How to Search Companies House by Address (Step-by-Step)

One of the most common searches people want to do on Companies House is "show me all the companies registered at this address." It sounds simple. The Companies House website, however, makes it harder than it needs to be — which is why this guide exists, and why we built a dedicated address lookup tool that does the job in seconds.

This guide covers how to do the search using the official Companies House tools, what the results mean, and the fastest way to get the information you actually need.

Method 1: Using the Companies House Advanced Search

The official Companies House search is at find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Here's how to use it to search by address:

1. Go to the main search page. You'll see a search box at the top. Do NOT use this — it searches by company name, not address.
2. Click "Advanced company search" underneath the main search box. This opens the advanced search interface.
3. Scroll to the "Registered office address" section. Here you'll find a field for the postcode. Enter your postcode here.
4. Click "Search." The results will show all companies with a registered office postcode matching your search.

You can narrow the results further using the additional filters on the left — by company status (active, dissolved, etc.), by company type (limited company, LLP, etc.), and by incorporation date range.

The limitations of the official search

The official Companies House advanced search works, but it has several frustrating limitations:

• It searches by postcode only, not by full address. If your postcode covers multiple streets or a large area, you'll see companies from the entire postcode area — not just your specific address. You then have to manually filter through the results.
• The results aren't sorted helpfully. By default, results appear in an order that doesn't reflect when companies registered there or how active they are.
• It shows dissolved companies by default. If a postcode has been home to dozens of companies over the years, you'll wade through historical records to find the currently active ones.
• There's a maximum result set. For busy commercial postcodes, the search may not return all companies if there are very large numbers of results.
• The interface is slow. Multiple page loads, limited filtering, and no bulk export make it cumbersome for anyone who needs to check addresses regularly.

Method 2: Using the Companies House API

For developers or firms with technical resource, the Companies House API provides a programmatic way to search by registered office address. The relevant endpoint is the company search endpoint, which supports address-based filtering.

The API returns structured JSON data and can be queried programmatically — making it possible to build automated monitoring processes or integrate with existing practice management systems.

However, the API requires registration for an API key, has rate limits, and requires technical implementation. It's not a practical option for most accountancy practices doing a quick one-off check.

Method 3: The ComplyPost address lookup tool (fastest)

The fastest way to search Companies House by address is to use our free address lookup tool. It's built on the Companies House API but presents the results in a clean, immediately usable format:

• Full address search, not just postcode. Enter your full address and the tool filters results to that specific address, not just the postcode area.
• Google Places autocomplete. Start typing and select your address from the autocomplete suggestions for precise results.
• Live, real-time results. The lookup queries Companies House directly every time you search — you're always seeing current data, not a cached snapshot.
• Active/dissolved filtering. See active companies only, dissolved companies only, or everything — with a single click.
• CSV export. Enter your email and we'll send you a formatted CSV of all companies at the address — useful for audits, compliance records, or practice management imports.

What the results mean

When you search Companies House by address, you'll typically see results split into two categories:

Active companies

These are companies currently registered at the address according to Companies House. They are the companies that matter most — they are the ones receiving statutory mail and the ones you may need to take action on if they're unknown to you.

Dissolved companies

These are companies whose last registered address on Companies House was this address, but have since been dissolved — either voluntarily by the directors, struck off by Companies House for late filings, or as part of a formal liquidation. They are shown because their Companies House record still points to this address. They cannot be contacted and pose no current administrative burden, though a high number of dissolved companies at an address can sometimes indicate that an address has been used by company formation agents in the past.

Why this search matters

Searching Companies House by address is useful in several different contexts:

• Homeowners checking whether any companies have been fraudulently or accidentally registered at their residential address
• Business owners verifying that only known entities are using their trading address
• Accountants and solicitors monitoring their registered office address to catch new registrations — particularly important for AML compliance
• Due diligence professionals checking what companies are associated with a particular address before entering into a lease or business arrangement
• Journalists and researchers investigating the use of specific addresses on the Companies House register

Whatever your reason for searching, the free lookup tool gets you the results faster than the official Companies House interface — and with a cleaner, more actionable presentation of the data.