Companies House does not have a general customer helpline in the way most people expect. If you need to call Companies House UK, you are dealing with a public register — not a customer service operation — and the contact routes are narrower than most business owners realise until they actually need them.
This article covers exactly how to call Companies House UK, what the lines actually handle, what to do when phone support cannot help you, and how SMEs waste time chasing administrative tasks that should run in the background.
How to Call Companies House UK Directly
The main Companies House contact number is 0303 1234 500. This line operates Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6pm, and covers general enquiries about the register, filing questions, and account issues. For Welsh-language enquiries, there is a separate line: 0303 1234 502.
If you need to call Companies House UK about a specific filing — an annual confirmation statement, a change of registered address, or an issue with your company's public record — this is the number to start with. The team can tell you what has been received, what is outstanding, and what you need to submit. They cannot make changes on your behalf over the phone.
For urgent matters related to fraudulent filings or identity theft on the register, Companies House has a dedicated fraud team. Their contact details are available on the GOV.UK website at gov.uk/contact-companies-house. This is worth bookmarking if you manage multiple entities or work in a sector where nominee directorships are common.
What the Companies House Phone Line Actually Handles
The contact line is more limited than many assume. After nine years running a marketing agency, we dealt with Companies House more times than we expected — mostly for routine filings, the occasional address change, and once for a client whose company name had been incorrectly filed. The phone line was useful for clarifying what was needed, but the actual work always had to go through WebFiling or a paper form.
Here is a summary of what the Companies House phone support will and will not help with:
| Query Type | Handled by Phone? | Alternative Route |
|---|---|---|
| Filing deadline questions | Yes | GOV.UK guidance pages |
| Confirmation statement status | Yes | Companies House WebFiling |
| Changing registered address | Guidance only | AP01 / AD01 form online |
| Correcting a director's name | Guidance only | CH01 form via WebFiling |
| Reporting fraudulent filings | Yes (specialist team) | Dedicated fraud email |
| Accessing company accounts | No | Companies House search |
| Striking off a company | Guidance only | DS01 form |
The pattern is consistent: phone to understand what you need to do, then do it through the online portal or paper forms. The phone line is a signposting service more than a resolution service.
Companies House Contact Numbers and Opening Hours
For clarity, here are the confirmed contact details. The main number to call Companies House UK is 0303 1234 500, available Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6pm. Outside those hours, you will reach a recorded message. There is no weekend service.
Email is also available at enquiries@companieshouse.gov.uk for non-urgent queries. Response times vary, but written communication is often better for anything that requires a paper trail — particularly if you are disputing something on the register or need a formal response.
Companies House is headquartered in Cardiff, with offices also in London, Edinburgh, and Belfast. The Edinburgh office handles Scottish company registrations specifically. If your query relates to a Scottish company, it is worth confirming you are speaking to the right office when you call Companies House UK.
For issues around company house numbers and how they work, our guide on Company House Number: What SMEs Actually Need goes into more depth on the structure of registration numbers and what they mean for your filings.
Why SMEs Lose Time on Administrative Calls
The reason many business owners end up calling Companies House UK is that their internal admin has not kept pace with the company's growth. A missed confirmation statement reminder, a director change that was never filed, a registered address that no longer matches — these are routine issues that create unnecessary urgency.
The time cost is real. A single call to resolve a filing question might take 20 minutes, but the underlying cause — poor visibility across your company's compliance calendar — can generate multiple calls a year. When you are running a small or medium business, that time compounds.
This is particularly relevant for businesses running Google Ads. The same pattern applies: small administrative gaps in your campaigns — an underperforming ad group that nobody paused, a budget that was never reallocated after a seasonal shift — accumulate into genuine waste. How to Fix High Cost Per Acquisition in Google Ads covers some of the specific patterns we saw repeatedly across client accounts.
What You Cannot Do When You Call Companies House UK
This is worth stating clearly because it catches people out. You cannot authorise any change to your company record over the phone. You cannot remove a director, update your SIC code, change your accounting reference date, or file accounts through a phone call. The register is a legal document and every change requires a formal submission.
You also cannot use a phone call to speed up processing times. Companies House processes filings in the order they are received. If something is urgent — for example, you need a filing confirmed before a funding round completes — the only option is to check the processing times on GOV.UK and plan accordingly. Same-day registration is available for new incorporations at an additional cost, but this is handled through the online portal, not the phone.
One thing most guides do not mention: if you call about a filing that was submitted recently, the agent may not be able to see it yet. Processing times for paper filings can run to several weeks during busy periods. Calling before a paper filing has been processed will not accelerate it. This is the kind of operational reality that only becomes clear after you have been through it.
How Much Is Google Ads for SMEs touches on a similar theme — understanding what a service actually does versus what you assume it does before you spend time on it.
Call Companies House UK in 2026: What Has Changed
In 2026, Companies House has significantly more powers than it did even three years ago. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act brought in new identity verification requirements for directors and people with significant control. This means more contact with Companies House, not less — and more reasons why SMEs need to know exactly how to reach the right team.
