COMPANY VERIFICATION · PRACTICAL GUIDE
How to verify a company and check whether it is legitimate
To check if a company is legitimate, first match the exact legal name, registration number and jurisdiction to the relevant official register. Then compare the contract, invoice, contact channel, licence and decision-specific evidence with that entity. An active registration proves a recorded legal status—not that the person contacting you is authorised, the payment details are genuine, or the company can perform. Record each check and hold the decision when evidence is missing or conflicting.
Build the evidence path for this company check.
Choose the decision you need to make, then record which context has been independently established. The result shows the next evidence step—not whether the company is trustworthy.
Official company register
Legal name, registration number, jurisdiction, status and filing date
- 01Resolve entityMatched
- 02Check the sourcePath selected
- 03Release or holdRegistry match: continue with decision-specific checks
Registry match: continue with decision-specific checks
A registry match confirms the recorded entity and status. It does not prove the contact, payment instruction, licence, solvency or ability to perform.
Use the full company verification checklistIllustrative workflow only. Company registration is one evidence layer, not a legitimacy, fraud, credit, sanctions or legal conclusion. Apply the checks required for your jurisdiction, transaction and policy.
1. Find the exact legal entity
Start with the entity named on the contract, invoice or application. A trading name, website or group brand can refer to several companies. Ask for the legal name, registration number and place of incorporation before accepting a name match.
Use the registration number together with its jurisdiction as the lookup reference. Preserve prefixes and leading zeros. If only a name is available, compare candidate records and keep an unresolved result when several entities remain plausible.
- Record the claimed identity before replacing it with the matched record.
- Compare the contracting entity with the entity issuing the invoice.
- Treat a parent and its subsidiary as separate legal entities.
2. Confirm registration and current status
For a UK company, the public Companies House service provides company details, officers, earlier names, filing images, charges and insolvency information. Read the current record and the relevant filing rather than relying on a search-result snippet. For another jurisdiction, use the authority responsible for that entity type.
Record the status exactly as returned, together with the lookup date. An active registration answers a registry-status question; it does not establish that a supplier can deliver, a website belongs to that company or the person contacting you has authority to sign.
4. Match the evidence to the decision
Use the source that can answer the claim. Check a regulated activity in the relevant regulator's register; assess a financial claim against the correct statement, entity and period; follow ownership using dated relationships. Registration alone cannot answer those questions.
When sources disagree, check whether they describe the same company, date and attribute. Preserve the claimed value, observed value and source together. Do not silently choose the value that makes the onboarding form complete.
5. Record the result and next check
Use outcomes such as matched, contradicted, missing and unresolved. Save the lookup time and any source date returned, identify who owns the next action and define which changes should reopen the case, such as a status change, a new contracting party or changed payment details.
For an automated workflow, search for the entity once, retrieve its profile and pass supported identity claims to verification. CompanyProof currently verifies registered name, registration number, status, incorporation date, VAT number and legal form through its deterministic API. Ownership and financial research use separate profile information where available.
Official company-verification starting points
Start with the authority for the company's jurisdiction and entity type. These links establish where to inspect a record; they do not turn a registration match into a legitimacy, authority, licence or payment conclusion.
| Company or claim | Official starting point | Useful for | Still verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK limited company | Companies House public service (external official source) | Identity, status, officers, filing images, charges and insolvency information | Contact control, transaction authority and any regulated permission |
| US state-registered entity | IRS state-government directory (external official source) | Finding the relevant state-government entry point for the registration jurisdiction | The directory is a route to state sources, not a company-verification result |
| US public issuer | SEC EDGAR search (external official source) | Public-company filings, reporting identity and filed disclosures | Private-company registration, authority of a contact and licence status |
| EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway company | European e-Justice / BRIS (external official source) | Finding information supplied by participating national business registers | Coverage and document availability vary by national register |
| Australian ABN holder | Australian Business Register ABN Lookup (external official source) | ABN status, entity and business names, type, GST status and public details | Detailed contact information, authority and whether a request is genuine |
Registration is one layer, not a legitimacy verdict
| Question | Evidence to examine | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| Does this exact entity exist? | Legal name, registration number, jurisdiction and status in the relevant register | That the contact or website legitimately represents it |
| May it offer this regulated service? | The relevant regulator's current register and permissions | That every offer, message or payment request is genuine |
| Can this person act for it? | Independently sourced contact channel and current authority evidence | That an officer listing alone grants authority for this transaction |
| Do the payment details belong to it? | Account-name check, change controls and an independent callback | That a registry match validates a bank account |
| Can we rely on this financial claim? | Statement, reporting entity, period, currency, units and scope | That active status proves solvency or performance |