How do I check if a company is insolvent or about to go under?
The short answer
Three searches. Companies House and the Gazette are free and the judgments register costs from £65; they show a petition, an administrator, a strike-off, an unpaid judgment or late accounts, but not whether the company can pay you. In England and Wales a winding-up petition must be advertised in the Gazette at least seven business days before the hearing9, but Companies House is sent a copy of the order only once the court makes it10, so look at the Gazette first.
England and Wales only. WolfX is software, not a law firm.
What you can add
Ten minutes and £6 before a £9,000 order
Say you are about to deliver a £9,000 order, on 30-day terms, to a company that has gone quiet. Before the pallets leave, you search it three ways.
That is about 7p in every £100 of the order. Then the free alert keeps watching Companies House, with nothing more to pay.
The road ahead
Eight steps. £6 in all.
Step 1: Find the company at Companies House
Go by the register, not their website. Search Companies House1 by registered name or number. The page shows the status, when accounts are due and any overdue warning1.
“Active” is only what the register shows: a live company. It can sit beside a strike-off proposal, and it says nothing about whether the company can pay.
A private company’s accounts are due nine months after the year ends8, so the newest set can describe a year that ended nearly 21 months ago.
Step 2: Read the filing history
Read the last year of filings. Note a director resigning, a new registered office, a new charge (the security a company gives a lender) or late accounts. Each can have a dull reason, so none proves anything alone. An insolvency entry is the exception: it names the type, the dates and the insolvency practitioner1.
Step 3: Look for a strike-off notice
A “first Gazette notice” in the filing history means a strike-off is proposed. Once the company is dissolved, its bank account freezes and its money passes to the Crown, so a creditor can object, at least two weeks before the date in the notice7.
Step 4: Search the Gazette
Search the company’s name in The Gazette’s insolvency notices2. Look for a petition to wind up, a meeting of creditors, an appointment of administrators or liquidators, or a winding-up order.
A petition is only a request: the court can dismiss it, and the Gazette prints those notices too. In England and Wales it must be advertised at least seven business days before the court hears it9, unless the court says otherwise.
Step 5: Search the judgments register
Search the exact company name on TrustOnline4, the official register of court judgments. The search leaves no footprint4. One register costs £65, such as county court judgments; every England and Wales section costs £85.
Paid within a month, a judgment can be removed; paid later, it is marked “satisfied”, and entries stay six years6. An unmarked one is unpaid, or nobody told the court. A clean result covers only the name you typed5.
Step 6: Follow the company for free alerts
On the company’s page choose “Follow this company” (you sign in with an email address and password1). Companies House then emails you as soon as it accepts a new filing1, with a link to its filing history.
That watches Companies House, not the courts, and a petition reaches the Gazette first. Search there again before a delivery you could not afford to lose.
Step 7: Tighten the terms on the next order
Nothing found means nothing filed yet. Carry on and keep the alert on, unless they have gone quiet, which counts as a sign. Signs only, such as late accounts, a resignation or an unpaid judgment: shorten the terms or take part payment up front.
A strike-off notice: cash up front or not at all. A petition: stop, even for cash. If a winding-up order follows, a payment to you after the petition can be void11. If a supply contract binds you, read what it lets you stop first.
Step 8: Chase early and list what is yours
Chase what is overdue now instead of waiting for the day-30 letter before action.
If your terms of sale say the goods stay yours until you are paid (retention of title), the Sale of Goods Act lets a seller reserve that right12. Write down every unpaid delivery by invoice number today, so you can name the goods to an administrator or liquidator.
The letter
Nothing to send. This page is for looking, and any letter comes later, once the check gives you a reason to chase.
When not to bother
When it isn't worth it
- A liquidator or administrator is already named. Stop searching. Send your claim, with copies of your invoices, to the liquidator or administrator.
- A petition is already in the Gazette. Another search will not change it, and the rules set the hearing at least seven business days9 after the notice. Stop supplying. Ask a solicitor who does insolvency work before you take any payment.
- You are paid before you deliver. Then you are not extending credit, and most checks can wait. The Gazette search cannot: if a petition ends in a winding-up order, a payment to you after the petition can be void11.
- They are a sole trader or an ordinary partnership. Companies House has no page for them, so the Companies House steps do not apply. The judgments register and the Gazette still do.
- The company is registered in Scotland or Northern Ireland. Companies House and the Gazette still cover it, but the petition rule above is for England and Wales, and each nation has its own judgments register4.
The Wolf's note
The register only knows what has been filed. It cannot see a bank balance, or a client who has gone quiet. Set the next order’s terms by the worse signal, and let their answer to a part payment tell you the rest.
Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX
What comes next
Your next move
Is this company legit? How do I check a UK company before I work for it?
Go by the company number, not the name.
5 min read · Letter included
How do I check if a company has a CCJ?
Search TrustOnline, the official register of judgments.
5 min read
How do I search the Gazette for winding-up petitions?
Filter The Gazette's free insolvency notices to petitions to wind up a company.
5 min read
Don't want to do this yourself?
The Wolf does every step for you. He works out the sums, writes the letters and keeps track of every date. Nothing goes without your yes.