- A company registration number is eight characters, issued by Companies House.
- You can look up any UK company's number free on the Companies House register.
- Your company number isn't your UTR, VAT number or PAYE reference.
A company registration number is the eight-character reference Companies House gives a business when it’s incorporated as a limited company. English and Welsh numbers are usually all digits, Scottish ones start SC and Northern Irish ones NI, and the number never changes. This guide covers finding any company’s number, reading it and telling it apart from your UTR.
What is a company registration number?
Your company registration number, often shortened to company number or CRN, is how Companies House identifies a company on the public register. Names change and look alike, so the number is the most reliable way to pin down which company you’re dealing with.
You’ll find it on the certificate of incorporation, on the company’s page on the Companies House register, and on the company’s own letters, order forms and website, where the law says it has to appear.
Only incorporated bodies have one. Sole traders and ordinary partnerships aren’t registered at Companies House, so they don’t have a company number in the UK at all.
How do you find any UK company’s registration number?
If you need to find company number details for another business, the quickest company number check is the free Companies House register. You don’t need an account.
Here’s how to check company registration number details in about a minute:
- Go to Companies House’s Find and update company information service.
- Type the company’s name into the search box, or its number if you’re running a company number check on one you’ve been given.
- Pick the right result, checking the registered office address and incorporation date, since similar names are common.
- Read the company number from the top of the overview page, directly under the company name.
The overview page also shows the company’s status and SIC codes, which describe what the company says it does. The filing history and people tabs show its accounts, confirmation statements and current directors.
How do you check a company number someone’s given you?
Most people who check company number details are vetting a supplier, customer or new client. For how to check company registration number details you’ve been given, run a company registration number check on the number itself and confirm the name, address and status match what you’ve been told.
A company registration number check won’t catch everything, because Companies House doesn’t verify the accuracy of what companies file. That’s tightening up: directors and people with significant control now have to complete Companies House identity verification, which makes the register a sturdier check than it used to be.
When you check company number results, look at status first. “Dissolved”, “Liquidation” or overdue accounts tell you more about a counterparty than a smart website will.
How do you read a company number?
Every company number in the UK is eight characters long. The first two characters tell you where the company is registered and, sometimes, what kind of body it is:
- All digits, such as 01234567: a company registered in England and Wales. Older numbers are padded out with leading zeros.
- SC followed by six digits: a company registered in Scotland.
- NI followed by six digits: a company registered in Northern Ireland. Some older Northern Irish companies have numbers starting with R instead.
- OC: a limited liability partnership (LLP) registered in England and Wales. Scottish LLPs start SO and Northern Irish LLPs start NC.
When you type a number into a form or a bank application, include every character, leading zeros and letters too. Dropping the zeros is one of the most common reasons a search comes back with no match.
Where do you find your own company number?
If it’s your own business, Companies House issued the number the day the company was incorporated. You’ll find it in any of these places:
- Your certificate of incorporation, where it’s printed alongside the company name.
- Your company’s page on the Companies House register, which you can find by searching the company name.
- The email Companies House sent when the company was registered, if it was set up online.
- Any letter from Companies House, which quotes the number near the top.
- Your accountant’s records, because the number goes on every filing they make for you.
The same register lets you find company number details for your own business in seconds, even if the paperwork’s gone missing. If you’re incorporating a company with Sleek, our team handles the Companies House application and sends you the certificate and number as soon as they’re issued.
Is a company number the same as your UTR or VAT number?
No. Your company number comes from Companies House and is public, while HMRC issues your tax references separately to deal with your tax. Here’s how the five identifiers people mix up most often compare:
| Identifier | Who issues it | What it looks like | What it’s for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company registration number | Companies House | 8 characters, such as 01234567 or SC123456 | Identifying the company on the public register and its paperwork |
| Company UTR | HMRC | 10 digits | Corporation Tax returns and payments |
| VAT registration number | HMRC | 9 digits, shown with GB in front for international use | VAT returns and VAT invoices |
| PAYE reference | HMRC | A 3-digit office number, a slash, then letters and numbers, such as 123/AB456 | Running payroll for employees |
| EORI number | HMRC | GB followed by 12 digits | Moving goods into or out of Great Britain |
The company UTR is the one people confuse most, because it arrives soon after incorporation too. HMRC sends it once the company exists, and our guide to your company UTR and corporation tax registration covers that side.
Your company number is meant to be shared, but your UTR isn’t, so keep the UTR off your website and invoices. The same goes for the six-character authentication code Companies House sends to your registered office: it works like a password for online filing.
Where do you have to display your company number?
A limited company has to show its registered number on its business letters, order forms and websites. Under regulation 25 of the trading disclosure rules, the same documents also need:
- the company’s registered office address
- the part of the UK it’s registered in (England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland)
- the fact that it’s a limited company, usually through “Limited” or “Ltd” in the name
The rules apply to letters and order forms whether they’re on paper or sent electronically, which is why most companies put these details in their email signature and website footer. Invoices have their own list of required details.
These disclosure rules sit alongside the filings that come with accounting for your limited company, such as annual accounts and the confirmation statement.
Does the number change if the company changes name or is dissolved?
No. A new name doesn’t create a new company, so the company keeps its rights, obligations and number. Companies House issues a certificate of incorporation on change of name, and the old name stays visible on the register under previous names.
A dissolved company comes off the active register, but if it’s restored, it’s treated as if it had never been dissolved, and if its old name has been taken in the meantime it can come back using its registered number as its name.
That’s why the number, not the name, is what to record when you take on a supplier: it’s the one detail about a company in the UK that stays fixed for life.
How Sleek helps with your company registration number
When Sleek sets your company up, you get your certificate and company number as soon as Companies House issues them. From then on, our in-house qualified accountants keep the Companies House and HMRC filings tied to that number on schedule, with every step logged in an AI-assisted, accountant-reviewed audit trail.
If you’re starting from scratch, Sleek’s company incorporation service covers the registration itself.
Keep everything tied to your company registration number on track.
Our in-house accountants handle the Companies House and HMRC filings that come with running a limited company.
FAQs on company registration number
Can two companies have the same company number?
No. Companies House allocates each number to one company only, which is why the number is a safer identifier than the name. Two companies can have similar names, and one company can change its name several times, but its number stays attached to it alone.
Do overseas companies get a UK company number?
Yes, if they register a UK establishment such as a branch. Companies House gives the overseas company a number starting FC, and each UK establishment gets its own number starting BR. An overseas company that simply sells into the UK without a physical presence here doesn’t have to register.
Do I need my company number to open a business bank account?
Yes. Banks use the number to look your company up on the Companies House register and check its details against your application. Have it ready alongside your registered office address; for other early set-up questions, see our answers to questions about starting a business in the UK.
Does a dormant company still have a company number?
Yes. A company that isn’t trading stays on the register with the same number, and it still has to file annual accounts and a confirmation statement every year.
