# UK Director Search - Companies House Officers (`sterlingverify/uk-director-search`) Actor

Companies House director search: look up UK company directors and officers by name and get every appointment (active and resigned), company, status, role and dates. For KYB, AML due diligence and finding a director's other companies.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/sterlingverify/uk-director-search.md
- **Developed by:** [Luke Mangan](https://apify.com/sterlingverify) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Lead generation, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$5.00 / 1,000 officer founds

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 Director Search

**UK Director Search** is a Companies House director lookup: search a director by name and get every company appointment (active and resigned), with company, status, role and dates.

**Best for:** KYB and due diligence, merchant onboarding, investigating a director's other businesses, and B2B research.

### How to search Companies House for a director

1. Add director names to **Director names** (`names`).
2. Paste your free **Companies House API key** (without one, you get free demo data).
3. Click **Start** and confirm identity using birth month/year and address.

### How it works

Uses the official Companies House REST API (search/officers, then officers/{id}/appointments). The same name can belong to different people, so confirm identity with the birth month/year and address.

### Output

`query, officerName, officerId, birthYear, totalAppointments, activeAppointments, appointments, demoData`

### Pricing (pay-per-event)

- `officer-found`: **$0.005** per result ($5 / 1,000). Platform usage is included; you pay only for results.
- Example: 10,000 officers found cost $50.00.

### Example input

```json
{
  "names": [
    "Jane Example"
  ],
  "maxOfficersPerName": 3
}
```

### Example output

Values below are illustrative.

```json
{
  "query": "Jane Example",
  "officerName": "Jane EXAMPLE",
  "officerId": "abc123",
  "birthYear": 1980,
  "totalAppointments": 2,
  "activeAppointments": 1,
  "appointments": [
    {
      "companyNumber": "00000001",
      "companyName": "EXAMPLE TRADING LIMITED",
      "role": "director"
    }
  ],
  "demoData": false
}
```

### Use it via API, schedules and integrations

Run it in Apify Console, or call it from your own code with the Apify API or the Python and JavaScript clients. Save an input as a task and add a schedule to run it regularly, and send results to Slack, email, webhooks, Zapier, Make or n8n with Apify integrations. AI agents can find and run it through the Apify MCP server.

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("sterlingverify/uk-director-search").call(run_input={"names": ["Jane Example"], "companiesHouseApiKey": "YOUR_COMPANIES_HOUSE_KEY"})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)
```

### FAQ

#### Do I need an API key?

Yes, a free Companies House API key. Without one the Actor returns bundled demo data, which is not charged. Companies House rate limits (600 requests / 5 min) apply.

#### Is every result the same person?

Not necessarily. The same name can belong to different people, so confirm identity with the birth month/year and address.

### Disclaimer

Contains public sector information from Companies House licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Not affiliated with Companies House. Results support due diligence and are not legal advice; verify important decisions against the official register. You supply your own free API key; Companies House rate limits (600 requests / 5 min) apply. Personal data: process it only for a lawful purpose under UK GDPR (e.g. due diligence).

### Related sterlingVerify tools

Part of the sterlingVerify UK payments, KYB and data toolkit on Apify Store:

- [UK Company Check](https://apify.com/sterlingverify/uk-company-check): Companies House, VAT and UK sanctions KYB check in one call
- [UK Sanctions Screener](https://apify.com/sterlingverify/uk-sanctions-screener): fuzzy screening against the UK Sanctions List (FCDO)
- [EU VAT Number Validator (VIES)](https://apify.com/sterlingverify/eu-vat-vies-validator): bulk EU VAT number checks against VIES
- [Merchant Website Compliance Checker for Onboarding](https://apify.com/sterlingverify/merchant-compliance-checker): onboarding review of a merchant's website

# Actor input Schema

## `names` (type: `array`):

Full names to search for.

## `companiesHouseApiKey` (type: `string`):

Required for live data. Get a free key at https://developer.company-information.service.gov.uk (Register an application, then create a REST API key). Without a key the Actor runs in demo mode on sample data and nothing is charged.

## `maxOfficersPerName` (type: `integer`):

Companies House returns several people with similar names. Each returned officer is one charge.

## `activeAppointmentsOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Hide resigned appointments.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "names": [
    "Jane Example"
  ],
  "maxOfficersPerName": 5,
  "activeAppointmentsOnly": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

All results in the default dataset

# 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 = {
    "names": [
        "Jane Example"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("sterlingverify/uk-director-search").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 = { "names": ["Jane Example"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("sterlingverify/uk-director-search").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 '{
  "names": [
    "Jane Example"
  ]
}' |
apify call sterlingverify/uk-director-search --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,sterlingverify/uk-director-search"
        }
    }
}
```

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/SPBv5dLZzVbSK6NXf/builds/daBA32jiGCdkOmneW/openapi.json