Company Shark

How to check a UK company is legitimate

To check a UK company is legitimate, confirm it is genuinely registered and “active” at Companies House, that the registered office and directors are real and consistent, that it files its accounts and confirmation statements on time, and that its people with significant control are disclosed. No single check is proof on its own; legitimacy is a picture built from several consistent signals. All of this data is public and free to inspect on the company’s Companies House record.

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

Start with the company number and status

Every genuine UK limited company has an eight-character company number issued by Companies House at incorporation. Ask for it, or search the company by name, and open its record. The first thing to read is the company status: “Active” means it is on the register and has not been dissolved. Treat “Dissolved”, “In liquidation”, or “Proposal to strike off” as serious warnings — a dissolved company no longer legally exists and cannot enter contracts.

Be wary if a business trading under a confident brand name cannot give you a company number at all, or if the number they give belongs to a company with a completely different name or a dormant status. A mismatch between the trading name on an invoice and the registered name on the record is common and not always sinister — but it should prompt questions.

Check the incorporation date and history

The incorporation date tells you how long the company has existed. A business claiming a long trading history but incorporated only weeks ago is worth a second look — though many legitimate firms incorporate a fresh limited company for a new venture, so read this alongside everything else.

Look at whether the company has changed its name several times in quick succession, or has a string of connected companies that were dissolved shortly after incorporation. A pattern of short-lived companies around the same directors can indicate “phoenixing”, where a business is repeatedly wound up and restarted to shed debts.

Verify the registered office and directors

The registered office is the official address for legal correspondence. It does not have to be where the company trades, and many legitimate businesses use an accountant’s or formation agent’s address — so a shared or virtual office is not itself a red flag. What matters is consistency: does the address exist, and does it fit the story you have been told?

Open the list of directors and, where relevant, the people with significant control (PSCs). Genuine officers are named individuals (or, occasionally, corporate directors) with appointment dates. You can click through a director to see their other appointments — useful context on their track record. A company with no named directors, or one director resident overseas with dozens of unrelated appointments, warrants extra care.

Read the filing record — the strongest signal

The single most useful indicator of a functioning, legitimate company is that it files on time. Every company must file an annual confirmation statement (confirming its details are up to date) and, unless newly incorporated, annual accounts. A company that files these year after year is engaging with its legal obligations.

Overdue accounts, an active “proposal to strike off”, or a long gap since the last filing all suggest a company that has stopped keeping up — which could mean it is dormant, in difficulty, or abandoned. Companies House shows the filing history with dates, so you can see at a glance whether the record is current.

Cross-check beyond the register

Companies House confirms a company exists and is compliant; it does not vouch for the quality of its products or its solvency in real time. Combine the register with a few external checks: does the company have a working website and business email on its own domain? Is it VAT-registered if it claims to be (you can verify a VAT number on the government’s checker)? Do independent reviews and a phone number that connects to a real person line up with the registered details?

For higher-value dealings, a paid credit report adds financial risk scoring on top of the public record. But for most everyday checks — a new supplier, a prospective client, a landlord — the free Companies House record plus a sensible external sanity check is enough to separate a legitimate, active business from one that should give you pause.

Frequently asked

Is a company being registered at Companies House proof it is legitimate?

No. Registration only confirms the company legally exists — anyone can incorporate a company for a small fee. Legitimacy is judged from the fuller picture: active status, a consistent registered office and directors, and a record of filing accounts and confirmation statements on time.

What does it mean if a company’s accounts are overdue?

Overdue accounts mean the company has missed its filing deadline. It can indicate financial difficulty, a dormant or abandoned company, or simply poor administration — but combined with other warning signs it is a reason to be cautious before committing money.

Should I worry if the registered office is a virtual or shared address?

Not by itself. Many legitimate companies use an accountant’s or formation agent’s address as their registered office. Judge it in context — a shared address only matters if it clashes with what you have been told about the business.

How do I check a company for free?

The Companies House register is free to search, and every company’s status, directors, registered office, PSCs and filing history are public. Company Shark presents the same public data with plain-English explanations and links between related companies and officers.

Related guides

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