Directorship and company checks on job candidates
The Companies House register is free to search and covers companies across the UK. An officer search shows a person's current and resigned appointments, and the disqualified directors register shows people banned from acting as a director. For an employer that has three practical uses: confirming that someone you plan to appoint as a director is not disqualified, checking directorships a candidate has told you about, and spotting outside business interests that could conflict with the role.
Know the limits. The register is not a verified record: Companies House says a close review of each document is not always possible. Identity verification under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 has been compulsory for new directors since 18 November 2025, but existing directors are still in a transition that Companies House expects to complete no earlier than the end of 2026. And the Information Commission (ICO) vetting rules apply: its own example is a bankruptcy search on the successful director candidate, not on everyone.
What the register shows
Companies House makes all of the public data it holds on companies available free of charge through its Find and update company information service, and you do not need to register to view it. You can search officers and see current and resigned officers, filing history, insolvency information and disqualified directors. There are three registrars of companies, for England and Wales in Cardiff, Scotland in Edinburgh and Northern Ireland in Belfast, so one service covers companies across the UK.
The disqualified directors register includes disqualifications given by the courts, the Insolvency Service, the Competition and Markets Authority, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and HM Treasury through the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation. It records the person's name, why they were disqualified, when it began, how many disqualifications they have had, whether they have permission to act as a director, and details such as address and date of birth if available. Entries are removed automatically when the disqualification ends.
What a disqualification means for you
A disqualification lasts up to 15 years. During it, the person cannot be a director of any company registered in the UK or an overseas company with UK connections, or be involved in forming, marketing or running a company, unless a court gives permission. GOV.UK says it may also stop them sitting on the board of a charity or school, being a pension trustee, or being a solicitor, barrister or accountant. It also warns that you can be prosecuted and become personally liable for a company's debts if you carry out company business on the instructions of someone who is disqualified.
Since 4 March 2024, Companies House has been able to reject a notice appointing a disqualified person as a new director of an existing company. Check before you make the offer rather than relying on that.
What Companies House does and does not verify
The search service carries the notice that Companies House does not check the accuracy of the information filed. Its guidance explains that it receives a high volume of documents, so a close review of each one is not always possible, although it checks all filings to make sure the information is complete and valid. Where it doubts a document's accuracy it can make enquiries, remove information or annotate the register. For accounts it makes only basic checks.
Our view: treat an officer search as a lead. A resignation that was never filed, a namesake or an old address can all mislead. Confirm what you find with the candidate before you rely on it. If they show you an error, they can ask Companies House to correct it.
Identity verification for directors
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. Companies House has allowed voluntary identity verification since 8 April 2025, and since 18 November 2025 verification has been a compulsory part of incorporation and new appointments for directors and people with significant control. Existing directors provide their personal code with their company's next confirmation statement, during a 12-month transition. Companies House's transition plan, last updated on 23 October 2026, says it should be able to complete that transition and start compliance activity no earlier than the end of 2026.
If you are appointing a director, the appointment filing needs their Companies House personal code. Companies House says that in future it will publish a note against the name of anyone who has not verified, and that continuing to act as a director after the deadline without verifying is an offence. Verification confirms that someone is who they claim to be. It says nothing about honesty or competence, and Companies House says it makes impersonation much more difficult, but not impossible.
Conflicts of interest
Section 175 of the Companies Act 2006 requires a director to avoid a situation in which they have, or can have, a direct or indirect interest that conflicts, or possibly may conflict, with the company's interests. The duty is not infringed if the situation cannot reasonably be regarded as likely to give rise to a conflict, or if the directors have authorised it. Asking a director candidate to list their other appointments, then checking the register, gives the board what it needs to consider authorisation.
Our view: for employees the question is usually one for the contract and your own policies, so ask candidates for senior or commercially sensitive roles to declare outside directorships and business interests, and use an officer search only to confirm what they have declared.
When a company check is proportionate
The ICO's draft guidance on pre-employment vetting, under review following the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, says you should only vet where you have a legal obligation or can identify significant and particular risks, and must ensure there are no less intrusive alternatives. Its example is a company recruiting a director that runs a bankruptcy search on the successful candidate only. Our view: a director appointment justifies both a disqualification search and an insolvency search on the successful candidate; our financial background checks page covers the insolvency registers in each nation.
For FCA-regulated firms, FIT 2.1.3G asks whether the person has ever been disqualified from acting as a director or in any managerial capacity, and whether they were a director of, or concerned in managing, a business that went into insolvency, liquidation or administration while connected with it or within one year of that connection. Treat a failed company as a reason to ask the candidate what happened. If you are unsure how far to go for a role, ask HRjoy.
What to tell the candidate
- That you will search the Companies House register, which records you will look at, and why the role needs it.
