How do I check if a sole trader is real?
The short answer
Five checks, one paid. A sole trader can start trading without registering1, so there is no register to look them up on. But one trading under a business name must put their name and an address for documents on invoices, and give both in writing to anyone who asks4. Not doing so without a reasonable excuse is an offence5, so ask for that first, run four more quick checks, then use a deposit for what none can show.
What you can add
A £3,200 first order, checked for £6
Say you run a signwriting wholesaler. On 12 October 2026 a self-employed shopfitter with no company number orders £3,200 of vinyl and boards. You run the checks before you release anything.
- VAT number check£0.00
- Bankruptcy and insolvency register£0.00
- Judgments search, England and Wales county courts8£6.00
- Two reference calls£0.00
- Cost of the checks£6.00
That is 0.19% of the order. Ask for £1,600 up front and the other £1,600 on 26 October 2026, 14 days after your invoice, and the most you can be owed unpaid is £1,600, not £3,200.
The road ahead
Six steps. £6 in all.
Step 1: Ask for their name and address
Step 2: Check the VAT number, if they give one
Put it into the GOV.UK VAT checker6. It shows the name and address the number is registered to, so match them to step 1. You cannot search by business name.
Step 3: Search the insolvency register
Search the Individual Insolvency Register7 by name or trading name. It lists bankruptcies, debt relief orders and individual voluntary arrangements in England and Wales. Records usually come off within 3 months of a case ending.
Step 4: Search court judgments by name and address
Registry Trust's search8 needs a name or trading style and the address together. County court judgments in England and Wales cost £6 including VAT. A record sits at the address the claimant gave at the hearing, so for a customer who has moved, search the old address too, for another £6.
Step 5: Phone two trade references
Ring two businesses they say they buy from, on numbers you found yourself. Ask one thing: do they pay on time? A reference you only read is one they chose to write.
Step 6: Cover the gap with terms
No check shows whether they will pay, or what else they owe. Take a deposit, stage the payments or take payment before delivery (how to ask), and send the email below.
If it ever goes unpaid, they still count as a business for late payment interest9, but the debt protocol gives a sole trader 30 days to reply10 before a court claim.
A letter you can copy
Email to a new sole trader before the first order
Send it when the order arrives and before you release goods or start work.
Tap a highlighted gap to see what goes in it.
Send it by email so it is dated, and keep the reply with the order. Telling them which registers you will look at is the polite way to run the checks.
When not to bother
When it isn't worth it
- The order is small enough to take payment first. If they pay up front or on collection, there is no debt to check.
- They have paid you before, on time. Their record with you counts for more than any search.
- Their name sounds personal but they trade as a limited company. Then the company number applies, so use the company check.
- They are a consumer, not a business. Consumer sales follow different rules, and this page does not cover them.
- They are in Scotland or Northern Ireland. Bankruptcies there sit on that country's own insolvency register7, and judgments need Registry Trust's £10 all-register search8.
The Wolf's note
A sole trader has no number to look up, so you build the picture from five small facts. None of them says they will pay. The deposit covers that, and the terms are yours to set.
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 a new client can pay before I start work?
Only partly. Ten minutes on the free records shows who a client is, not whether it will pay.
6 min read · Letter included
If they still won't pay
Can I claim against a sole trader the same way as against a company?
Yes, mostly. Same court, interest and fee, but a sole trader gets a fuller Letter of Claim and 30 days to reply, where a company gets 14.
6 min read · Letter included
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.