UK company data glossary

Every term you meet on a Companies House record, explained in plain English — what it means, why it matters, and how to read it.

By the Company Shark team · Sourced from the official Companies House register

Companies House
Companies House is the UK government agency that registers companies and publishes their statutory information as a public record. Read more →
Company number
A company number is the unique, permanent identifier Companies House assigns to a company when it is incorporated. Read more →
Company officer
A company officer is a director or secretary formally appointed to a company and recorded at Companies House. Read more →
Company status
Company status is the state of a company on the register — active, dissolved, in liquidation, dormant and so on. Read more →
Confirmation statement
A confirmation statement is an annual filing confirming that a company’s key registered details are up to date. Read more →
Contact enrichment
Contact enrichment is the process of finding a company’s business contact details, which are not on the public register. Read more →
Dissolved company
A dissolved company has been removed from the register and no longer exists as a legal entity. Read more →
Dormant company
A dormant company is one that has had no significant accounting transactions during a financial year. Read more →
Filing history
Filing history is the dated record of every document a company has submitted to Companies House. Read more →
Incorporation date
The incorporation date is the day a company was formally created and entered on the Companies House register. Read more →
Person with significant control (PSC)
A PSC is an individual or entity that ultimately owns or controls a company, recorded on a public register. Read more →
Registered office
The registered office is a company’s official legal address, where statutory mail and legal notices are served. Read more →
SIC code
A SIC code is a five-digit Standard Industrial Classification code that describes a company’s main business activity. Read more →
Trading Signals
Trading Signals is Company Shark’s observational 0–100 score summarising a company’s standing from public records. Read more →

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