for next time

Once you have an input that works for you, save it as an Apify task. This keeps your settings together so you can use them again without filling in the form from scratch.

Run on a schedule

Need fresh results regularly? You can schedule the Actor or a saved task to run at a time that suits you.

Each scheduled run collects the data again. If you want to compare results or highlight changes, add that step in your own workflow.

Send results to your other tools

Use n8n, Make or Zapier to connect this scraper to the rest of your workflow. For example, you could pass its results to an AI assistant or add records to a spreadsheet. Follow the Apify integration guides for your chosen tool.

For a custom connection, an Apify webhook can notify your app when a run finishes or fails. Your app can then fetch the results or handle the failure.

API usage

Want to collect this data from your own app or automation? The examples below send input to the scraper and show how to collect its results.

The Node.js and Python examples wait for the run to finish before reading its results. The cURL example starts the run and returns its details. Wait for that run to finish, then use its defaultDatasetId to fetch the results.

For setup instructions, see Apify's JavaScript client guide, Python client guide and Actor runs API reference.

cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/fetch_cat~uk-companies-house-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"queries":["tesco","00002065"],"companyUrls":[{"url":"https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00445790"}],"maxResultsPerQuery":10,"includeOfficers":true,"includePersonsWithSignificantControl":false}'

Node.js

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const input = {
  "queries": [
    "tesco",
    "00002065"
  ],
  "companyUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00445790"
    }
  ],
  "maxResultsPerQuery": 10,
  "includeOfficers": true,
  "includePersonsWithSignificantControl": false
};

const run = await client.actor('fetch_cat/uk-companies-house-scraper').call(input);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient
import os

client = ApifyClient(os.environ["APIFY_TOKEN"])
run = client.actor("fetch_cat/uk-companies-house-scraper").call(run_input={
  "queries": [
    "tesco",
    "00002065"
  ],
  "companyUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00445790"
    }
  ],
  "maxResultsPerQuery": 10,
  "includeOfficers": true,
  "includePersonsWithSignificantControl": false
})
items = client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).list_items().items
print(items)

MCP and AI agents

You can ask your AI assistant to collect data with UK Companies House Scraper and help you work with the results. The scraper returns the data, and your assistant can then summarize it, compare records or prepare notes.

Connect your assistant through the Apify MCP server. MCP gives your assistant a way to find this scraper, run it and read the results. Follow the official setup and sign-in guide for your app.

Easier setup with an Apify plugin

If you use a supported coding assistant, the official Apify plugin can set up the connection for you. It connects your assistant to Apify and includes instructions for common tasks. Follow the guide for your particular app.

Use Apify AI in Console

Prefer to keep everything in Apify? Open Apify AI in Console and ask it to find Fetch Cat's UK Companies House Scraper. You can describe the data you want and ask questions about the results.

Apify AI is currently in beta. It asks for confirmation before starting an Actor, and normal run charges apply.

Choose your assistant

• Claude and Claude Code (Anthropic): Apify setup guide.
• ChatGPT and Codex (OpenAI): Apify setup guides.
• Grok Bot (xAI): Apify plugin guide.
• Gemini CLI (Google): MCP server setup guide. Use the server URL below with the HTTP configuration supported by Gemini CLI.

Connect just this scraper

To keep your setup focused on this scraper, add this server configuration to a compatible MCP client:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apify": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=fetch_cat/uk-companies-house-scraper"
    }
  }
}

Sign in to Apify when your client asks. If your client uses a Bearer token instead, follow its setup guide and keep the token in its secure configuration. Configuration formats vary by app, so use the linked guide if your client needs a different format.

Use Apify's general server

Already connected to the general Apify MCP server at https://mcp.apify.com? You can use it to find this scraper without adding another server. Ask your assistant to use UK Companies House Scraper by Fetch Cat, or give it the identifier fetch_cat/uk-companies-house-scraper.

Your assistant can check the available settings and retrieve the results from the returned run. If the run is still working, it should follow that run rather than start it again. Both connection options use Apify's hosted service.

Example requests

• “Use Fetch Cat’s UK Companies House Scraper to collect the public profile at https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00445790 with officers and filing history enabled and a cap of 5 each, and PSCs off. Keep company identity, status and source links without giving a compliance verdict.”
• “Collect up to 2 company profiles for tesco, with officers and PSCs off and filing history limited to 3 entries per company. Show company numbers, names, addresses and available SIC codes so I can review candidate matches.”
• “Retrieve the Companies House company-number lookup for 00002065 with officer and filing sections off and PSCs on. Keep any exemption or unavailable-section warning without inferring that an empty section proves no controlling person exists.”

Normal Apify charges apply. Check the live Pricing tab before asking your assistant to run a larger batch.

Pay with x402

If your AI agent has a funded wallet, it can pay for Apify usage through x402. This experimental option lets an agent use Apify without a conventional account.

Apify AGI provides a prepaid API token with a spending cap after payment. Your agent can use that token to run this scraper through the Apify API or an authenticated MCP connection.

Some MCP setups also support paying for each request directly. That is a different payment option, so check the official guide for its availability.

Follow the official guide for wallet setup, supported payment options and current terms. Apify handles the payments. Keep wallet keys and payment tokens in your agent's secure configuration.

Other ways for agents to pay

Apify also supports MPP for prepaid access through AGI and Skyfire for eligible Actors. If your agent already uses one of these, see the agentic payment guide to choose the right setup.

FAQ

Can I scrape officers and filings together?

Yes. Enable officers and filing history in the input, then set sensible per-company limits.

Why did I get fewer companies than requested?

The search may have fewer company profile results than your limit.

The actor ignores officer-only search results because the output is company-focused.

Why are PSCs empty?

Some companies have no PSC records, are exempt, or do not expose the section in the same way.

Enable includePersonsWithSignificantControl if you need PSC enrichment.

Why is a PDF link missing?

Companies House may show that a filing document is still being processed.

Those rows can still appear without a document URL.

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Support and feedback

For custom additions or integrations, email hello@fetchcat.dev.

Found an error or have a feature request? Open an issue with the run URL, a non-sensitive input example and what you expected.

Need help sharing it? See Apify’s guide to sharing a run when reporting an issue. Sharing a run can give the developer access to its input, logs and results, so use a run that contains no sensitive data. Please leave out API tokens, passwords, cookies, private documents and personal data. Use a public sample URL or a redacted example instead.

Tried this scraper? We'd love to hear how it worked for you. Leave a review to help others choose the right tool and help us improve it. Your feedback means a lot to us.

Made with care for curious people, AI agents and the possibilities in data. ♥