# UK Companies House Company Data and MCP Server (`tormanliikenne/uk-companies-house`) Actor

Search UK companies by number, name, postcode, SIC code or incorporation date in the Companies House free monthly snapshot. Clean company-level JSON in the same format as France, change tracking for new and updated companies, and an MCP server for AI agents. No directors or personal data.

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

## Pricing

from $4.00 / 1,000 company record returneds

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.

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 Companies House Company Data and MCP Server

Search UK companies in the official Companies House free company data snapshot and get clean, company-level records in the same format as the sister Actor for French companies (France Sirene Company Data and MCP Server). Use it from the Apify console, the API, or as an MCP server for AI agents.

Only company-level data is returned. There are no directors, officers, persons with significant control or other data about natural persons.

### What you get

Each result is one company:

| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `country` | `GB` |
| `registryId` | Companies House number |
| `name`, `legalForm` | Registered name and company category |
| `status`, `statusRaw` | `active`, `closed` or `other`, plus the original Companies House status text |
| `incorporationDate`, `dissolutionDate` | ISO dates |
| `address` | Registered office: `line1`, `line2`, `locality`, `region`, `postalCode`, `country` |
| `industryCodes` | UK SIC 2007 codes with labels |
| `source`, `sourceUrl`, `licence`, `sourceDate` | Where the record came from and the snapshot date |
| `changeType`, `contentHash` | `new`, `updated` or `unchanged` since your previous run (see below) |

`sizeCategory` (always null for the UK), `retrievedAt` and `schemaVersion` are also present. The same keys are used for France, so one pipeline can read both countries.

### Example output

One record from a real run (output shortened: `source`, `sourceUrl`, `licence`, `contentHash`, `retrievedAt` and `schemaVersion` are also returned):

```json
{
  "country": "GB",
  "registryId": "11303802",
  "name": "\"1ST RATE\" PSYCHOLOGY SERVICES LTD",
  "legalForm": "Private Limited Company",
  "status": "active",
  "statusRaw": "Active",
  "incorporationDate": "2018-04-11",
  "dissolutionDate": null,
  "address": { "line1": "116 ALEXANDRA ROAD", "line2": null, "locality": "GREAT WAKERING", "region": "ESSEX", "postalCode": "SS3 0GW", "country": "UNITED KINGDOM" },
  "industryCodes": [
    { "scheme": "UK SIC 2007", "code": "85600", "label": "Educational support services" },
    { "scheme": "UK SIC 2007", "code": "86900", "label": "Other human health activities" }
  ],
  "sizeCategory": null,
  "sourceDate": "2026-10-01",
  "changeType": "new"
}
```

### Example tasks

- List active companies registered in postcode area `EC1` with SIC code `62012`, incorporated since 2024-01-01.
- Check a list of 50 supplier company numbers and see which are no longer active.
- Run the same filters every month with Only changes switched on and receive only new and changed companies.

### Input

All filters are optional and combined with AND.

- `companyNumbers`: exact Companies House numbers
- `nameContains`, `postcodePrefix`, `sicCodes`, `incorporatedFrom`, `incorporatedTo`
- `status`: `active` (default), `closed`, `other` or `any`
- `limit`: maximum number of companies returned
- `trackChanges` and `onlyChanges`: see below

Example:

```json
{ "sicCodes": ["62012"], "postcodePrefix": "EC1", "status": "active", "incorporatedFrom": "2024-01-01", "limit": 200 }
```

### Use as an MCP server

Connect an MCP client to `https://tormanliikenne--uk-companies-house.apify.actor/mcp` (Streamable HTTP) with the header `Authorization: Bearer <your Apify API token>`. The tool `search_uk_companies` takes the same filters as the input. Example arguments: `{ "sicCodes": ["62012"], "postcodePrefix": "EC1", "limit": 5 }`. Each returned company is one `result` event on your Apify bill, the same as in a normal run. The MCP tool does not do change tracking.

### Change tracking

With Track changes on, the Actor stores a fingerprint of each company it returned in a named key-value store called `change-tracking-uk` in your account, separately for each distinct set of filters. On the next run with the same filters every result is marked `new`, `updated` or `unchanged`. Switch Only changes on to receive and pay for only new and updated companies. The first run returns everything as new. Companies that disappear from the snapshot are not reported.

### Speed

The data is a monthly snapshot of about 5.7 million rows. A search that cannot stop early scans the whole file, which took about 2 minutes in our test of 23 October 2026 on the 2026-10-01 snapshot (136 seconds for the full 5.7 million rows with no match). A filtered search that found its results after 1.1 million rows took 27 seconds in the same test. A lookup by company number that matches early finished in under a second.

### Data source and licence

Source: Companies House free company data product, https://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/en_output.html. The snapshot lists companies on the register and is updated monthly, so a very recent change may not be visible yet, and, because Companies House describes it as data on live companies on the register, dissolved companies are rare in it. Companies House states that it imposes no rules or requirements on how the information on the public register is used (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/companies-house-data-products, read 23 October 2026), and data.gov.uk lists the snapshot under Creative Commons Attribution (https://data.gov.uk/dataset/basic-company-data, read 23 October 2026), so the source is credited here: contains data from Companies House. You remain responsible for data protection and other legal requirements in your own use of the data. Companies House provides the snapshot free of charge and without support.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by Companies House. Check the snapshot date in `sourceDate` before relying on a record for a legal or financial decision.

### AI disclosure

The code and this description were written with the help of an AI model and checked with automated tests against the live data source.

### Pricing

Pay per event: one `result` event per company returned. The current price is shown on the Pricing tab. Unchanged companies are not returned when Only changes is on.

Questions and bug reports: use the Issues tab. Operated by Törmän Liikenne Oy, Finland.

# Actor input Schema

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

Exact Companies House numbers, for example 00000006 or SC123456. When set, other filters still apply.

## `nameContains` (type: `string`):

Case-insensitive text the company name must contain.

## `status` (type: `string`):

The snapshot lists companies on the register, so closed (dissolved) ones are rare; other covers liquidation, administration and similar.

## `postcodePrefix` (type: `string`):

Registered office postcode prefix, for example EC1 or SW1A 1.

## `sicCodes` (type: `array`):

For example 62012 and 62020. A company matches if any of its SIC codes is listed.

## `incorporatedFrom` (type: `string`):

Earliest incorporation date, YYYY-MM-DD.

## `incorporatedTo` (type: `string`):

Latest incorporation date, YYYY-MM-DD.

## `limit` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of companies to return. Each returned company is one billable result.

## `trackChanges` (type: `boolean`):

Remember a fingerprint of every company returned for these exact filters and mark each result as new, updated or unchanged on later runs.

## `onlyChanges` (type: `boolean`):

Return only new and updated companies. Unchanged companies are skipped and not charged. Needs Track changes. The first run returns everything as new.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "status": "active",
  "limit": 100,
  "trackChanges": true,
  "onlyChanges": 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("tormanliikenne/uk-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 = {}

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

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,tormanliikenne/uk-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/vxexneIqMlKVbpPSE/builds/YZSCaYtgwS9NDEQqI/openapi.json