# UK Companies House Bulk Scraper (`logiover/uk-companies-house-bulk-scraper`) Actor Extract UK companies from the official Companies House register. 5M+ businesses by industry (SIC code), location, age, status. Monthly bulk snapshot. No API key. B2B lead-gen, KYC, recruitment, market research. $1/1K companies. - **URL**: https://apify.com/logiover/uk-companies-house-bulk-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Logiover](https://apify.com/logiover) (community) - **Categories:** Lead generation, Business - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $1.50 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. Actors are written with capital "A". ## 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. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## UK Companies House Bulk Scraper — 5M+ UK Companies, No API Key Extract UK companies from the **official [Companies House](https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house) government register** — 5+ million active and dissolved businesses, with **no API key required**. This **UK Companies House scraper** downloads the free monthly bulk snapshot published by the UK Government and lets you filter the entire register by SIC industry code, location, status, category and company age. Unlike scrapers that hit the live Companies House REST API (which needs a key and is rate-limited), this Actor uses the **free public bulk download** — no API key, no rate limit, no captcha. You get the whole UK business register in one run, then filter it down to the exact slice you need for **B2B lead generation, KYC, market research or competitive intelligence**. The output is clean, structured JSON exportable to CSV or Excel. ### ✨ What this Actor does / Key features - **Official UK government data** — the authoritative Companies House register, refreshed monthly, under the Open Government Licence. - **No API key, no rate limit** — uses the free public bulk snapshot, not the rate-limited REST API. - **5M+ companies** — every active and dissolved UK company in a single run. - **Powerful filtering** — by SIC code prefix, SIC description keyword, company name, status, category, postcode prefix, post town, county, country and incorporation date range. - **Combined logic** — filters are AND-ed together; multiple values within one filter are OR-ed. - **Memory-efficient streaming** — streams and parses the ~500 MB compressed CSV without loading it all into memory. - **Early-stop on `maxResults`** — stops pushing once your cap is reached to save time and compute. - **Structured, export-ready output** — normalized JSON per company, ideal for JSON, CSV, Excel, CRMs and data warehouses. ### 🔍 Input | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `snapshotMonth` | string | Which monthly snapshot to use (`YYYY-MM`). Leave blank for the latest available. | | `sicCodePrefixes` | array | Filter by SIC code prefix, e.g. `["62"]` for IT companies, `["58"]` for publishing. Multiple prefixes are OR-ed. | | `sicKeywords` | array | Free-text substring match inside the SIC description (case-insensitive), e.g. `["software", "consulting"]`. OR-ed. | | `nameContains` | string | Substring filter on company name (case-insensitive). | | `companyStatuses` | array | Statuses to include, e.g. `Active`, `Dissolved`, `Liquidation`, `In Administration`. Default `["Active"]`. | | `companyCategories` | array | Categories to include, e.g. `Private Limited Company`, `Public Limited Company`, `Limited Liability Partnership`. Empty = all. | | `postCodePrefixes` | array | UK postcode prefix match, e.g. `["SW1", "EC1"]` for central London, `["M"]` for Manchester. | | `postTowns` | array | Exact match on post town (case-insensitive), e.g. `["LONDON", "MANCHESTER"]`. | | `counties` | array | Substring match on county, e.g. `["GREATER LONDON", "WEST MIDLANDS"]`. | | `countries` | array | Substring match on registered country, e.g. `["ENGLAND", "SCOTLAND", "WALES", "NORTHERN IRELAND"]`. | | `incorporatedSince` | string | Only companies incorporated on or after this date (`YYYY-MM-DD`). | | `incorporatedBefore` | string | Only companies incorporated on or before this date (`YYYY-MM-DD`). | | `maxResults` | integer | Hard cap on saved rows. Set high (e.g. 100000) to keep everything that matches your filters. | | `logEveryNRows` | integer | Print a progress line every N CSV rows. Default `100000`. | ### 🚀 Example input Find every active fintech in central London: ```json { "sicCodePrefixes": ["64", "66"], "sicKeywords": ["financial", "payment", "fintech"], "postCodePrefixes": ["EC1", "EC2", "EC3", "EC4", "E14"], "companyStatuses": ["Active"], "maxResults": 5000 } ```` Find every new (2025+) software company in the UK: ```json { "sicCodePrefixes": ["62"], "incorporatedSince": "2025-01-01", "companyStatuses": ["Active"], "maxResults": 10000 } ``` ### 📦 Output Each item in the dataset is one UK company, normalized into clean JSON. Key fields include: | Field | Description | |-------|-------------| | `companyName` | Registered company name. | | `companyNumber` | Official Companies House company number. | | `status` | Company status (Active, Dissolved, Liquidation, In Administration, etc.). | | `category` | Company category (Private Limited Company, PLC, LLP, etc.). | | `incorporationDate` | Date the company was incorporated. | | `dissolutionDate` | Dissolution date, if applicable. | | `address` | Full registered office address object: line 1, line 2, post town, county, post code, country, care-of, PO box. | | `sicCodes` | Array of up to 4 SIC codes with their text descriptions. | | `accounts` | Accounts data: reference date, next due date, last filed date, account category. | | `returns` | Confirmation statement / annual return next due and last filed. | | `mortgages` | Charge counts: total, outstanding, satisfied, part-satisfied. | | `previousNames` | Up