Start with the particular filing the recipient needs

A Companies House certified copy relates to a particular document held on the public register. The starting point is therefore the company, its company number and the exact filing-history entry—not the general idea that a document must be “certified”.

The filing date, filing-history description and any written instructions from the recipient help identify the correct document. This matters where several versions exist, where articles or company information have changed, or where a later filing affects how an earlier document will be understood.

Before an order is placed, establish as much as possible about:

• the company name and company number;
• the exact filed document, filing date or filing-history description;
• the person, organisation or authority that will receive it;
• the purpose for which it will be used;
• whether an official certified copy has been expressly requested;
• whether paper or electronic form has been specified;
• whether a signature or other official feature has been requested; and
• whether the recipient has supplied written instructions or sample wording.

If the precise filing is not known, provide the company number and any description or date you have. Coddan can help identify the relevant entry without requiring you to choose from an exhaustive list of Companies House forms.

Documents that may be available as certified filed copies

Companies House can provide certified copies of documents held on the register, subject to the document, its date, the quality of the recorded image and current product availability. Relevant document families may include:

• incorporation filings and constitutional documents;
• memorandum and articles of association, including amended articles;
• resolutions delivered to Companies House;
• confirmation statements and historic annual returns;
• filings concerning directors, secretaries and persons with significant control;
• registered-office and company-record-location filings;
• capital documents for companies with share capital, where relevant;
• charges or security documents held on the register;
• documents recording or supporting a company name change;
• other historic filings; and
• existing filings relating to a company that is now dissolved or has been restored.

This is document recognition, not a promise that every filing is available in every certified form. Companies House controls the product, the official copy, any certification or signature option, and whether the source material can be supplied.

A request for the company's current status, officers, registered office or another available certified fact may belong to a company certificate rather than a certified copy. A certificate of incumbency is different again: it is not an official Companies House product.

Check that the filing is ready to be relied upon

Certification identifies the copy as an official copy of the filed document. It does not establish that every statement in the original filing is true, current or legally effective. Before ordering a certified copy for reliance, consider whether the filing is the correct document and whether it remains suitable for the intended purpose.

From filing to official copy

How the certified-copy service works

1. 1Identify the company and exact filing. We use the company number, filing date, filing-history description and recipient's request to identify the document. If the exact entry is not known, we identify what needs to be established before an order is placed.
2. 2Confirm what the recipient requires. We distinguish an ordinary register document, an official certified copy, a company certificate and a professional or notarial copy. The recipient's written instructions remain the best operational evidence.
3. 3Confirm the required official form. We check whether the request specifies paper or electronic form, an original official signature, certification wording or another feature, and whether the current Companies House product appears capable of meeting it.
4. 4Check availability, accuracy and readiness. We consider whether the filing is available and legible, whether the correct version has been selected and whether an inaccuracy, later change, internal-record issue, dissolution or restoration question should be addressed before reliance.
5. 5Place the Companies House order. Coddan orders the selected certified copy directly from Companies House. Companies House controls acceptance of the order, product availability, official certification, processing and issue.
6. 6Check the result and follow the justified next route. The issued document is checked against the order and then delivered through the confirmed arrangement or directed to separately justified notarisation, apostille, translation, consular processing or multi-stage coordination.

You provide the facts and available recipient instructions. Coddan identifies and orders the appropriate Companies House product within the agreed scope. Companies House performs the official act, and the receiving authority decides whether the resulting document satisfies its requirement.

When the certified copy will be used abroad

A Companies House certified copy may be the final document the recipient needs, or it may be the first stage of a longer route. International use alone does not prove that notarisation, an apostille, embassy or consular legalisation, or translation is required.

The receiving authority's current instructions should establish whether it requires:

• the Companies House certified copy without further treatment;
• a certified copy carrying an original signature suitable for a later official stage;
• a separate notarial act;
• an apostille issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office;
• embassy or consular legalisation;
• a certified translation; or
• a confirmed sequence involving more than one of these steps.

Where an apostille is required, current official guidance should be checked before the Companies House order is placed. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office determines whether the document or signature is eligible and issues the apostille. A paper and an electronic route are not automatically interchangeable, and an ordinary downloaded PDF does not become an official certified copy merely because it is electronic.

Apostille or legalisation authenticates the relevant signature, seal, stamp or capacity within its proper scope. It does not establish that the statements in the filing are true, correct the register or guarantee acceptance by the recipient.

When correction, records or restoration work must come first

Obtaining a certified copy is an evidential-document service. It does not correct the filing, reconstruct the company's internal records, validate a corporate decision or restore a dissolved company.

Who is responsible for each stage

• Coddan identifies the required filing within the agreed scope, orders the selected certified copy directly from Companies House, checks the issued document against the instruction and may coordinate a separately justified onward route.
• Companies House maintains the public register, determines product availability, issues and certifies the copy, and controls its official content, processing and issue.
• An appointed notary controls any later notarial act. Coddan provides notarial services through its in-house and associated notaries, but Coddan is not the individual notary performing the act.
• The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office determines apostille eligibility and issues any apostille. Coddan prepares and coordinates the appropriate apostille route where required.
• A certified translator prepares and certifies any translation arranged by Coddan. Translation does not authenticate or correct the underlying filing.
• An embassy or consulate controls its own official act, requirements and decision. Coddan prepares and coordinates that route where current requirements establish that it is necessary.
• A postal or courier provider controls carriage under its terms and service conditions.
• The receiving authority decides whether the completed document is acceptable for the intended purpose.

No party in the chain should be described as controlling another institution's professional or official decision. Availability, processing, delivery and final acceptance cannot be guaranteed.

Connected company work revealed by the document request

A certified-copy request can reveal a separate corporate issue. These connections should be used only when that issue affects which document can safely be relied upon.

• If the organisation has not yet been incorporated, use the appropriate company or company-limited-by-guarantee formation service before requesting evidence of its filings.
• If the document uses an earlier name, the company name-change service handles the corporate change, while the appropriate document service provides the resulting evidence.
• If current register information is overdue or inaccurate, Confirmation Statements and annual compliance may need attention before current evidence is requested.
• If the issue concerns the company's official address or inspection location, use registered office and SAIL services.
• Current director and person-with-significant-control identity-verification duties remain separate from authenticating a historic filing.
• If the company is preparing to close rather than prove a filing for continuing use, that separate decision must be handled through the appropriate dissolution or strike-off service.

Where another matter must be completed first, we identify the appropriate service or professional responsible for that work. The certified-copy service does not itself perform formation, annual compliance, identity verification, records, governance, correction, restoration or dissolution work.