Tools and providers
Part of Business licences tools and providers: how to pick
Checking a licensing vendor against public registers, from Companies House to the ICO
Check a licensing vendor against public registers: Companies House, the Solicitors Register and the ICO, then record every result as pass, fail or unknown.
A brand name or badge proves nothing until a public register confirms it. Each claim a licensing vendor makes about its company, its people or its data handling points to one register, and each entry must match the exact entity that will sign the contract.
Register checks rest on desk research and certify no supplier.
What to take away
- Match every register entry to the contracting party, not to the brand name.
- Companies House shows the company, its directors, persons with significant control and filings. Compare each with the proposed contract.
- Use only the register that fits the claimthe Solicitors Register for solicitors, the SIA register for security licences, the ICO register for the data protection fee.
- Record the register name, any public number, the entry URL and the check date.
- Mark each check pass, fail or unknown. An entry that cannot be found stays unknown until the supplier explains it.
Start with the contracting party at Companies House
Search Companies House by name or company number, then compare the registered name and number with the party that will sign the contract. A trading name that differs from the registered name needs an explanation before any other check counts.
Next read the directors, persons with significant control (PSCs) and filing history against the proposed contracting party. The record also shows the company status, so a dissolved company or one in liquidation stands out at once. Record the check date, because the register changes. Confirming the legal entity first keeps every later check pointed at the right company.
A company must register a PSC statement with Companies House to state why there is no PSC or why it has not confirmed their details. Read that statement instead of assuming ownership is hidden.
| Companies House field | Compare it with | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Registered name and number | Name on the draft contract and the invoice | Both values and the record URL |
| Company status | The vendor's claim to be trading | Status shown and check date |
| Directors | People named in the proposal and contract | Names matched or unmatched |
| PSCs | Ownership as the vendor described it | What the PSC section or statement says |
| Filing history | Any change of name or officers the vendor mentioned | A change it did not mention |
Pair the table with a one-page note of who is contracting and which services and locations they cover.
Verify vendor identity and scope
- Confirm legal entity and trading name
- Identify invoicing party and subcontractors
- List service locations and scope
- Name people behind competence claims
- Ask how possible routes are confirmed
Match each professional claim to its own register
Use only the register that fits the claim. A claimed solicitor is checked on the Solicitors Regulation Authority's Solicitors Register, a security-industry licence on the Security Industry Authority's public register of licence holders, and a company on Companies House.
The Solicitors Register lets you look up the records of the solicitors and law firms the SRA regulates. Search for the named person as well as the firm, and note where the entry says that person works. Keep the register name, any public registration number and the date the entry was checked.
| Claim made | Register to search | Evidence to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Our solicitors advise on licensing | Solicitors Register | Named entry, registration number, date checked |
| Our staff hold security licences | SIA public register of licence holders | Licence entry, holder name, date checked |
| We are a registered company | Companies House | Company number, record URL, date checked |
| We pay the data protection fee | ICO register of fee payers | Registration number, entry URL |
A claim of competence needs people behind it. Ask who holds the status and whether that person works on the licensing service being sold. A certificate without the named entity, scope or validity information stays unresolved rather than entering the file as a pass.
Check the data protection fee entry
Search the ICO's register of fee payers for the vendor's data protection fee registration, then record the registration number and the entry URL. If the vendor is not listed, record the supplier's documented explanation instead.
A registered organisation can download its registration certificate directly from the register of fee payers, so a vendor can supply it on request. Pair the entry with a data protection review of which fields and files the vendor receives, who sees them and how they are deleted.
What a register entry cannot show
A register entry shows that a record exists. It does not show that the service is good or that the licensing route is right. Testing a scenario postcode, exporting a sample file and reading the contract still have to happen.
For the wider review of entity, people, method and claims, see reviewing a licensing agency. Choosing between several providers is a different task, set out in the selection checklist.
Gaps that do not stop the purchase go into a risk register with a consequence, a mitigation, an owner and a deadline. Avoid vague entries such as monitor supplier. A workable action is to complete an export test before any production data is imported.
Worked example: three entries, three outcomes
Illustrative only, not a real supplier. Each row is one register check with its recorded result.
| Check | Result | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Companies House entity | Pass | Registered name and number matched the contracting party, check date recorded |
| Companies House directors | Fail | The proposal named a director who does not appear on the record |
| Solicitors Register | Unknown | The vendor named an adviser, but no entry has been matched to that name yet |
Record pass, fail and unknown separately. Only the first needs no follow-up, and the other two need an owner and a date. The buyer should not approve the vendor until serious gaps have an owner, a remedy and a decision date.
Before you act
- Match the registered name and number to the contracting party
- Read directors, PSCs and filing history, and record the check date
- Search the right register for each professional claim
- Search the ICO register of fee payers or record the supplier's explanation
- Mark every check pass, fail or unknown
- Reopen the checks if the contracting entity, service scope, professional team, sub-processors or ownership changes
Common questions
Which register confirms a vendor's identity?
Companies House confirms a registered company, its officers and its filings. Match the registered name and company number with the party named in the draft contract, and record the date of the check.
What if the vendor is not on the register I expect?
Record unknown and ask for the supplier's documented explanation. An entry that cannot be found is not a pass, and the check stays open until someone responsible for approving the vendor accepts the answer.
When should the register checks be repeated?
Reopen them when the contracting entity, service scope, professional team, sub-processors or ownership changes, and record the new check date beside the old one.
