Accessing UK and US Company Records for OSINT

Company records are often a common source for investigators when researching a person or organisation. Whether you are conducting due diligence, investigating fraud, tracing assets, identifying associates, or assessing reputational risk, company records can provide valuable insight into a subject's business interests and professional activities.

Company records are typically filed with government agencies and are often subject to legal reporting requirements. Because these records are generally submitted by the company leadership, inaccuracies can occur. However, company registers still provide a more structured and authoritative source of information than many other forms of publicly available data.

Company records can help answer questions such as:

• Does this individual own or control a company?
• Who are the directors of a business?
• Who are the shareholders?
• What other companies are connected to the subject?
• Has the company been dissolved?
• Are there signs of financial distress?
• Who ultimately controls the organisation?

For many investigations, company records become the starting point for building a wider picture of a subject's network and business activities.

International Company Research

Investigations increasingly cross borders. A subject may reside in one country, operate businesses in another, and conduct transactions globally. As a result, investigators often need access to company information from multiple jurisdictions. 

One useful starting point is OpenCorporates. OpenCorporates allows investigators to query company register information comprising 220 million companies and 310 million officers across 140+ jurisdictions. This supports investigations spanning multiple jurisdictions, where subjects may have offshore interests in a company.

Company Records in the United Kingdom

The primary source for UK company information is Companies House. Companies House maintains records for more than 5 million UK companies and provides one of the most transparent corporate registers in the world.