- That they can explain any appointment, resignation or company failure you find before you decide.
- If you are appointing them as a director, that they must verify their identity with Companies House and give you their personal code for the appointment filing.
- That they can ask Companies House to correct information they believe is wrong.
- That they can ask you for a copy of their personal information; the ICO says organisations usually have one month to respond.
Sources
- Searching the Companies House register · GOV.UK (Companies House)
- Search for disqualified company directors · GOV.UK
- Search for disqualified officers · Companies House
- Company director disqualification · GOV.UK
- Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act: outline transition plan for Companies House (publication page) · GOV.UK (Companies House)
- Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act: outline transition plan for Companies House · GOV.UK (Companies House)
- Verifying your identity for Companies House · GOV.UK (Companies House)
- When you need to verify your identity for Companies House · GOV.UK (Companies House)
- Companies Act 2006, section 175 · legislation.gov.uk
- Pre-employment vetting of candidates · ICO
- FIT 1 General · FCA Handbook
- FIT 2 Main assessment criteria · FCA Handbook
- Getting copies of your information (SAR) · ICO
General information for employers in the UK, not legal advice. HRjoy advises on screening policy and fair process. We do not run checks ourselves; where you need checks run, we can introduce you to our screening partners. Check the official sources for your situation.
When it’s justified
Usually justified
- Anyone you intend to appoint as a company director: a disqualified directors search and an insolvency search on the successful candidate.
- Candidates for FCA senior manager, certification and (in core and enhanced firms) non-SMF board director roles, where FIT asks about director disqualification and involvement with businesses that became insolvent.
Only if the role justifies it
- Senior or commercially sensitive roles where outside directorships could conflict with your business, checked against a declaration of interests the candidate has made.
- Confirming a directorship the candidate relies on as experience, where it matters to the hiring decision.
Rarely or never justified
- Officer searches on every applicant. The ICO says you should not routinely vet all candidates unless the law requires it.
- Searching the company interests of a candidate's relatives or associates, which goes beyond the minimum information you need.
- Treating a dissolved or insolvent company in someone's history as a bar in itself, without asking what happened.
Questions
Something else? Ask us.
Can we check whether a candidate is a disqualified director?
Yes. The Companies House disqualified directors register is public and free to search. It covers disqualifications by the courts, the Insolvency Service, the Competition and Markets Authority, the FCDO and OFSI. Search the person you intend to appoint, tell them in advance, and confirm any match with them using details such as date of birth.
Does Companies House check the information on its register?
Only partly. It checks that filings are complete and valid, and can query, remove or annotate information it doubts. But it says a close review of each document is not always possible, and that occasional inaccuracies occur which it corrects when they are drawn to its attention. Treat a search result as something to confirm with the candidate.
Do new directors have to verify their identity?
Yes. Since 18 November 2025, identity verification has been a compulsory part of incorporation and new director appointments. Existing directors verify through their company's next confirmation statement during a 12-month transition, which Companies House expects to complete no earlier than the end of 2026.
Is a past insolvent company a reason not to hire someone?
Not on its own. For FCA roles, FIT asks firms to consider whether the person was a director of a business that went into insolvency while connected with it or within a year of that connection. For any role, ask the candidate what happened and check whether a disqualification followed.
Related checks
- Financial background checks: bankruptcy, insolvency and judgments Which financial checks a role justifies, and how to use UK insolvency registers and the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines instead of a credit report.
- Credit checks on job candidates When a UK employer can justify a credit check on a candidate, how it differs from insolvency and director searches, and what to tell applicants.
- Sanctions and PEP screening of job candidates When a UK employer should check candidates against the UK Sanctions List, how to handle name matches, and why PEP status alone is no bar to a job.
- Employment references: what employers can ask and when When to ask for references, what to ask, the sector rules for care, schools, early years and FCA firms, and how to treat candidates fairly.
- Adverse media checks on job candidates When a UK employer can search the press and online sources for negative coverage of a candidate, and how to handle namesakes and allegations.
Sector guides
Also covered in our guides for Charities and volunteering.
Related answers
- Can misconduct outside work affect whether someone is fit and proper under FCA rules? Yes. FCA guidance says conduct in someone's private life can be relevant to their fitness and propriety, especially dishonesty, a lack of integrity, violence or sexual misconduct. Firms need not monitor staff's private lives or social media. They need only look into private life where there is a good reason, such as an allegation that would call someone's fitness into question if true.
- How should employers handle an employee subject access request? Employers should recognise the request, which can be made verbally or in writing, confirm the person's identity if needed, make a reasonable and proportionate search and respond without undue delay and within one month. Complex requests can be extended by up to two months. A fee usually cannot be charged, and information about other people may need redacting.