A company registration number (CRN) is a unique number issued by Companies House when a company is incorporated in the UK. It is usually 8 numbers, or 2 letters followed by 6 numbers. It will be displayed on your certificate of incorporation and on your listing at Companies House.
It is designated by Companies House and cannot be changed.
Companies formed in England and Wales: Numbers start with 0 or 1.
Often the 0 is left out; the company number will read like 7845123.
Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs): Start with ‘OC’.
Scottish LTDs: Start with ‘SC’.
Scottish LLPs: Start with ‘SO’.
Northern Ireland LTDs: Start with NI.
Northern Ireland LLPs: Start with NC.
Want to find a company number? Go here: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/
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There's no mystery to it. A company name can be exotic, but for bureaucratic purposes, a legal entity also has to have a number. You have your passport number, your car has a registration number, your company has its CRN.
Sample Incorporation Certificate
Important: Sole traders do not have a number. They are trading as themselves, as persons. They already exist and the government does not deem it necessary to maintain a separate database of small traders. They do not register with a government department, except HMRC, and HMRC does not offer a publicly searchable database. Your personal tax information is not a public matter.
The number has to be printed on the following, so correspondents know who they are contracting with:
- Letterheads;
- Compliment slips;
- Emails;
- Faxes;
- Invoices;
- Receipts;
- Order forms;
- Websites.
Interesting facts:
- You may change your company name using form NM01, but the CRN stays the same.
- If 'Superfluous Gondoliers Ltd' is struck off, and then someone re-registers 'Superfluous Gondoliers Ltd', it will have a different CRN, as it is an entirely different company in the eyes of the law.
The CRN is the 'brand' that marks your company as distinct, legally.
You’ll need to quote the number when interacting with Companies House, HMRC and setting up a bank account.
