Company Registration Number (CRN) for the UK explained  | Talk Business (2024)

Are you planning to register a business in the UK? In this case, you may already know about or seen an official registration number of any company indicated in its certificate of registration.

Company Registration Number or “CRN” serves as a unique identifier in the register of UK’s Companies House. The unique CRN number is assigned when the company is registered and is immutable.

Knowing the name or unique registration number of a company based in the UK, you can easily find out all the related legal and statutory information on the website of the Companies House.

What is CRN number meaning in the UK?

Of course, it’s up to you to choose the right name for your company, except for some basic yet mandatory rules written here. Nevertheless, the CRN is essential for the UK’s state registry by analogy with cars or passports – company registration number cannot be changed once selected.

Types of Company Registration Number

The company number consists of 8-10 characters – numbers and letters in some cases. The letters are used if the company is registered as a Limited Liability Partnership or if the company is from Scotland (SC, SO), Ireland (NI, NC). Also, ten-digit CRNs are indicative of England and Wales companies.

Here are some examples of CRNs types above.

How do I get or find my CRN?

The first time your company registration number, you will see at the time your organization is incorporated. The number itself will be indicated on the registration certificate. We at Osome will be happy to take all your obligations to register a company in the United Kingdom.

The registration number can be found in an official letter from the Companies House or at the time of changing your business official name. Either way, a CRN is accessible to anyone online via the search in the register of the Companies House.

With that being said, if you would like more information about obtaining a certificate of incorporation, or if you require any related assistance with setting up a company and registering a business address, you might want to get in touch with a team of virtual office service providers such as Capital Office based in London. Accordingly, you can take a look at some of the resources on their website here: yourvirtualofficelondon.co.uk/registered-office-address-london/

Company Registration Number Use Cases

Company Registration Number or CRN is your unique identifier and proof of the legitimacy of your organization on the territory belonging to the United Kingdom. In most cases, it’s a good practice to put your CRN on the company’s official website or in Terms and Conditions / Privacy Policies if you provide services or sell products online.

It will also be convenient to have your CRN at hand in certain cases:

• When you change your company official name
• Changing the address of the registered office of the company
• Change, appoint or remove the director, secretary or other members of your LLP (Limited Liability Partnership) organization
• Change the details of your organization or its members
• Submit your company’s annual reporting
• Distribute shares or make other changes in the authorized capital of your company
• Closing the company
• And whenever you interact with Companies House

As well as whenever it comes to the HMRC: registering a company, filing documents or paying VAT, as well as PAYE and reporting.

Thus, when opening a new limited liability company in the UK, remember that the registration number of your organization is an important part of the documentation that you declare when interacting with the official UK regulators.

Doing business is a test of character — doing business papers shouldn’t be. Osome helps entrepreneurs establish all the accounting online 24/7 via one cloud-based platform.