Official registers and public notices

Company filings and Gazette notices

Companies House provides company details, filing images, charges and insolvency information. Match the company number and review the actual filing where necessary. A status label is an entry in a register, not an assessment that all current debts are payable or that a filing is free from error.

The Gazette publishes official notices through its London, Edinburgh and Belfast editions. Search by identity, notice type, date and edition. A winding-up petition, a winding-up order and a notice of appointment describe different events. Several notices can concern one company or one case.

Use the correct personal register

Personal insolvency records have jurisdiction-specific scope and retention periods. A shared name is not enough to identify someone. Check the available distinguishing details proportionately, and do not publish an allegation about a person simply because a similar name appears.

An absent result is limited evidence: a case may have ended, been removed under retention rules, use a different name or sit in another register. Historic research may require the original notices or case documents rather than a current name search.

Keep research proportionate

Record the register, search date, criteria and limits of the result. Distinguish an exact entity match from a possible match. Follow the source’s access conditions and personal-data safeguards; a publicly searchable record is not an invitation to republish an unrestricted database of people.

• Verify appointment details before acting on payment instructions.
• Use primary documents to resolve an ambiguous status.
• Do not equate a negative search with proof of solvency.

England and Wales searches

The Individual Insolvency Register covers bankruptcies, DROs and IVAs in England and Wales, with records generally removed after a case ends under its retention arrangements. Bankruptcy and debt-relief restriction information also has specific coverage. Use Companies House and the Gazette for company proceedings.