Companies House data vs a company credit report: what is the difference?

The short answer

Companies House tells you what the company has told the state; a credit report adds what others say about the company. The register holds filings made by the company, its officers and insolvency practitioners. A credit reference agency combines those filings with court records, payment data from suppliers, data shared by banks and its own scoring model.

What Companies House shows

The Companies House register shows every public filing the company has made, free, with no account needed. That includes:

• Status such as Active, Liquidation or Active - Proposal to Strike off. See company status for every value.
• Officers and owners: current and past directors and persons with significant control.
• Filing history: every set of accounts and confirmation statement, with the next due dates.
• Charges: mortgages and debentures, with the lender's name and whether they are satisfied.
• Insolvency: appointments of liquidators and administrators, linked from the company page.

The accounts are the richest part, and also the hardest to use. They are documents to read one by one, and most small companies file very little. Micro-entity accounts, usually a balance sheet and a few notes, were the latest accounts of 32.4% of active companies on 1 October 2026, and 26.0% of active companies had filed no accounts yet (UK companies by accounts type).

Two more limits matter. The figures are as filed by the company; Companies House does not audit them. And they are late by design: a private company has 9 months after its year end to file, and a new company has 21 months from incorporation to file its first accounts, so the latest figures can be well over a year old.

What a credit report adds

A credit report adds information that is not on the register, then turns everything into a score and a limit.

County court judgments

A county court judgment (CCJ) is a court order to pay a debt. CCJs are recorded on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for 6 years. If the debt is paid in full within one month, the judgment can be removed; if it is paid later, it can be marked as satisfied but stays on the register. Credit reports show CCJs against the company, usually with amounts and dates. Companies House does not.

Payment behaviour

Many agencies collect trade payment data from suppliers and show how late the company pays, often as days beyond terms. Slower payments can show stress long before the next accounts are due.

Bank data on SMEs

Under the Commercial Credit Data Sharing scheme, nine designated banks must share loan, credit card and current account information on their SME customers with four designated credit reference agencies: Experian, Equifax, Creditsafe and Dun & Bradstreet. Reports from those agencies can reflect a small company's borrowing in a way the public record cannot.

A score and a limit

The agency's model combines the filed accounts, CCJs, payment data and other signals into a score, usually a probability of failure over the next 12 months, and a recommended credit limit. Treat both as an opinion. For a company with micro-entity accounts and no payment history, the score rests on very little data.

When Companies House is enough

The free record is usually enough when the money at risk is small or the relationship is low risk:

• Paying a supplier up front for a small order: confirm the company exists, the name and number match the invoice, and it is not in liquidation or under a strike-off proposal.
• One-off checks of large, listed or regulated companies: their accounts and announcements tell you more than a score.
• Checking a company before you sign a lease or contract where the main risk is fraud or impersonation rather than non-payment.
• Spotting obvious red flags: overdue accounts, a strike-off notice, a new company with a recent change of directors. On 1 October 2026, 93,785 active companies were past their accounts due date (overdue accounts statistics).

Our guide to checking a UK company for free walks through these checks in six steps, and you can see a company's status, filing dates and balance sheet trend on our company search.

When you need a credit report

Pay for a credit report when you are about to give credit that would hurt to lose:

• Trade credit on 30 days or more to a new customer above a limit you would not want to write off.
• Companies with thin public filings, such as micro-entities or new companies with no accounts yet.
• Ongoing monitoring of customers for CCJs and late payment, not just filings.
• Lending, leasing or hire purchase decisions where bank data and payment history matter.

For a comparison of providers and prices, see Creditsafe alternatives.

Sources

• GOV.UK: County court judgments and your credit rating
• GOV.UK: Commercial Credit Data Sharing consultation and call for evidence
• GOV.UK: Searching the Companies House register
• Companies Act 2006, section 442

FAQ

Does Companies House show CCJs?

No. County court judgments are recorded on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines, not on the Companies House register. A judgment stays on that register for six years unless the debt is paid in full within one month. Paid credit reports include CCJs, and you can search the register directly through the TrustOnline service.

Is a Companies House check a credit check?

It is a check of the public record, not a credit check in the usual sense. It confirms the company exists, who runs it, whether it files on time and what its balance sheet looks like. It does not give a credit score, a credit limit, payment behaviour or court judgments, which is what credit control teams normally mean by a credit check.

How accurate are company credit scores?

A score is a statistical estimate of the chance a company fails, usually within 12 months, based on the data the agency holds. It is most reliable for companies with full accounts and payment history, and least reliable for new companies and micro-entities whose public filings contain little. Use the score together with the filings, not instead of them.

Can I get a free company credit report?

Several agencies offer one, usually as a trial: Creditsafe advertises a free company credit report for business use, and other providers offer free trials. For regular checks you will need a paid plan. The Companies House record is always free and is the base that every credit report starts from.

Sources: Companies House register and accounts data (Open Government Licence v3.0), legislation.gov.uk and GOV.UK guidance where linked. This page is general information, not legal, tax or credit advice. Spotted an error? Email info@globalmindsetmarketing.co.uk.