The changing role and purpose of Companies House

Since I joined Companies House in 1988, there's been an increase in the number of companies filing information with us, and an increase in the importance of the data we hold.

We’ve become increasingly important to the UK economy, seen many more searches of our register and, more recently, we've started to play a bigger role in disrupting economic crime.  

We've undergone huge technological changes to keep up with modern day challenges and an evolving business environment.

Our culture has evolved and our organisation has grown. We’re now a team of over 1,300 enthusiastic, talented people from all walks of life. Our people make us who we are and every day we strive to build an inclusive, positive culture where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and find their passion.

Improvements to the register

The register has undergone a real digital transformation. We’ve made our data instantly accessible in real-time, in a format that's:

• digital
• downloadable
• easy to use

This has maximised the value of our registers and given our customers access to the information they need to make informed decisions.  

After the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (2023) became law, we gained more powers. But we were improving the register and access to information for our customers long before the act passed.  

Back before my time, in the 1970s, most of our records were on paper. In 1976, we started microfilming documents which involved creating microfiche copies of new paper documents. We got digital scanners in 1995, and our first online search system - Companies House Direct - was developed in 1997.

In 2015, we introduced our Find and update company information service, which provided the public with access to all digital data we hold, free of charge. Around 170 million company records at the time!  

We’ve gradually moved towards online filing, giving company directors and people with significant control (PSCs) a quicker, easier and more efficient way to set up companies and file their annual accounts and confirmation statements.  

In 2017, we introduced the Follow service through our Find and update company information service. The Follow service allows customers to flag an interest in companies and receive email notifications of company transactions.  

We introduced advanced search functionality in November 2021. This transformed access to the data on our registers by expanding the search criteria, allowing searches by:  

• company type 
• status 
• location 
• business activity 
• dissolved and incorporation dates 

This is a very powerful tool providing real-time insight into our data. 

Today, customers can search all of our public records online for over 5 million registered companies. You can search Companies House data to see recent account filings, as well as details of directors and PSCs to help you make informed decisions about who you’re doing business with.

The data can also help with research and be used as part of the picture to help the government, businesses and the general public understand more about changes to the UK economy.  

Early milestones brought in by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 

The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act is a substantial change for Companies House - both culturally and operationally - but a welcome change and one we’re very excited about. 

We began using our new powers on 4 March 2024 but a lot of work went on behind the scenes in the 18 months before to make this possible. Since the act was introduced to Parliament, we’ve recruited 166 new colleagues into our customer delivery and intelligence directorates, creating 18 new teams. We’ve also invested heavily in training and development, training 730 colleagues over a total of 24,000 hours.  

We’ve introduced 200 new operational processes and examination policies and we’ve written to more than 4,000 companies directly affected by the first set of measures.  Learn more about the story so far.  

Since 4 March, we’ve been working towards improving the accuracy of the information on our registers. We can now take a more robust approach to dealing with information we’re given.

We can query information already on the register and once we identify false, misleading, or incorrect information, we can remove it more quickly than we could before. We can also share information with law enforcement agencies and other government departments. 

Over time, this will improve the integrity of the information on the register and make it more useful for our customers. This will also make a big difference to individuals and companies impacted by false information, as we will be able to respond to suspected fraudulent activity quicker.  

What excites me most about the changes to Companies House  

Specifically, I’m most excited about identity verification. Verifying who the people associated with a company are, as well as anyone filing on their behalf, is a game changer for us in terms of assuring the quality of data on the register and disrupting fraudulent activity. 

In wider terms, the switch from being a passive repository of information to being a data guardian really excites me.

When I first joined Companies House, someone explained the reason we existed as ‘the deal’. People form a company because it gives them the protection of limited liability. It gives them the freedom to operate without fear of personal ruin and, in exchange, information about them is made available to the wider business community, and the public at large. People can then make judgements about dealing with the company and they can analyse information across the register. 

The fact we accepted information in good faith, so long as it was delivered correctly, meant that deal could be unbalanced. If the data is potentially inaccurate, or even fraudulent, then its value is compromised. 

The powers we have from the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, and the transformation we’re delivering, properly balance the scales. We're increasing the powers we have to query what customers send us and verifying that people are who they say they're when they interact with us.  

This will help us to improve the quality of data on the register, maximising its value to the UK economy and playing a key role in fighting economic crime and corrupt business practices. 

Keep up to date on all the latest updates by:

• visiting the changes to UK company law website
• signing up for email newsletters
• following our changes to UK company law blog post series

You can read more about what it's like to work at Companies House and see our current vacancies on our careers hub.