# UK Company Lookup - Companies House API (No Personal Data) (`shelly_fen/uk-company-lookup-companies-house`) Actor

Bulk-check UK companies by number or name via the official Companies House API: status, type, dates, registered office, SIC codes with descriptions, accounts and confirmation-statement due/overdue, optional filing history. Company data only - no directors or PSC personal data.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/shelly_fen/uk-company-lookup-companies-house.md
- **Developed by:** [shelly_fen](https://apify.com/shelly_fen) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Lead generation, MCP servers
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.00 / 1,000 company records

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 Lookup – Companies House Official API (No Personal Data)

Check UK companies in bulk by **company number** or **company name**. Data comes straight from the **official Companies House Public Data API**, not from scraping web pages.

Each company becomes one clean row:

- company name, number, status (active, dissolved, liquidation…), type and jurisdiction
- incorporation and dissolution dates
- registered office address (one line plus separate fields)
- SIC codes **with plain-English descriptions**
- accounts and confirmation statement dates: next due, overdue flag, last made up to
- insolvency history and charges flags, previous company names
- link to the company's Companies House page
- optional add-on: a filing history summary (latest N filings with date, form type, category and description)

### What it does NOT do

- **No directors, officers or PSC (beneficial owner) personal data.** Names, birth dates and home addresses of people are never requested or returned. In the filing history add-on, any person's name inside a filing description is replaced with `[omitted]`.
- No financial figures from accounts, no documents or PDFs, no charges detail.
- Not live-streamed: each run reads the register at the moment it runs.

If you need officer data, this is not the right tool. Company-level data keeps your output simpler to handle under UK GDPR.

### Typical uses

- KYB / supplier onboarding: check that a company exists, is active and is not overdue on filings
- CRM clean-up: add status, SIC description and registered office to a list of company numbers
- Lead lists by name: search names, keep active companies only
- Monitoring: re-run a list on a schedule and compare `companyStatus` and `accountsOverdue`

### Input

| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `companyNumbers` | e.g. `00445790`, `SC090312`, `OC301540`. Leading zeros are optional. |
| `searchQueries` | Company names; the top `maxResultsPerQuery` matches are looked up in full. |
| `activeOnly` | Skip companies that are not active. |
| `currentNameMatchOnly` | Companies House search also matches *previous* names. Turn on to keep only companies whose current name contains every searched word. Every search row has `matchedOn` (`currentName` / `previousNameOrOther`). |
| `includeFilingHistory`, `filingHistoryCount` | Filing history add-on. |
| `maxCompanies` | Safety cap per run (default 1,000). |
| `apiKey` | Optional: your own free Companies House REST API key (see below). |

Example:

```json
{ "companyNumbers": ["00445790", "SC090312"], "searchQueries": ["rolls royce"], "maxResultsPerQuery": 5, "activeOnly": true }
```

### Output (one row per company)

```json
{
  "companyNumber": "00445790",
  "companyName": "TESCO PLC",
  "companyStatus": "active",
  "companyStatusDescription": "Active",
  "companyTypeDescription": "Public limited company",
  "dateOfCreation": "1947-11-27",
  "registeredOfficeAddress": "Tesco House, Shire Park, Kestrel Way, Welwyn Garden City, AL7 1GA, United Kingdom",
  "sicCodes": [{ "code": "47110", "description": "Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating" }],
  "accountsNextDue": "2026-08-31",
  "accountsOverdue": false,
  "confirmationStatementNextDue": "2027-06-23",
  "hasInsolvencyHistory": false,
  "companiesHouseUrl": "https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00445790",
  "input": "tesco", "inputType": "nameSearch", "searchRank": 1, "matchedOn": "currentName",
  "retrievedAt": "2026-10-18T07:00:00+00:00",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information from Companies House. ..."
}
```

(The values above are illustrative.) Company numbers that don't exist come back as a free row with `"error": "not_found"`. Malformed numbers come back as `"error": "invalid_company_number"`.

### Pricing (pay per event)

| Event | Price |
|---|---|
| Company record | $0.001 per company ($1 per 1,000) |
| Filing history add-on | $0.0005 per company, only when switched on |
| Actor start | $0.00005 per run |

Not-found and invalid numbers are not charged. Set a maximum charge per run in Apify and the Actor stops cleanly when it is reached.

