England and Wales operates one of the most accessible corporate disclosure regimes in the world. The register is public, searchable by name and number, and returns structured data on directors, shareholders, and persons with significant control. Control — who holds it, on what legal basis, and what the shareholder can enforce — is the question this record is built to answer.
The record has a ceiling. What lies above it, and where the chain breaks, is stated before any payment is made.
What the register showsDirectors, secretaries, registered shareholders, and persons with significant control (PSC), with appointment dates and nature of control. Source: Companies House · verified 2026-09-01 Access conditionNo registration required for basic search. Full document downloads are available via the Companies House service. Source: Companies House · verified 2026-09-01 What the register does not showBeneficial ownership beyond the PSC declaration; nominee arrangements; trust beneficiaries; shadow directors not formally appointed. Source: Companies House · verified 2026-09-01 Insolvency layerThe Insolvency Service register and The Gazette publish winding-up petitions, administration orders, and disqualified directors. A negative result does not confirm the absence of a filed petition. Source: The Gazette · verified 2026-09-01What Companies House discloses
Companies House holds the statutory register for all companies incorporated in England and Wales. Every company must file confirmation statements, accounts, and event-driven notices. The register is updated on a rolling basis.
The following are retrievable by company name or company number:
- Registered office address and correspondence address
- Current and resigned directors, with appointment and resignation dates
- Company secretaries
- Persons with significant control: name, nature of control, date of notification
- Statement of capital and shareholder classes
- Filed accounts, including abbreviated accounts for small companies
- Charges register: secured creditors, charge dates, and satisfaction status
Data is available in structured JSON via the Companies House API and as filed PDF documents. The API returns current and historical records. Filed documents include the original submission, not a registry-generated summary.
Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-01
The PSC register and the control question
The PSC (Persons with Significant Control) register was introduced under the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. It requires companies to identify and record any individual who holds more than 25% of shares or voting rights, has the right to appoint or remove a majority of the board, or otherwise exercises significant influence or control.
Each PSC entry states the nature of control in one or more of six statutory categories. The entry records the date the person became registrable, not the date they acquired economic interest.
Where a company is controlled through another legal entity — a corporate PSC — the register records that entity and requires a further statement about whether the chain continues to an individual. The chain is followed until a registrable individual or a Relevant Legal Entity (RLE) is reached.
The PSC register does not verify the accuracy of declarations. It records what was filed. Discrepancies between the PSC register and the shareholder register are themselves a finding.
Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-01
Shareholder register and share structure
The confirmation statement (formerly annual return) records the statement of capital and the names of shareholders holding five percent or more of any class of share. Below that threshold, individual names do not appear in the confirmation statement.
The full register of members is a statutory document held by the company, not by Companies House. It is inspectable at the registered office or a SAIL address. For a company that has not filed a full members list with Companies House, the register of members is not retrievable remotely.
Filed accounts disclose the share structure, dividend policy, and — for companies above the small company threshold — related-party transactions and directors' remuneration. Micro-entity accounts contain materially less information.
Where a company files dormant accounts or micro-entity accounts, the financial layer of the record is thin. That is a finding, not a gap in the process.
Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-01
Insolvency and enforcement layer
The Insolvency Service maintains a register of disqualified directors. The Gazette publishes statutory notices of winding-up petitions, administration appointments, and liquidation orders. Both are public and searchable.
A search across these sources establishes:
- Whether a director has been disqualified and the period of disqualification
- Whether a company is subject to a winding-up petition, administration, or voluntary arrangement
- Whether a company has been struck off or dissolved
A negative result in the insolvency register does not confirm the absence of a filed petition. Petitions are published in The Gazette after filing; there is a window between filing and publication.
Source: The Gazette · extracted 2026-09-01
Source: Insolvency Service · extracted 2026-09-01
Court records and enforcement history
County Court Judgments (CCJs) against a company are recorded in the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines, maintained by Registry Trust. A CCJ search returns judgments entered in the past six years.
High Court judgments are not automatically entered in the same register. Enforcement history in the High Court requires a separate search. Arbitration awards are not publicly registered unless enforcement proceedings have been commenced in court.
The existence of a CCJ is a fact. The underlying claim, the amount, and the satisfaction status are also recorded. What the register does not show is the commercial context of the dispute or whether the judgment was contested.
Source: Registry Trust · extracted 2026-09-01
The limit of what the sources allow
Companies House records what was filed. It does not verify it.