to 10 historical company names with change dates. | | `url` | Direct link to the public Companies House profile (plus the API URL). | #### Example output record ```json { "companyName": "EXAMPLE FINTECH LTD", "companyNumber": "12345678", "status": "Active", "category": "Private Limited Company", "incorporationDate": "2025-03-14", "address": { "line1": "1 Example Street", "postTown": "LONDON", "county": "GREATER LONDON", "postCode": "EC1A 1AA", "country": "ENGLAND" }, "sicCodes": ["64999 - Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified"], "url": "https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12345678" } ``` ### 💡 Use cases - **B2B lead generation** — build hyper-targeted lead lists by industry (SIC) and location (postcode + post town). - **KYC & compliance** — verify UK companies against the authoritative government register. - **Market research** — analyze the UK business landscape by sector, region, age and status. - **Competitive intelligence** — map competitors and adjacent companies within a SIC category. - **Data products & SaaS** — power B2B SaaS tools or resell enriched datasets (the data is under the Open Government Licence). - **Finding fresh companies** — use `incorporatedSince` to surface newly formed companies before they appear in third-party databases. ### ❓ Frequently Asked Questions **Do I need a Companies House API key?** No. This Actor uses the free public bulk download that Companies House publishes for everyone — no API key, no rate limit and no captcha. **Is it legal to use this data commercially?** Yes. The Companies House register is Crown Copyright data published under the Open Government Licence v3.0, so you may copy, publish, adapt and resell it for commercial or non-commercial use. **How fresh is the data?** The bulk snapshot is published monthly, around the 1st of each month. For real-time intra-month changes you would need the paid Companies House REST API. Re-run this Actor each month for the latest snapshot. **How long does a run take?** A full scan of the ~5M-row register takes roughly 10–15 minutes depending on filter complexity. The scan duration is the same regardless of `maxResults` — only the output size changes. **Can I filter by industry and location together?** Yes. All filters are combined with AND, so you can stack SIC code prefixes, postcode prefixes, post towns, status and incorporation date for precise targeting. Within a single filter, multiple values are OR-ed. **Does the output include director names or contact details?** No. Officer/director names are in a separate Companies House file, and Companies House does not collect email addresses or phone numbers. Enrich the output with your own data provider if you need contact details. **Can I schedule it and what formats are supported?** Yes — schedule it to run at the start of each month for the latest snapshot. Results export to JSON, CSV, Excel or XML, or via the Apify API. ### ⏰ Scheduling & integration Schedule this Actor on Apify to run monthly so you always have the latest UK company register. Export results to JSON, CSV or Excel, pull them through the Apify API, or connect the dataset to Google Sheets, your CRM, webhooks or a data warehouse for automated lead-gen and compliance workflows. # Actor input Schema ## `snapshotMonth` (type: `string`): Which monthly snapshot to use. Leave blank to use the latest available. Companies House publishes a new snapshot around the 1st of each month. ## `sicCodePrefixes` (type: `array`): Filter by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code prefix. E.g. \["62"] for all IT companies, \["58"] for publishing, \["70"] for management consulting. Multiple prefixes are OR-ed. See https://resources.companieshouse.gov.uk/sic/ for the full list. ## `sicKeywords` (type: `array`): Filter by free-text substring inside the SIC description (case-insensitive). E.g. \["software", "consulting"]. Multiple keywords are OR-ed. ## `nameContains` (type: `string`): Substring filter on company name (case-insensitive). E.g. "TECH" matches "FINTECH LTD", "TECHWAVE LIMITED", etc. ## `companyStatuses` (type: `array`): Which company statuses to include. Most users want only "Active" companies for lead-gen. ## `companyCategories` (type: `array`): E.g. "Private Limited Company", "Public Limited Company", "Limited Liability Partnership". Leave empty for all categories. ## `postCodePrefixes` (type: `array`): UK postcode prefix match. E.g. \["SW1", "EC1"] matches central London. \["M"] matches all Manchester postcodes. \["E1"] matches East London. ## `postTowns` (type: `array`): Exact match on the post town (case-insensitive). E.g. \["LONDON", "MANCHESTER"]. ## `counties` (type: `array`): Substring match on county. E.g. \["GREATER LONDON", "WEST MIDLANDS"]. ## `countries` (type: `array`): Substring match on registered country. E.g. \["ENGLAND", "SCOTLAND", "WALES", "NORTHERN IRELAND"]. ## `incorporatedSince` (type: `string`): Only include companies incorporated on or after this date. Useful for finding fresh/new companies. E.g. "2024-01-01" for companies less than ~16 months old. ## `incorporatedBefore` (type: `string`): Only include companies incorporated on or before this date. Useful for finding established companies. ## `maxResults` (type: `integer`): Hard cap on saved rows. The scraper will still scan the full snapshot but stop pushing to the dataset once this number is reached. Set to a high value (e.g. 100000) if you want everything that matches your filters. ## `logEveryNRows` (type: `integer`): Print a progress line every N CSV rows. Lower = more verbose. The bulk snapshot has ~5M rows. ## Actor input object example ```json { "snapshotMonth": "", "sicCodePrefixes": [], "sicKeywords": [], "nameContains": "", "companyStatuses": [ "Active" ], "companyCategories": [], "postCodePrefixes": [], "postTowns": [], "counties": [], "countries": [], "incorporatedSince": "", "incorporatedBefore": "", "logEveryNRows": 100000 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `developers` (type: `string`): All developers matching the input filters. Open in the Dataset tab — three pre-configured views available (All Developers, Email-Ready Leads, By Language). # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "companyStatuses": [ "Active" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("logiover/uk-companies-house-bulk-scraper").