# UK Company Number Lookup – Companies House Name Matcher (`notational_bush/uk-company-number-lookup`) Actor

Turn a list of UK supplier or company names into Companies House company numbers, with match method, confidence and company status. Exact and tidied-name matching on the free Companies House bulk register; ambiguous names stay unmatched. No API key, no personal data.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/notational_bush/uk-company-number-lookup.md
- **Developed by:** [Dave Harding](https://apify.com/notational_bush) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 1,000 company number matches

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

## UK Company Number Lookup – match supplier names to Companies House numbers

> Paste a list of UK company or supplier names; get back each one's **Companies House company number**, how it was matched, a confidence level and the company's status. No API key needed. Ambiguous names are left blank rather than guessed.

### What does it do?

For every name you give it, the Actor returns one row with the best Companies House match from the free **Companies House Free Company Data Product** (the monthly bulk register of about 5.6 million live companies). It's the same matcher used by our [UK Tenders & Awards Actor](https://apify.com/notational_bush/uk-eu-contract-awards), which keys public-contract winners to their company numbers.

### Who uses it

- **CRM and data teams:** add company numbers to supplier, customer or prospect lists so they can be joined to other data without fuzzy name joins.
- **Procurement and B2G analysts:** turn supplier names from tender or spend data into company numbers.
- **KYB and due-diligence prep:** a first pass at which names are registered companies, and which are dissolved, in liquidation or unknown.

### Quick start

1. Paste names into **Company or supplier names**, one per line (up to 10,000 per run). A company number such as `02174990` or `SC123456` is also accepted and checked against the live register.
2. Click **Start**. 1,000 names usually take well under a minute.
3. Export the dataset (CSV, Excel, JSON) and join it back to your list on `inputIndex`, the 0-based position of the name in your input.

### How matching works

Tiers, in order. The first unique hit wins:

| `matchMethod` | `confidence` | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| `identifier` | high | The input is a well-formed company number found in the live register |
| `name_exact` | high | Case- and space-insensitive exact name, unique among live companies |
| `name_normalised` | medium | Unique after tidying punctuation, `Limited`/`Ltd`, `PLC`, `&`/`and` and a leading `The` |
| `name_variant` | medium | The legal-entity part of "X Ltd T/A Y", "X Ltd (trading as Y)" or "X Ltd (XYZ)", ending in Ltd/Limited/PLC/LLP/CIC, matched uniquely |
| `ambiguous` | none | Several live companies share the name. Left unmatched on purpose |
| `none` | none | No unique live company with this exact or tidied name |
| `skipped` | none | The name looks like an individual or sole trader. It is not looked up and not stored |

There's no fuzzy or "closest" matching, so a match is either unique or left blank. In a test on 1,141 UK public-contract supplier rows, about 70% matched, and name matches agreed with the company number published on the notice 96–97% of the time. Unmatched names are mostly public bodies (councils, NHS trusts, universities), brands without a legal suffix, and dissolved companies (the snapshot covers live companies only).

### Output

One row per input name, in input order:

| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| `inputIndex` | 0 |
| `inputName` | Softcat PLC (or `[individual]` when skipped) |
| `companyNumber` | 02174990 |
| `matchMethod` | name_exact |
| `confidence` | high |
| `companyStatus` | Active |
| `reason` | Why a name was left unmatched (null when matched) |
| `companiesHouseSnapshot` | 2026-10-01 |
| `source` | Source: Companies House (Free Company Data Product) |

The run's `OUTPUT` record has totals: matched, ambiguous, unmatched, skipped, and the match rate.

### How much does it cost?

Pay per event: **`company-match`, charged once per name matched to a company number** (planned price about $0.003, or $3 per 1,000 matches). Unmatched, ambiguous and skipped names are free. The run stops at your maximum cost per run.

### Personal data

The Actor doesn't collect personal data. Input names that look like an individual or sole trader ("Jane Smith", "Mr J Smith", "Jane Smith T/A Smith Plumbing") are skipped. They are written out only as `[individual]` with their `inputIndex`, so you can still join the row back to your list. Only company numbers and statuses from the public register are returned. No addresses, officers or people with significant control are included.

### Data source and licence

Company numbers and statuses come from the Companies House Free Company Data Product (monthly snapshot, live companies only). Companies House places no restriction on reuse of public-register information. Source: Companies House. This Actor is not endorsed by Companies House. Data is provided as is.

### FAQ

**Does it need a Companies House API key?** No. It uses the free bulk snapshot built into the Actor.

**How fresh is it?** The snapshot is rebuilt monthly. Companies registered since then, and companies that have dissolved, aren't found.

**Why is a well-known company unmatched?** Usually because several live companies share the tidied name (`ambiguous`), or the name is a brand without "Ltd", "PLC" and so on. Try the full legal name.

**Can I pass company numbers?** Yes. Each is validated against the live register and returned with its status.

### Changelog

- **0.1 (Oct 2026):** first version (private).

# Actor input Schema

## `companyNames` (type: `array`):

One name per line, up to 10,000. A Companies House number (e.g. 02174990 or SC123456) is also accepted and checked against the live register. Names of individuals or sole traders are skipped.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "companyNames": [
    "Softcat PLC",
    "Computacenter (UK) Limited",
    "Capita Business Services Ltd",
    "Serco Limited",
    "Kier Construction Limited"
  ]
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

No description

## `table` (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 = {
    "companyNames": [
        "Softcat PLC",
        "Computacenter (UK) Limited",
        "Capita Business Services Ltd",
        "Serco Limited",
        "Kier Construction Limited"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("notational_bush/uk-company-number-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 = { "companyNames": [
        "Softcat PLC",
        "Computacenter (UK) Limited",
        "Capita Business Services Ltd",
        "Serco Limited",
        "Kier Construction Limited",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("notational_bush/uk-company-number-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 '{
  "companyNames": [
    "Softcat PLC",
    "Computacenter (UK) Limited",
    "Capita Business Services Ltd",
    "Serco Limited",
    "Kier Construction Limited"
  ]
}' |
apify call notational_bush/uk-company-number-lookup --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,notational_bush/uk-company-number-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/SKBXMIcyHsp2VsGyb/builds/ZrT3UG8VlF9AKzfZn/openapi.json