Finding the companies house contact details you need is rarely as straightforward as it should be. The information exists, but it is spread across multiple pages, filtered by query type, and easy to misread if you are in a hurry.
This article covers exactly how to find and use companies house contact details, what each contact channel is actually for, and how SMEs can act on the information they retrieve — including using it to inform smarter advertising decisions.
Companies House Contact Details: The Authoritative Reference
Companies House is the UK's registrar of companies, responsible for incorporating businesses, storing statutory records, and making company information publicly available. It operates under the Companies Act 2006 and maintains a searchable public register of over five million companies.
The official companies house contact details are as follows:
| Contact Method | Details |
|---|---|
| Telephone (UK) | 0303 1234 500 |
| Telephone (International) | +44 303 1234 500 |
| enquiries@companieshouse.gov.uk | |
| Postal address | Companies House, Crown Way, Cardiff, CF14 3UZ |
| Edinburgh office | Companies House, 4th Floor Edinburgh Quay 2, 139 Fountainbridge, Edinburgh, EH3 9FF |
| Belfast office | Companies House, Second Floor, The Linenhall, 32–38 Linenhall Street, Belfast, BT2 8BG |
| WebFiling service | <a href="https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk</a> |
These are the details you will need depending on whether your query relates to filing, corrections, searches, or formal correspondence. The phone line operates Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6:00pm. Response times for email vary but are typically within five working days.
For most SME queries — checking a company number, confirming a registered address, or verifying director information — the online search service is faster than either phone or email.
What You Can and Cannot Do With These Details
Knowing the companies house contact details is only useful if you understand what each channel resolves. The phone line handles filing queries, account access issues, and document rejections. It does not give legal advice and will not help you interpret what you find on the register.
Email is best used for anything requiring a paper trail — disputed records, formal objection processes, or requests that need a written response. If you are trying to remove information from the register under the protection of personal information regime, email is the correct starting point.
The online register itself handles the majority of practical needs without any contact at all. You can download filing history, view incorporation documents, check registered office addresses, and confirm charges. For SMEs doing due diligence on a supplier or verifying a potential partner, this is where you should start — not the phone line.
One thing the contact details cannot do is give you any information that falls outside the public register. If a company has not filed accounts, Companies House cannot tell you their financial position. The register shows what has been submitted, not what is accurate.
For related guidance on company registration numbers and how SMEs use them in practice, see our article on Company House Number: What SMEs Actually Need.
How SMEs Actually Use Companies House Information
After nine years running a marketing agency, we looked up companies house contact details more times than we can count — mostly to verify a new client before signing contracts, or to check whether a competitor was the size they claimed to be. The register tells you a lot, even when the data appears thin on the surface.
Registered office address is frequently the first thing we checked. A business claiming to operate from a prestige London postcode but registered to a company formation agent in a different city is worth a follow-up question. That is not necessarily a red flag, but it changes how you read the rest of the filing history.
Filing frequency matters too. A company that has applied for multiple confirmation statement extensions or has a history of late accounts is showing you something about how it operates internally. That is relevant whether you are about to extend credit, sign a service agreement, or take them on as a long-term client.
Director history is another practical use. Checking whether a director has been associated with dissolved or struck-off companies is standard due diligence that costs nothing and takes about three minutes on the register.
For SMEs that also advertise online, there is a secondary value here. Knowing the scale and trading history of your competitors — through their public filings — can inform how aggressively you need to bid in paid search. A well-capitalised competitor running Google Ads is a different problem than a smaller operation with irregular filing history. See our guide on how much is Google Ads for SMEs for more on understanding the competitive cost landscape.
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Why People Search for Companies House Contact Details
The search intent behind companies house contact details is almost entirely informational. People searching this phrase are not comparing services or trying to buy anything — they need a specific piece of contact information to resolve a specific problem.
That problem is usually one of three things. First, they have received a letter from Companies House and want to respond or query it. Second, they are trying to file something and have hit a problem with the online service. Third, they are doing due diligence on a company and have found a gap in the information available online.
For any of these, the contact route matters. Calling the general enquiries line for a filing issue is the right move. Emailing for a formal records dispute is appropriate. Using the online service for a search query is almost always faster than either.