### Speed and API key

Companies House allows **600 requests per 5 minutes per API key**. One company uses 1 request, plus 1 for the filing add-on and about 1 per 100 search matches.

- **Without your own key** the Actor uses its own key. Each run is throttled to 300 requests per 5 minutes so it is fair to all users, which works out to about 60 companies a minute.
- **With your own free key** (`apiKey`) you get your own full quota, about 120 companies a minute. Get one at [developer.company-information.service.gov.uk](https://developer.company-information.service.gov.uk/): create an application, then create a *REST API key*. Your key is stored as a secret input.

When Companies House answers "too many requests", the Actor waits and retries automatically.

### Data source, freshness and licence

**Contains public sector information from Companies House.**

- Source: [Companies House Public Data API](https://developer.company-information.service.gov.uk/). The register is updated continuously as filings are accepted, and each run reads live data.
- Companies House states that it imposes no rules or requirements on how information on the public register is used ([Companies House data products](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/companies-house-data-products)). You remain responsible for complying with data protection and other law when you use the output.
- SIC, status and type descriptions come from the Companies House [api-enumerations](https://github.com/companieshouse/api-enumerations). They are Crown copyright, used under the [Open Government Licence v3.0](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/).
- This Actor is independent. It is **not affiliated with or endorsed by Companies House** or the UK Government.
- Registered office addresses are company addresses on the public register. For some small companies this may be an individual's address, so handle the output accordingly.

### FAQ

**Is this scraping?** No. It only calls the documented official API and respects its rate limit.

**Why no directors?** It keeps the tool focused and lowers your data protection burden. Company status, filings and SIC codes answer most onboarding and enrichment questions.

**Scotland / Northern Ireland / LLPs?** Yes: `SC…`, `NI…`, `OC…`, `SO…` and other prefixes all work.

# Changelog

This Actor's version history is a separate document: https://apify.com/shelly_fen/uk-company-lookup-companies-house/changelog.md

# Actor input Schema

## `companyNumbers` (type: `array`):

Companies House numbers, e.g. 00445790, SC012345, OC301540. Leading zeros optional (445790 works).

## `searchQueries` (type: `array`):

Name searches using the official Companies House search. Each match becomes one full company record.

## `maxResultsPerQuery` (type: `integer`):

Top matches per name (Companies House relevance order). Each match is one charged company record.

## `activeOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Skip dissolved, liquidation and other non-active companies.

## `currentNameMatchOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Companies House search also matches previous names. Turn on to keep only companies whose current name contains every word you searched. Each row also carries matchedOn = currentName / previousNameOrOther.

## `includeFilingHistory` (type: `boolean`):

Adds the latest filings (date, form type, category, plain-English description). Names of directors/PSCs inside filing descriptions are replaced with \[omitted]. Charged as a separate small event.

## `filingHistoryCount` (type: `integer`):

How many latest filings to include when the add-on is on.

## `maxCompanies` (type: `integer`):

Safety cap on company records per run.

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

Optional. Leave empty to use the Actor's key. With your own free REST API key (developer.company-information.service.gov.uk) your runs get your own 600 requests / 5 min quota, which is faster for large batches.

## `maxRequestsPer5Min` (type: `integer`):

Throttle. Companies House allows 600 per 5 minutes per key. When the Actor's shared key is used, runs are capped at 300.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "companyNumbers": [
    "00445790",
    "SC090312"
  ],
  "searchQueries": [],
  "maxResultsPerQuery": 5,
  "activeOnly": false,
  "currentNameMatchOnly": false,
  "includeFilingHistory": false,
  "filingHistoryCount": 10,
  "maxCompanies": 1000,
  "maxRequestsPer5Min": 500
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

No description

## `full` (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 = {
    "companyNumbers": [
        "00445790",
        "SC090312"
    ],
    "searchQueries": []
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("shelly_fen/uk-company-lookup-companies-house").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 = {
    "companyNumbers": [
        "00445790",
        "SC090312",
    ],
    "searchQueries": [],
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("shelly_fen/uk-company-lookup-companies-house").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 '{
  "companyNumbers": [
    "00445790",
    "SC090312"
  ],
  "searchQueries": []
}' |
apify call shelly_fen/uk-company-lookup-companies-house --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/qBicIpdrjXSnXO6Li/builds/hRw2rcJI6VZbE8clG/openapi.json