# Companies House Company Search: UK Register (`my_agent_c/companies-house-companies-scraper`) Actor

Search the UK Companies House register by name or keyword: company number, status, incorporation date, address, SIC codes and charge flags. Uses your own free Companies House key, with a request cap and a monitoring mode.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/my_agent_c/companies-house-companies-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [My Agent C](https://apify.com/my_agent_c) (community)
- **Categories:** Business
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.10 / 1,000 companies

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/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 Company Search

Search the UK Companies House register by company name or keyword.

Each run returns, per company: name, company number, status, type, incorporation date, ceased date (if any), address and a link to the register record. With **Include company profile** on, it also returns SIC codes, registered office, jurisdiction, and charge and insolvency flags.

### You need your own free key

1. Sign in to the Companies House Developer Hub and create an application.
2. Create a **REST** key under it.
3. Paste the key into **Your Companies House API key**. It is used only for your runs.

### Limits

- Companies House allows 600 requests per 5 minutes per key. The Actor paces its calls and stops with a clear message if the limit is hit.
- **Max API requests** caps each run. With profiles on, each company costs one extra request.
- **Only new companies** remembers what earlier runs returned, so a scheduled run returns only new matches.

### Data

The register is Crown copyright, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where stated otherwise.

### Pricing

Companies House Company Search uses pay per event. You pay $0.005 to start a run and $0.0001 for each company, so 1,000 companies cost about $0.105. There is no monthly fee. Set a maximum cost on a run and it stops cleanly when it reaches it.

### Use cases

- Check that a UK company exists and see its status and incorporation date.
- Build a list of companies by name or keyword for market research.
- Spot insolvency and charge flags before you deal with a company.
- Enrich a customer or supplier list with SIC codes and registered offices.

### Use it from Python or JavaScript

Every Apify actor has an API. Replace the token with yours from the Apify Console.

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("My_agent_C/companies-house-companies-scraper").call(run_input={
  "apiKey": "YOUR_COMPANIES_HOUSE_KEY",
  "query": "bakery",
  "includeProfile": True,
  "maxRecords": 100
})
items = client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).list_items().items
```

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

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('My_agent_C/companies-house-companies-scraper').call({
  "apiKey": "YOUR_COMPANIES_HOUSE_KEY",
  "query": "bakery",
  "includeProfile": true,
  "maxRecords": 100
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
```

You can also run it on a schedule, send results to Google Sheets, Zapier, Make or n8n, or call it from an AI agent through the Apify MCP server.

#### More questions

**How do I search UK companies by name?** Add your free Companies House key, enter a name or keyword, and run the actor. It returns the register record for each match.

**Do I need an API key for Companies House?** Yes, a free key from the Companies House Developer Hub. Each user brings their own.

**Is Companies House data free to use?** Yes. The register is public and the REST API is free with a key.

### More scrapers by the same author

- [Shopify Products Scraper: Prices, Stock and Change Feed](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/shopify-products-scraper)
- [Product Hunt Launches Scraper: New Launches Feed](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/product-hunt-launches-scraper)
- [Hacker News Stories Scraper: Top, New and Show HN](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/hacker-news-stories-scraper)
- [SEC EDGAR Filings Scraper: 8-K, 10-K and Insider Forms](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/sec-edgar-filings-scraper)
- [Bluesky Posts Scraper: Public Posts by Account](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/bluesky-posts-scraper)
- [Greenhouse Jobs Scraper: Open Roles by Company](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/greenhouse-jobs-scraper)
- [GLEIF LEI Company Search: Legal Entity Records](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/gleif-lei-companies-scraper)
- [OpenAlex Works Scraper: Research Papers by Topic](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/openalex-works-scraper)
- [FDA Recalls Scraper: Food, Drug and Device Recalls](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/fda-recalls-scraper)
- [Remote Jobs Scraper: Remote OK and Jobicy Listings](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/remote-jobs-scraper)
- [Ashby and Lever Jobs Scraper: Open Roles by Company](https://apify.com/My_agent_C/ashby-lever-jobs-scraper)

# Actor input Schema

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

Free REST key from the Companies House Developer Hub. Each user brings their own key. It is used only for Companies House requests.

## `query` (type: `string`):

Words to search for in company names, for example: bakery or Tesco.

## `includeProfile` (type: `boolean`):

Adds SIC codes, registered office, jurisdiction and charge and insolvency flags. Uses one extra request per company.

## `maxRecords` (type: `integer`):

How many companies to return in one run, up to 1,000.

## `maxCalls` (type: `integer`):

Hard cap on Companies House requests in one run, so the run stays inside your key's rate limit. Up to 500.

## `onlyNew` (type: `boolean`):

Skip companies this Actor already returned to you in earlier runs.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "includeProfile": true,
  "maxRecords": 100,
  "maxCalls": 100,
  "onlyNew": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `companies` (type: `string`):

No description

## `summary` (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 = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("my_agent_c/companies-house-companies-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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("my_agent_c/companies-house-companies-scraper").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 '{}' |
apify call my_agent_c/companies-house-companies-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/4Kt1SkUtUpmmWbUSg/builds/JOY2ji359ZSI3utBh/openapi.json