Finding the Companies House contact number is rarely urgent until it suddenly is. A dormant company needs striking off, a registered address needs updating, or a director change has stalled in the system and someone is waiting on it before contracts can move forward.
This article covers every way to reach Companies House, what each channel actually handles, and how SME owners can resolve the most common filing and registration issues without losing half a day to hold music.
Companies House Contact Number and How to Use It
The main Companies House contact number for England and Wales is 0303 1234 500. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6pm. For Welsh-language enquiries, the dedicated number is 029 2038 0065. The Edinburgh office handles Scottish companies at 0303 1234 500 — the same national line routes calls accordingly.
Before you call, it is worth knowing what the telephone team can and cannot do. They can confirm whether a filing has been received, explain what a rejection notice means, and guide you through what documents are needed for a specific transaction. They cannot make changes to the register on your behalf, process payments, or override a rejection decision in real time.
For most factual queries — is my company still active, has a document been filed, what is the current registered office — the Companies House WebCheck service gives you the answer faster than a phone call. The contact number is best reserved for situations where you need to speak to a person: a dispute, a sensitive name query, or a filing that has been stuck for more than five working days.
If you are also looking at what your company number means for business registration purposes, our article on Company House Number: What SMEs Actually Need covers that in detail.
What Each Contact Channel Actually Handles
Companies House offers several contact routes, and they are not interchangeable. Using the wrong one adds delays rather than resolving them.
| Channel | Best Use | Response Time |
|---|---|---|
| Phone: 0303 1234 500 | Status queries, rejection explanations | Same day |
| Email: enquiries@companieshouse.gov.uk | Document queries, general guidance | 3–5 working days |
| WebFiling portal | Submitting or correcting filings | Immediate (automated) |
| Post: Cardiff CF14 3UZ | Formal documents, paper filings | 5–10 working days |
| Live chat (Companies House website) | Quick questions, guidance signposting | Usually under 10 minutes |
Live chat is underused and genuinely fast for simple questions. If you want to know whether a company name is available, whether a specific form number applies to your situation, or what the current processing time is for a particular filing type, chat is the quickest route. The phone line, by contrast, can have waits of 20 to 40 minutes at peak times — typically Monday mornings and the days surrounding filing deadlines.
Email is the right channel when you need a written record of advice given, or when your query involves attaching documents. Do not expect a same-day response. For anything time-sensitive, phone or live chat will serve you better.
Why SME Owners Call Companies House
After nine years running a marketing agency, we dealt with Companies House more times than we anticipated — not because of problems, but because growth creates paperwork. New directors, share transfers, changed registered addresses, updated SIC codes as the business evolved. Each of these requires a filing, and occasionally those filings get rejected or flagged.
The most common reasons SME owners reach for the companies house contact number fall into a few categories. First, confusion over filing deadlines — the first accounts deadline is nine months from the end of the accounting reference period, but only for private companies. Miss it, and Companies House begins automatic strike-off proceedings. A call to the contact number will confirm your exact deadline based on your company number.
Second, rejected filings. The WebFiling system sends rejection emails, but they are not always clear about why. The telephone team can read the rejection reason in full and tell you specifically what needs correcting. This saves the guesswork of resubmitting the same error twice.
Third, the strike-off process. If you receive a letter warning that your company is about to be struck off, the companies house contact number is your first call. You have two months to object or remedy the situation. Acting fast matters here.
For a broader view of how admin overhead affects SME marketing budgets and decisions, see our guide on Business Advertising Online: What SMEs Actually Need.
Companies House Contact Number for Specific Offices
Companies House operates across four jurisdictions, and the right contact point depends on where your company is registered.
England and Wales — Cardiff is the main office. Phone: 0303 1234 500. Address: Companies House, Crown Way, Cardiff, CF14 3UZ.
Scotland — Edinburgh handles all Scottish-registered companies. Phone: 0303 1234 500 (routed through the national line). Address: Companies House, 4th Floor, Edinburgh Quay 2, 139 Fountainbridge, Edinburgh, EH3 9FF.
Northern Ireland — Companies House in Belfast handles Northern Irish companies separately. Phone: 0303 1234 500. Address: Companies House, 2nd Floor, The Linenhall, 32–38 Linenhall Street, Belfast, BT2 8BG.
One detail that catches people out: a company registered in Scotland cannot simply call Cardiff and have documents processed there. The national phone number routes to the correct team, but if you post documents to the wrong office, they will be returned — adding a week or more to your timeline. Always check your company's registered jurisdiction before posting anything.
