Checking a new supplier or client: what Companies House can and cannot tell you

Every small business eventually has to decide whether to trust a company it has never dealt with before. It might be a new supplier asking for a deposit, a client asking for thirty days' credit, or a web developer, designer or IT firm you are about to hand your money and your data. The good news is that a surprising amount of checking can be done in ten minutes, for free, on official government services. The less comfortable news is that the register does not tell the whole story. This guide covers what you can look up, what it cannot prove, and a simple routine to run before you sign or pay.

What GOV.UK lets you look up for free

GOV.UK says you can get some details about a company for free. According to the GOV.UK page on getting information about a company, the free information includes:

• the registered address and date of incorporation
• current and resigned officers
• document images
• mortgage charge data
• previous company names
• insolvency information

The same page says you can also set up free email alerts, so you are told when a company updates its details, for example a change of director or address. That is useful for a client you are already trading with on credit, because a sudden change of address or a wave of resigned directors is worth knowing about early.

The page also links to related registers: the bankruptcy and insolvency register, the register of disqualified company directors and the UK Sanctions List.

Reading the register like a buyer

Looking at a company page is only useful if you know what to look for. Four things are worth a minute each.

• Previous names and incorporation date. A company that has changed its name several times in a short period, or was only incorporated recently while claiming years of experience, deserves a polite question.
• Officers. Check who the directors are and whether several have resigned recently. If you are shown a name on a proposal, check it appears on the register.
• Charges and insolvency information. These sit on the same free service and can show whether lenders hold security over the company's assets or whether insolvency action has begun.
• Registered address. Look it up on a map. A registered office is a legal address and is not always where the business operates, so this is a prompt to ask where the work is actually done, not proof of a problem.

If the other party is a sole trader rather than a company, there will be no Companies House entry. GOV.UK's bankruptcy and insolvency register service covers people in England and Wales who have gone bankrupt or agreed to deal with their debts through an insolvency process, and it says you can search the Individual Insolvency Register by name or trading name for sole traders. It also says records are generally removed from the main register within three months after an insolvency case ends, and that Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own registers. So a clear result in England and Wales is a useful signal, not a guarantee.

Why the register is not proof

It is tempting to treat a Companies House entry as a seal of approval. It is not one, and an official case from this autumn shows why. In September 2026 the High Court in Manchester wound up seven companies in the public interest on 22 September, following an investigation by the Insolvency Service with Companies House. According to the Insolvency Service press release, the companies looked unrelated on the public register but had similar incorporation histories, name changes and business descriptions. Investigators found that filed accounts appeared to contain false or misleading auditor information, that named audit firms denied having audited the companies, and that several had no genuine presence at their registered offices. Two listed no company address at all.

For a small business, the practical lessons are plain:

• Do not rely on filed accounts alone. If a company claims to be audited and that matters to your decision, you can ask the named audit firm directly.
• Check that the registered office is a real, operating address.
• Be cautious when a company cannot show evidence of trading, or cannot clearly say who controls it.

Companies House itself is working on the quality of the register. Its business plan for 2026 to 2027, published on 19 May 2026, lists improving the accuracy, reliability and usability of register data as one of six strategic objectives. It sets a target of at least 225,000 actions using the Registrar's powers to tackle abuse and improve the register's integrity. That is encouraging, but it is a work in progress, which is another reason to check for yourself.

Fake invoices that borrow the Companies House name

Checking companies is half the picture. The other half is making sure a bill sent to you is genuine. On 21 May 2026, Companies House and the Intellectual Property Office issued a joint warning about unsolicited payment requests. It says organisations that are not part of government send invoices, by post to a registered office or by email, asking you to pay to:

• set up or claim a Companies House online account
• authenticate an account or verify details
• renew a trade mark or list it on an "exclusive online register"

The warning says the prices may be highly inflated for services that are much cheaper or free through official sources. Its advice for spotting them is to check any web addresses in the message, remembering that official services are provided through GOV.UK, to be cautious of generic email domains, and to look for a disclaimer saying the sender is not affiliated with government. Before paying, contact Companies House, the IPO or your company's representative directly. Suspicious activity can be reported to Report Fraud and your local Trading Standards office. The IPO's address for misleading invoices is misleadinginvoices@ipo.gov.uk.

The warning is careful to add that some representatives are legitimate firms offering services separate from those provided by Companies House and the IPO, and you can choose to hire one. The point is to know who you are paying and why.

A ten minute routine for this week

You do not need a subscription service to build a sensible habit. Before you take on a new supplier, or extend credit to a new client, run through this list and keep a note of the date and what you saw.

• Search the company on the free Companies House service and check the name, number, incorporation date and registered address against what you have been given.
• Read the officers and previous names. Do they match the people you have been dealing with?
• Check charges and insolvency information shown on the company page.
• Look the address up and ask where the work is done if it looks like a mail drop.
• For sole traders, search the insolvency register by name or trading name.
• Set an email alert for any client who owes you significant money.
• Confirm payment details by phone on a number you already trust, never one from the invoice itself.
• Ask for evidence of anything that matters, such as a named audit firm, a previous client or a licence.

If something does not add up, you do not need to accuse anyone. Ask a plain question, say you are doing standard checks, and see how they respond. A genuine business will not mind.

Where this fits with the rest of your security

Supplier checks are a cheap layer of protection that sits alongside the basics: strong sign in for your accounts, a clear process for approving payments and a habit of verifying changes to bank details. None of it needs special software. It needs a routine and a few minutes, applied before the money moves rather than after.