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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "companyStatuses": ["Active"] } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("logiover/uk-companies-house-bulk-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "companyStatuses": [ "Active" ] }' | apify call logiover/uk-companies-house-bulk-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=logiover/uk-companies-house-bulk-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "UK Companies House Bulk Scraper", "description": "Extract UK companies from the official Companies House register. 5M+ businesses by industry (SIC code), location, age, status. Monthly bulk snapshot. No API key. B2B lead-gen, KYC, recruitment, market research. $1/1K companies.", "version": "0.0", "x-build-id": "rvTvcLcNGtcntrCJ2" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/logiover~uk-companies-house-bulk-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-logiover-uk-companies-house-bulk-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/logiover~uk-companies-house-bulk-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-logiover-uk-companies-house-bulk-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/logiover~uk-companies-house-bulk-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-logiover-uk-companies-house-bulk-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "snapshotMonth": { "title": "Snapshot month (YYYY-MM)", "type": "string", "description": "Which monthly snapshot to use. Leave blank to use the latest available. Companies House publishes a new snapshot around the 1st of each month.", "default": "" }, "sicCodePrefixes": { "title": "SIC code prefixes", "type": "array", "description": "Filter by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code prefix. E.g. [\"62\"] for all IT companies, [\"58\"] for publishing, [\"70\"] for management consulting. Multiple prefixes are OR-ed. See https://resources.companieshouse.gov.uk/sic/ for the full list.", "default": [], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "sicKeywords": { "title": "SIC keywords", "type": "array", "description": "Filter by free-text substring inside the SIC description (case-insensitive). E.g. [\"software\", \"consulting\"]. Multiple keywords are OR-ed.", "default": [], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "nameContains": { "title": "Company name contains", "type": "string", "description": "Substring filter on company name (case-insensitive). E.g. \"TECH\" matches \"FINTECH LTD\", \"TECHWAVE LIMITED\", etc.", "default": "" }, "companyStatuses": { "title": "Company statuses", "type": "array", "description": "Which company statuses to include. Most users want only \"Active\" companies for lead-gen.", "default": [ "Active" ], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "companyCategories": { "title": "Company categories", "type": "array", "description": "E.g. \"Private Limited Company\", \"Public Limited Company\", \"Limited Liability Partnership\". Leave empty for all categories.", "default": [], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "postCodePrefixes": { "title": "Post-code prefixes", "type": "array", "description": "UK postcode prefix match. E.g. [\"SW1\", \"EC1\"] matches central London. [\"M\"] matches all Manchester postcodes. [\"E1\"] matches East London.", "default": [], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "postTowns": { "title": "Post towns", "type": "array", "description": "Exact match on the post town (case-insensitive). E.g. [\"LONDON\", \"MANCHESTER\"].", "default": [], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "counties": { "title": "Counties", "type": "array", "description": "Substring match on county. E.g. [\"GREATER LONDON\", \"WEST MIDLANDS\"].", "default": [], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "countries": { "title": "Countries", "type": "array", "description": "Substring match on registered country. E.g. [\"ENGLAND\", \"SCOTLAND\", \"WALES\", \"NORTHERN IRELAND\"].", "default": [], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "incorporatedSince": { "title": "Incorporated on or after (YYYY-MM-DD)", "type": "string", "description": "Only include companies incorporated on or after this date. Useful for finding fresh/new companies. E.g. \"2024-01-01\" for companies less than ~16 months old.", "default": "" }, "incorporatedBefore": { "title": "Incorporated on or before (YYYY-MM-DD)", "type": "string", "description": "Only include companies incorporated on or before this date. Useful for finding established companies.", "default": "" }, "maxResults": { "title": "Maximum results to save", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 5000000, "type": "integer", "description": "Hard cap on saved rows. The scraper will still scan the full snapshot but stop pushing to the dataset once this number is reached. Set to a high value (e.g. 100000) if you want everything that matches your filters." }, "logEveryNRows": { "title": "Progress log frequency (rows)", "minimum": 1000, "maximum": 1000000, "type": "integer", "description": "Print a progress line every N CSV rows. Lower = more verbose. The bulk snapshot has ~5M rows.", "default": 100000 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```