What the Contact Number Cannot Do
This is the part most articles skip, and it matters. The companies house contact number connects you to an information and guidance team. They are not a legal service and they are not empowered to make decisions on your behalf.
They cannot tell you whether your company should make a particular filing — only whether a specific form applies to a specific transaction. They cannot give legal advice on share structures, shareholder agreements, or director duties. For that, you need a solicitor or an accountant familiar with company law.
They also cannot speed up processing times. In 2026, Companies House is continuing a multi-year digital transformation, and processing times for paper filings remain longer than for electronic submissions. If speed matters, file electronically through WebFiling or the authorised software your accountant uses.
One thing that surprised us when we first dealt with a rejected filing: Companies House staff are genuinely helpful and knowledgeable, but they work from the same public guidance you can access online. If your query is complex — a rectification of the register, a court order, a formal objection to a name — the phone team will refer you to the specialist casework team anyway. In those cases, email is better because it creates a paper trail.
How This Connects to Running Your Business
Spending half a morning sorting out a Companies House query is time not spent on the things that generate revenue. For SME owners managing Google Ads on top of everything else, that time pressure compounds quickly. Campaigns drift, bids go unchecked, underperforming keywords keep spending money while you are dealing with admin.
This is where Overtime fits into the picture. Rather than leaving your Google Ads account to run unattended whenever operational admin pulls you away, the AI agent logs in, adjusts bids, pauses underperformers, and sends you a summary of what it did and why. You stay informed without having to be present for every decision.
For SMEs with lean teams, the combination of efficient admin (knowing exactly which number to call and why) and automated ad management means the business keeps moving even when you are in the weeds of something like a Companies House filing. You can read more about how ad costs are structured for SMEs in our guide on Ad Cost on Google: What SMEs Actually Pay.
If you are reassessing how much time your Google Ads management actually takes, Overtime's pricing is worth a look alongside your current setup.
For SMEs evaluating whether an AI agent or a traditional agency makes more sense for their Google Ads, our comparison of Best PPC Agency or AI Agent: What SMEs Need lays out the trade-offs honestly.
Before You Call: Self-Service Options
For the majority of Companies House queries, the fastest resolution does not involve the contact number at all. The WebFiling service handles: confirmation statements, annual accounts, director appointments and resignations, registered office changes, and company name changes. All of these can be done without speaking to anyone.
The Companies House find and update company information service is publicly accessible and shows the current status of any UK company. If you need to check whether a competitor is still active, verify a supplier's registration, or confirm your own filing history, this is your first stop.
Where the companies house contact number becomes genuinely necessary is in edge cases: a filing rejected for a reason that is not clear from the rejection email, a processing delay that is affecting a legal or commercial deadline, or a situation that does not fit neatly into the standard form options. Outside those scenarios, the self-service routes are faster and available at any hour.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Companies House contact number?
The main Companies House contact number is 0303 1234 500, covering England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland through a single routed national line. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6pm.
How do I contact Companies House about a rejected filing?
Call 0303 1234 500 and have your company number and the rejection reference ready. The team can read the full rejection reason and explain exactly what needs correcting before you resubmit. Email is also an option if you want a written record of the guidance given.
What can I do online instead of calling Companies House?
Most routine filings — confirmation statements, accounts, director changes, registered office updates — can be submitted through the WebFiling portal without calling anyone. The find-and-update service at find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk handles status checks and public register searches.
Should I call Companies House if my company is being struck off?
Yes, call the companies house contact number immediately if you receive a strike-off warning. You have two months to object or resolve the issue, and the contact team can confirm what action is needed. Do not delay — automatic strike-off removes the company from the register and can be difficult to reverse.
Do Companies House contact details differ by country in the UK?
The phone number is the same across all UK jurisdictions — 0303 1234 500 — but the postal addresses differ. Always send paper documents to the office that corresponds to your company's registered jurisdiction: Cardiff for England and Wales, Edinburgh for Scotland, Belfast for Northern Ireland.
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For more on this, see our guide: Call Companies House: What SMEs Actually Need.
If you have been hunting for the companies house contact number, you now have every contact route, what each one handles, and which situations warrant a call versus a self-service solution. While you are reviewing your business admin, it is worth taking the same clear-eyed approach to your Google Ads. Overtime's AI agent manages your campaigns in the background — adjusting bids, reallocating budget, and pausing what is not working — so the time you save on admin does not simply get absorbed by ad management instead.