What is a company number, and why is it important?

Thank you to everyone who answered my recent poll on this subject.

A company number is an identifying number allocated to a company on its registration. It cannot be altered, and it stays with the company throughout its life - through any change in name, through any change in status, through... everything. For a company registered in England & Wales, it will be eight digits long, for a company registered in Scotland it will be six digits prefixed by SC, and for a company registered in Northern Ireland it will be six digits prefixed by NI. Other prefixes are used, but they are rarer. The number may begin with zeroes.

You will need your company number when writing to the Registrar or when filing forms with her. Because a company number is permanently attached to the company, it must be stated on all forms and correspondence with the Registrar and will be stated in all correspondence she sends out.

The number must also be stated on the company's business letters, order forms and websites. (Various other information must also be stated in those places.)

If you do not know your company number, there are three easy ways to find out:

• look at the company's certificate of incorporation: it will be clearly stated there; or
• look at any correspondence received from Companies House: the number will be contained in the reference; or
• look up the company's entry on the Companies House website:

a. go to www.companieshouse.gov.uk;

b. click on Find company information;

c. click on Start now;

d. enter the company name;

e. on the company's front page, check the information (to ensure that you

are looking at the right company, not one with a similar name);

f. note down the company number;

g. remember it.

For any help on this subject, or on any matter of company law, contact me at any time.

Graham Hedley, ACG is an independent Chartered Secretary, the principal of G M Hedley, Chartered Secretaries. He has been qualified for more years than he wants to admit to. Contact him at [email protected] or on 075 0190 1390. Your first consultation is free.