Method
Data sources and method
All of it comes from Companies House, under the Open Government Licence.
Sources and update times
| What | From | Updated |
|---|---|---|
| Register entry (name, status, dates, SIC codes, office as filed) | Companies House data file and live stream | Within minutes of a change |
| Filing history | Companies House API and live stream | Within minutes; checked again every 12 hours |
| Filed documents (PDF) | Companies House document service | Fetched on first request, then kept |
| Accounts figures | Accounts filed online (iXBRL) since October 2025, plus the prior year shown in them | Daily |
| Officers | Companies House live stream and API | Within minutes; a company with none on file is fetched on first view |
| People with significant control | Companies House daily file and live stream | Within minutes; full file daily |
Warning signs
- Worked out from the register and the filings: status, insolvency, strike-off notices, overdue accounts or confirmation statements, directors (including disqualified ones), owners, charges, name and office changes.
- Warning: a serious sign. Look: worth checking. Clear: nothing found.
- Can't tell: we don't hold enough yet to say (for example, officers not loaded, or no accounts filed online). It is never a pass.
- Not a credit score and not advice.
Figures and charts
- Read from accounts filed online. Paper filings and years before our figures start are labelled, never guessed.
- Small companies may leave out their profit and loss; we say "not published".
Addresses and people
- Registered offices are shown exactly as filed. You can't search by address.
- People: no addresses, and month and year of birth only. See Privacy.