Understanding this is also relevant to SMEs running paid search campaigns. If a competitor is advertising on terms related to company searches and registration, the intent behind those searches is specific and often commercial-adjacent — someone researching a business before making a purchasing or contracting decision. That is a context worth knowing if you are running ads in the professional services or B2B space. Our article on Google leads: what SMEs actually get from Google Ads covers how search intent shapes lead quality.
Using Company Information to Inform Advertising Strategy
There is a less obvious application of companies house contact details that most SMEs overlook: using publicly available company data to sharpen your advertising targeting and competitive positioning.
If you know your competitors' registered office locations, you can map where they are actually operating versus where they claim to serve. If you can see their filing history, you have a rough sense of when they scaled up or down — which often correlates with changes in their advertising activity. None of this requires any special access. It is all on the public register.
For SMEs running Google Ads, this kind of background research feeds directly into keyword decisions, geographic targeting, and bid strategy. A competitor that filed dormant accounts last year is probably not outbidding you on branded search terms. One that recently increased share capital and changed its SIC code is potentially doing exactly that.
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This is the kind of contextual awareness that separates considered ad management from reactive spend. Most SMEs running Google Ads without dedicated management — whether human or AI — are not factoring in competitive intelligence of this kind. They are reacting to rising CPCs without understanding what is driving them. For a broader look at costs, our guide on ad cost on Google: what SMEs actually pay is worth reading before you set your next campaign budget.
Overtimes's AI agent takes a different approach. Rather than waiting for you to notice a problem, it monitors bid performance, pauses ads that are spending without converting, reallocates budget toward what is working, and sends you a plain-English summary of what changed and why. It logs into your Google Ads account and makes the adjustments directly — no briefing required, no spreadsheet to update.
What Changes in 2026 for Companies House Filings
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act continues to reshape what Companies House collects and verifies. From 2026, identity verification for directors and persons with significant control becomes more strictly enforced, meaning the data on the public register becomes more reliable than it has historically been.
For SMEs using the register for due diligence, this is genuinely useful. The long-standing problem with the register has been that it records what people submit, not what is true. Enhanced verification changes that dynamic, at least for newly incorporated companies and those filing new appointments.
For advertising purposes, this means competitor company data becomes a more credible signal over time. The registered information — addresses, directors, filing dates — will increasingly reflect reality rather than whatever was convenient to submit at incorporation.
If you are an SME doing competitive research and using companies house contact details as part of that process, the quality of the underlying data you are working with is set to improve. That makes it a more viable part of a research workflow, not less.
For SMEs also thinking about how they advertise to other businesses — or how they appear when someone searches for them — our article on business advertising online: what SMEs actually need covers the practical options without the jargon.
For additional guidance on reaching Companies House by phone and understanding what each office handles, see our related article on Call Companies House: What SMEs Actually Need.
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If you have found the companies house contact details you need and are now turning your attention back to how your business is performing in paid search, the next practical step is an audit of what your Google Ads are actually spending and whether it is working. Overtime's AI agent for Google Ads can review your account, identify where budget is being wasted, and start making adjustments — without a setup fee or a month of onboarding.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main companies house contact details for SME queries?
The primary phone number is 0303 1234 500, available Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6:00pm. Email enquiries can be sent to enquiries@companieshouse.gov.uk, and the main postal address is Crown Way, Cardiff, CF14 3UZ. For most SME queries, the online search register at find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk is faster than any of these.
How long does Companies House take to respond to emails?
Email responses typically take up to five working days, though complex queries — particularly those involving records disputes or protection of personal information requests — may take longer. If your query is time-sensitive, the phone line is a more reliable channel for an immediate answer.
What can I find on the Companies House register without contacting them?
The public register gives you access to filing history, incorporation documents, registered office addresses, director names and appointment dates, persons with significant control, and any charges registered against the company. The vast majority of due diligence queries can be resolved through the register directly, without using the companies house contact details at all.
Should I use Companies House data when researching competitors before running Google Ads?
It is a useful supplementary source, particularly for understanding the scale and trading history of competitors in your market. Registered office location, filing frequency, and changes in share capital can all inform how you interpret a competitor's advertising activity. It does not replace keyword research or bid analysis, but it adds context that most advertisers ignore.
Do I need to contact Companies House to correct information on the register?
For most corrections — such as updating a registered office address or filing a confirmation statement — you can do this directly through the WebFiling service without contacting anyone. For disputed information, incorrect entries made by a third party, or formal objections, you will need to contact Companies House directly via email with supporting documentation.