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Are Sole Traders Registered at Companies House?
Published 18 Jul 2026 · Updated 18 Jul 2026
No — sole traders are not registered at Companies House and do not have a company number. Companies House is the register of limited companies. A sole trader isn't a company, so there's nothing to register there. Instead, you register with HMRC for Self Assessment and report your trading through a tax return each year. This page answers the exact questions people ask about sole traders and the register, and explains what you have instead of a company number.
Are sole traders on Companies House?
No. The Companies House register lists incorporated entities — limited companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) — and a sole trader is neither. When you trade as a sole trader, no incorporation happens, so nothing about you or your business appears on the register. Your details aren't public in the way a company's are: a limited company publishes its accounts and officer details at Companies House, while a sole trader publishes nothing there.
If you've been searching Companies House for your own business and finding nothing, that's the expected result for a sole trader — not a sign that something's missing.
Do sole traders have a company number?
No. A company number (the eight-character registration number on the Companies House record) is issued when a limited company is incorporated. A sole trader is never incorporated, so there's no company number to issue.
What you do have is a relationship with HMRC. To trade as a sole trader you register for Self Assessment — you'll need your National Insurance number to do that — and HMRC then issues you a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR): a 10-digit tax reference that identifies you for your tax return. Your UTR and your National Insurance number are private references for dealing with HMRC; neither is a public company number, and neither appears on any register the way a company's number does.
The practical takeaway: if a form or a customer asks for your "company number" and you're a sole trader, the honest answer is that you don't have one — because you're not a company.
Do sole traders need to register with Companies House?
No. There's no Companies House registration step to become a sole trader, and no need to register there later. GOV.UK puts it plainly — you can start trading straight away without registering as a company.
Your one registration duty is with HMRC: you must register for Self Assessment once you earn more than £1,000 of gross trading income in a tax year (that's your takings before expenses). Sole trader accounts has the registration deadline and the steps.
One edge case worth naming: if you once registered a limited company — perhaps to hold a name — and then traded as a sole trader anyway, you have both sets of duties. The company still has to file, even if it never traded. Sole trader vs limited company covers that situation.
How do I check if a sole trader is registered?
You can't look a sole trader up on the Companies House register, because they aren't on it. There's no public database of sole traders to search, so checking one takes a different approach from checking a company:
- Search Companies House anyway, to rule a company in or out. If a limited company genuinely exists behind the name, it'll show up (and you'll get its company number). If nothing shows, you're likely dealing with a sole trader — or a business trading under a name with no company behind it.
- Ask the business directly. A sole trader can share evidence privately — for example VAT registration details if they're VAT-registered, or invoices and references. None of that sits on a public register the way company records do.
- Check the trading name. A sole trader's name can't include "limited", "Ltd", "LLP" or "plc". A business using one of those is telling you there's a registered entity to look up.
If it turns out there is a company, you can read its filed accounts and officer details on the Companies House register for free.
Frequently asked questions
Are sole traders registered at Companies House? No. Companies House registers limited companies and LLPs. A sole trader isn't incorporated, so they don't appear on the register and file nothing there — their reporting is with HMRC through Self Assessment.
Do sole traders have a company number? No. A company number is issued on incorporation, and a sole trader is never incorporated. If you're a sole trader and asked for a company number, you don't have one — for tax you have a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) instead, which isn't public.
Do I need to register with Companies House to be a sole trader? No. You can start trading without registering as a company. The registration that does apply is with HMRC for Self Assessment, once your gross trading income passes £1,000 in a tax year.
Can you look up a sole trader online? Not on any official public register — sole traders aren't listed the way companies are. You can search Companies House to confirm whether a company exists under the name, but a sole trader with no company behind them won't appear.
I registered a company but trade as a sole trader — am I on Companies House? The company is, and it must keep filing (dormant accounts and a confirmation statement, even if it never traded). Your sole-trader activity is reported separately through Self Assessment. See sole trader vs limited company.
Not sure which side of this you're on, or would rather have it handled? Speak to an accountant →