The identity verification process is being phased in through authorised corporate service providers (ACSPs) and directly through the GOV.UK one login system. If you are unclear whether your directors have completed verification, the phone line can confirm status — but the actual verification must be done online.
This is genuinely new territory for many SMEs. We have spoken to business owners who were unaware their directors needed to verify at all. The Companies House contact number remains the fastest way to get a human answer on where your company stands, but the administrative work still sits with you.
Overtimes's AI agent handles the equivalent of this in Google Ads — monitoring what is happening across your account, flagging what needs attention, and adjusting automatically where it can. See how it works in practice if you want to understand the day-to-day mechanics.
When to Call vs When to Use WebFiling
The practical split is straightforward. Call Companies House UK when you need to understand what is required, check the status of a submission, or speak to a human about something that is not clearly documented. Use WebFiling when you are ready to make a filing, update a record, or check your company's filing history directly.
Most routine filings — confirmation statements, accounts, director appointments and resignations, changes of registered office — can be completed entirely online without any phone contact. The Companies House WebFiling service is available 24 hours a day, and changes to certain records (like a registered office address) can take effect the same day.
For businesses that manage multiple companies, the PROOF scheme (PROtected Online Filing) is worth knowing about. It restricts certain sensitive filings to online submissions only, preventing fraudulent paper filings from being processed. This is a practical safeguard that most small business owners have never heard of, but it is worth registering for.
For context on how managing multiple accounts in Google Ads follows a similar logic — where the right system reduces the number of manual interventions you need — Google Pay Per Click Management: What SMEs Need to Know is a useful read.
How Google Ads Connects to Company Administration
This might seem like a tangential point, but there is a direct connection that SMEs often miss. Companies House filings, registered details, and your business's legal standing can affect your ability to run Google Ads. Google requires accurate business information for certain ad formats, particularly Local Services Ads and verified business profiles. A mismatch between your registered company details and your Google Business Profile can trigger verification issues.
More practically: if you are spending time calling Companies House UK to sort out administrative gaps, you are not spending that time on your marketing. The businesses that grow fastest are usually the ones that have dealt with the administrative infrastructure once, properly, and then focused their attention on customer acquisition.
Small Business PPC Management: What Actually Works covers the attention management side of this in more detail — specifically how SMEs end up under-managing their ads because other priorities pull focus.
If you want Google Ads to run without requiring constant manual input, explore what Overtime handles automatically — from bid adjustments to budget reallocation to weekly summaries — so your attention goes where it is actually needed.
What to Do Before You Call Companies House UK
Before picking up the phone, check these things first. Log into your Companies House WebFiling account and review your company's filing history. This shows you what has been submitted and accepted, what is outstanding, and when your next confirmation statement is due. Most questions about filing status can be answered here without a call.
If you cannot log in, the Companies House search function at find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk is publicly accessible and shows your company's public record in real time. This lets you verify what is currently on the register before you spend time on hold.
If something on the public record is wrong — a director name is misspelled, an old address is still showing, a filing appears to be missing — that is a legitimate reason to call. Have your company registration number ready, along with the name and date of birth of the director involved if the query relates to a specific person.
For SMEs running paid search alongside managing their company admin, the administrative burden of both can become significant. Pay Per Click Monitoring: What SMEs Actually Need addresses how to reduce the monitoring workload on the ads side specifically.
The next practical step: confirm your company's current filing status on the Companies House register today. If anything is overdue or incorrect, use the phone number above to clarify what you need to do — then resolve it through WebFiling. And if your Google Ads account is suffering from the same kind of administrative neglect, Overtime monitors and adjusts it automatically, so the next time you need to call Companies House UK, your ads are still working while you deal with it.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the phone number to call Companies House UK?
The main number is 0303 1234 500, available Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6pm. For Welsh-language enquiries, the number is 0303 1234 502. These lines handle general filing queries, account questions, and signposting for more complex issues.
How do I report a fraudulent filing to Companies House?
Companies House has a dedicated fraud team reachable through the main contact number or via their fraud reporting page on GOV.UK. You should also report identity fraud to Action Fraud. The phone line can advise on the specific steps required to dispute or remove a fraudulent entry from your company record.
Can I make changes to my company record by calling Companies House UK?
No. Phone support provides guidance only. All changes to the company register — director appointments, registered address updates, filing accounts — must be submitted through Companies House WebFiling or via paper forms. A phone call cannot authorise or apply any change to your company's legal record.
What should I have ready when I call Companies House?
Have your company registration number to hand, along with the full registered company name. If your query relates to a specific director, you will need their full name and date of birth. If you are asking about a specific filing, knowing the date it was submitted will help the agent locate it quickly.
For more on this, see our guide: Companies House Phone: What SMEs Actually Need.
Do I need to call Companies House UK to complete identity verification?
No. Identity verification under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act is completed online through the GOV.UK one login system or through an authorised corporate service provider. You can call the main number to check the status of verification for your directors, but the verification process itself cannot be completed over the phone.