The PSC register records declarations made by the company. Where a beneficial owner has structured control through a nominee, a discretionary trust, or a chain of non-UK entities, the PSC register will show the nominee or the first non-UK entity — not the individual who exercises economic control.
The shareholder register at Companies House shows shareholders above the five-percent threshold in the confirmation statement. Below that threshold, and for any company that has not filed a full members list, individual shareholders are not visible remotely.
Filed accounts for small and micro-entity companies contain limited financial data. Abbreviated accounts are a statutory right, not an anomaly. Their presence does not indicate concealment; their absence of detail is the permitted minimum.
The charges register shows registered charges. Unregistered security interests, contractual subordination arrangements, and off-balance-sheet structures are not visible in the register.
The insolvency layer has a publication lag. A petition filed today may not appear in The Gazette for several days.
Where the chain of control passes through a non-UK entity, the record in England and Wales terminates at that entity. Continuation of the chain requires a parallel search in the jurisdiction of incorporation of that entity.
These are the structural limits of the sources. They are stated here, before any engagement, because the ceiling of the record is part of the record.
Where the sources disagree
Discrepancies between sources are findings, not errors in the process.
The PSC register and the shareholder register may name different individuals. This occurs where economic ownership has transferred but the PSC declaration has not been updated, or where a nominee holds shares without being the PSC.
The confirmation statement and filed accounts may show different share structures if accounts were prepared at a different date or under a different accounting standard.
A director may appear as resigned in the Companies House register but remain listed as an authorised signatory in a charge document. The charge document date controls for that specific transaction.
Each discrepancy is recorded and sourced. The report does not resolve the discrepancy; it identifies it and names the documents in which each version appears.
What is included at each tier
| Tier | Price | What is included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €440 | Companies House search: current directors, PSC register, statement of capital, registered charges, company status. Insolvency Service and Gazette check. | Full document retrieval; accounts analysis; register of members inspection; CCJ search; cross-border chain tracing |
| Standard | €890 | All Signal content, plus: filed accounts review (up to three years), full charges register with document retrieval, CCJ search via Registry Trust, disqualified directors check, discrepancy mapping between PSC and shareholder records | Register of members inspection at registered office; cross-border entity chain; High Court enforcement history |
| Extended | €1800 | All Standard content, plus: register of members inspection (where accessible), cross-border chain tracing to first non-UK entity, High Court judgment search, full discrepancy report with sourced findings | Verification of PSC declarations; trust beneficiary identification; arbitration award search; legal qualification of findings |
FAQ
Does Companies House verify the accuracy of PSC declarations? No. Companies House records what was filed by the company. The register does not independently verify whether the declared PSC is the actual beneficial owner. Discrepancies between the PSC register and other sources are a finding that the report records.
Is the full register of members available remotely? Not in all cases. The confirmation statement records shareholders above five percent. The full register of members is held by the company. It is inspectable at the registered office or SAIL address. Remote retrieval is not available unless the company has filed a full members list with Companies House.
What does a negative insolvency search confirm? A negative result confirms the absence of a published notice as of the search date. It does not confirm the absence of a filed petition. There is a window between filing and publication in The Gazette.
What happens when the control chain passes through a non-UK entity? The England and Wales record terminates at that entity. The report identifies the entity, its jurisdiction of incorporation, and the point at which the chain exits the UK record. Continuation requires a parallel search in the relevant jurisdiction.
What is the difference between Signal and Standard? Signal establishes current status: directors, PSC, charges, insolvency. Standard adds the financial layer — filed accounts, full charges documentation — and maps discrepancies between the PSC and shareholder records. Extended adds the register of members inspection and cross-border chain tracing.
Are court judgments included in the Standard tier? Yes. The Standard tier includes a CCJ search via Registry Trust covering judgments entered in the past six years. High Court enforcement history is included in the Extended tier.
Sources
- Companies House — https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk — extracted 2026-09-01
- Companies House API — https://developer-specs.company-information.service.gov.uk — extracted 2026-09-01
- The Gazette — https://www.thegazette.co.uk — extracted 2026-09-01
- Insolvency Service — https://www.gov.uk/search-bankruptcy-insolvency-register — extracted 2026-09-01
- Registry Trust (CCJ register) — https://www.registrytrust.org.uk — extracted 2026-09-01
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Disclaimer: This report is a factual compilation from official registers and public sources. It is provided for informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and contains no legal qualification of the facts established. VLO Law Firm assumes no liability for actions taken or not taken based on this material. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@vlolawfirm.com.
Author: James Whitfield — Partner, UK & Common Law, VLO Law Firm
