A certificate of incorporation is the document Companies House issues to confirm a company legally exists, showing its name, number and date of incorporation.
It is the company's birth certificate, and banks, landlords and overseas registries ask for it constantly. A replacement can be obtained at any time; a certificate issued on a change of name records the new name and the same number.
Related terms
- Company number — A company number is the unique eight-character identifier Companies House assigns at incorporation, which never changes for the life of the company.
- Certificate of good standing — A certificate of good standing is a Companies House document confirming a company has existed continuously since incorporation and faces no strike-off action.
Check a name
Statutory rules, then the Companies House register. Free, and no email required.
Check a company name All 31 terms