The short answer
For a filtered list, run the Companies House advanced company search and select Download results to get the first 5,000 matches as a CSV. For the whole register, download the free monthly company data product, which covers every live company. For live or automated access, use the Companies House API, which allows 600 requests every five minutes. None of these include directors' contact details.
Companies House gives its data away, but it is spread across several services that each do a different job. The right one depends on whether you want a few thousand companies in a sector, the whole register in a database, or a live feed of changes. Here is how each route works, what it includes, and its limits, all checked against the official pages on 28 October 2026.
The ways to export Companies House data, compared
| Route | What you get | Format | How fresh | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced search download | Companies matching your filters (SIC code, address, dates, status, type) | CSV | Live at the time of the search | First 5,000 results |
| Company data product | Basic data on every live company, including SIC codes, status and filing dates | ZIP files of CSV | Monthly | Live companies only, large files |
| PSC snapshot | People with significant control | JSON | Daily, before 10am | No officers or contact details |
| Accounts data product | Accounts filed electronically | iXBRL and XBRL | Daily, Tuesday to Saturday | Electronic filings only |
| REST API | Company profiles, officers, filing history, charges, PSCs and more | JSON | Live | 600 requests per five minutes |
| Streaming API | Changes to the register as they happen | JSON stream | Real time | Two connections per account |
1. Download results from the advanced company search
This is the quickest option and needs no account or code. The advanced company search lets you filter by company name, registered office address, incorporation date, company status, nature of business (SIC code), company type and subtype, and dissolved date.
- Set your filtersFor prospecting, tick Active under Company status and add a SIC code. Our guide to searching Companies House by SIC code covers picking the code.
- Select SearchThe results page shows how many companies matched. It can display up to 10,000.
- Select Download resultsCompanies House says "Results are downloaded as a CSV file. Only the first 5,000 results can be downloaded."
- Split larger searchesIf your search matched more than 5,000, run it again in smaller slices, for example by incorporation year or by town, and combine the files.
The file we downloaded on 28 October 2026 had these columns: company_name, company_number, company_status, company_type, company_subtype, dissolution_date, incorporation_date, removed_date, registered_date, nature_of_business and registered_office_address. There are no directors in it and no contact details.
2. The free bulk data products
Companies House publishes its bulk files on its download site and describes them on GOV.UK. Each is free and, in Companies House's words, "will not be supported", so you are expected to handle the import yourself.
Company data product
The company data product is "a downloadable data snapshot containing basic company data of live companies on the register". It comes as ZIP files containing CSV, either as one file or split into parts, and is updated "within 5 working days of the previous month end". The 1 October 2026 release was a single 471MB ZIP, or seven smaller parts. Dissolved companies are not included, and nor are directors.
People with significant control (PSC) snapshot
The PSC snapshot holds the full list of people with significant control provided to Companies House, in JSON. It is overwritten daily and "updated every morning before 10am GMT". It is useful for ownership research, but it is not a list of directors.
Accounts data product
The accounts data product contains accounts that were filed electronically, as inline XBRL or XBRL files. A new daily file is added each morning from Tuesday to Saturday and stays available for 60 calendar days, after which the data moves into the previous year's monthly files. Paper filed accounts are not included.
Companies House also runs a paid XML gateway for computer to computer access. GOV.UK lists a monthly subscription of £4.70 plus charges for data or documents, so most people use the free routes above instead.
3. The Companies House API
The REST API returns live data as JSON, one request at a time. You register a Companies House account, create an application and send an API key with each request. Useful endpoints for exports include advanced company search (filter by SIC code, location and dates, up to 5,000 results per request), company profile, and the officers list for each company. The rate limit is 600 requests within five minutes, and going over returns a 429 Too Many Requests error.
To keep a copy up to date rather than re-downloading it, Companies House offers a streaming API that pushes changes to company information, officers, filing history, charges, insolvency cases and PSCs as they happen. Companies House suggests importing a snapshot first and then using the stream to keep it current, and allows a maximum of two concurrent connections per account.
What none of the exports give you
Every official route is built around companies. Directors are available, but one company at a time on the People tab or through the API's officers endpoint, and the public register does not publish anyone's email address or phone number. If your goal is a call list rather than a dataset, that gap is where most of the time goes.
How dunlin Scout fits
dunlin Scout uses the Companies House API so you do not have to build anything. Instead of a CSV of company names, you get the people behind them and a way to reach them.
- Search by SIC code, location, incorporation dates and company age, and get the active directors of each matching company.
- Bulk lookup: already exported a list from Companies House? Paste up to 50 Companies House numbers at once and get every active director back in one go.
- Contact details on top of the register: one click finds a director's professional email and business phone number, each with a confidence score, plus a pre-filled LinkedIn search link.
- Green, Amber or Red health score from public filings, outstanding charges and insolvency history.
- Lists and CSV export: save contacts to named lists, track them from New to Converted, and export with company, director, SIC code, location, email, confidence, phone, LinkedIn link, status and notes for your CRM.
The Companies House data stays free. What you pay for is the contact data and the workflow that turns a company list into conversations. You are responsible for making sure your own outreach complies with UK GDPR.
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Sources
- Companies House advanced company search, download limit and CSV columns, checked 28 October 2026
- GOV.UK: Companies House data products
- Company data product, PSC snapshot and accounts data product download pages
- Companies House API: get started, advanced search reference, rate limiting and streaming API overview
Frequently asked questions
Can I export Companies House search results to Excel?
Yes. Run an advanced company search, then select Download results. The file is a CSV, which opens in Excel or Google Sheets, and it contains the first 5,000 results of your search.
Is there a free download of every company on the register?
Yes. The Companies House company data product is a free monthly snapshot of basic company data for live companies, supplied as ZIP files containing CSV. You can take it as one large file or as several smaller parts. It does not include dissolved companies.
How do I download a list of company directors?
Neither the advanced search download nor the company data product includes directors. You can see them on each company's People tab, request them company by company through the API's officers endpoint, or use a tool such as dunlin Scout, which returns the active directors for every company in your search.
What is the Companies House API rate limit?
Companies House says you can make up to 600 requests within a five minute period. Go over that and you get a 429 Too Many Requests response for the rest of the window. Companies House asks you to contact it if your application needs a higher limit.
How often are the bulk files updated?
The company data snapshot is monthly, within five working days of the month end. The people with significant control snapshot is refreshed every morning before 10am. The accounts data product adds a daily file each morning from Tuesday to Saturday, and each daily file stays up for 60 days.
Does dunlin Scout sell Companies House data?
No. Companies House data is free on the register and through the official downloads. dunlin Scout charges for the work on top of it: finding the directors, adding professional emails and business phone numbers with confidence scores, health scoring, prospect lists and CSV export.