PUBLIC RECORDS GUIDE

Find High-Value Public Data Sources for UK Investigations

A curated list of trusted sources investigators use to uncover addresses, assets, and associations.

Leveraging Public Records for UK Investigations

Whether you’re tracing a subject’s home address, identifying hidden assets, or uncovering professional affiliations, UK public records offer a powerful foundation for open-source intelligence (OSINT) investigations.

This guide brings together the most relevant and reliable public sources used by professional investigators, analysts, and journalists across the UK. Each source can be accessed manually, or searched by name or address in seconds using Public Insights.

Download our UK Public Records Guide

The UK Investigator’s Field Guide for Unlocking Public Records is a practical reference for tracing people, properties, and businesses using public data sources across the UK. It explains how to access, interpret, and connect fragmented public records to uncover assets, addresses, and networks.

Electoral Roll

A list of the name and addresses of everyone registered to vote. There are two versions:

Full Register: 43.7m people – Restricted access (e.g., police, credit agencies)
Open Register: 16.3m people – Public, searchable version (opt-in only)

Download our Electoral Roll Cheat Sheet

192

Open register and landline matches.

UK Phonebook

Open register and landline matches. Full Register to public sector via Orbis.

Genes Reunited

Good for older records.

Public Insights

Open register and landline matches.

Business & Financial Records

Companies House

Search for current and historic directorships, persons of significant control (PSCs), and company addresses. Minority shareholders can be found in confirmation statements.

🔗 https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk .

🔗 Companies House Unlock- Free search tool with added filtering.

Records include:

Company registrations - 5.5m
Directors and former officers - 10m - 20m
Persons of Significant Control (PSC) - 14m
Minority shareholders - 10m
Filing history and confirmation statements - 50m+

Individual Insolvency Register

Discover current bankruptcies, debt relief orders (DROs), and individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs). These often include the subject’s home or business address.

🔗 England & Wales .
🔗 Scotland .
🔗 Northern Ireland .

These records include:

Full name of subject or trading name for 75k people or sole traders
Home address
Date of birth or age range
Type of insolvency
Start and end dates of insolvency

ICO Register of Data Controllers

Find records for over 1.1 million companies registered to handle personal data.

🔗 https://ico.org.uk/esdwebpages/search.

Charity Commission

Identify trustees and charity officers, which can reveal personal interests, address links, and new connections.

🔗 https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk .

The Charity Commission for England and Wales maintains a register of all active charities, including detailed information on:

Trustees’ names - 925k people
Charity name - 390k organisations
Charity registration number
Registered contact address
Financial history
Date of registration

Company Liquidations and Disqualifications

Company liquidation and director disqualification records reveal when a UK-registered business has formally entered insolvency and whether any of its directors have been barred from managing companies.

🔗 The Gazette - Legal notices of liquidation and director bans
🔗 Disqualified Directors Register - Search by name or location

These records include:

Company name and address
Liquidation start date
Full name of disqualified director
Disqualification period (start and end dates)
Reason for disqualification

County Court Judgments

County Court Judgments (CCJs) are civil rulings issued when an individual or business fails to repay money owed.

🔗 TrustOnline

These records typically include:

Full name of debtor (individual or company)
Amount owed
Date of judgment
Address tied to the subject (where available)

Companies House

Search for current and historic directorships, persons of significant control (PSCs), and company addresses. Minority shareholders can be found in confirmation statements.

🔗 https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk .

🔗 Companies House Unlock- Free search tool with added filtering.

Records include:

Company registrations - 5.5m
Directors and former officers - 10m - 20m
Persons of Significant Control (PSC) - 14m
Minority shareholders - 10m
Filing history and confirmation statements - 50m+

Individual Insolvency Register

Discover current bankruptcies, debt relief orders (DROs), and individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs). These often include the subject’s home or business address.

🔗 England & Wales .
🔗 Scotland .
🔗 Northern Ireland .

These records include:

Full name of subject or trading name for 75k people or sole traders
Home address
Date of birth or age range
Type of insolvency
Start and end dates of insolvency

ICO Register of Data Controllers

Find records for over 1.1 million companies registered to handle personal data.

🔗 https://ico.org.uk/esdwebpages/search.

Charity Commission

Identify trustees and charity officers, which can reveal personal interests, address links, and new connections.

🔗 https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk .

The Charity Commission for England and Wales maintains a register of all active charities, including detailed information on:

Trustees’ names - 925k people
Charity name - 390k organisations
Charity registration number
Registered contact address
Financial history
Date of registration

Company Liquidations and Disqualifications

🔗 The Gazette - Legal notices of liquidation and director bans
🔗 Disqualified Directors Register - Search by name or location

These records include:

Company name and address
Liquidation start date
Full name of disqualified director
Disqualification period (start and end dates)
Reason for disqualification

County Court Judgments

County Court Judgments (CCJs) are civil rulings issued when an individual or business fails to repay money owed.

🔗 TrustOnline

These records typically include:

Full name of debtor (individual or company)
Amount owed
Date of judgment
Address tied to the subject (where available)

Professional and Civic Involvement

Find ties to professions and volunteer work.

Schools

The Get Information about Schools (GIAS) service provides public records on individuals involved in the leadership and oversight of schools in England. This includes:

Governors and Trustees: 250k
Headteachers and Executive Leaders: 55k

🔗School Search

🔗Governor Search

Professional Registers

Professional registers are maintained by regulatory bodies and local authorities to ensure individuals meet licensing and competency requirements in various fields.
These registers often include:

Full name and license type
Licence number and expiry
Employer or organisation name
Business address or local authority area
Fitness to practice status or disciplinary notes

Medical Professions

Doctors
Dentists
Opticians
Osteopath
Pharmacist
Pharmacy Tech
Health Care Professional
Nurses (NMC)
Chiropractors
Social Workers
Healthcare Science
Child Psychotherapists
Counselling & Psychotherapy
Psychologists
Health professionals (HCPC)
Vets

Legal Professions

Solicitors (SRA)
Paralegals

Financial Professions

Accountants (ICAEW)
Accountants & Bookkeepers (AAT)
FCA Register - Verify if a person or business is authorised for regulated financial services.

Other Professions
Teachers
Architects
Architects (RIBA)
Bailiffs
Motor Industry
Freelance Journalists
Trades
DJs
Music Teachers
Investigators
IT Professionals

Lifestyle & Network Indicators

FA Full-Time

FA Full-Time provides rosters and fixtures for FA-affiliated clubs from grassroots to semi-pro. This includes roughly 90,000 players.

🔗 https://fulltime.thefa.com/home/index.html.

Swimming Results

Swimming Results provides competition times and athlete clubs. This includes about 600k swimmers.

🔗 https://www.swimmingresults.org/individualbest/.

Hole19

Hole19 is a golf app showing member results and leader boards for UK golf clubs.

🔗 https://www.hole19golf.com/courses.

Football

FA Full-Time

FA Full-Time provides rosters and fixtures for FA-affiliated clubs from grassroots to semi-pro. This includes roughly 90,000 players.

🔗 https://fulltime.thefa.com/home/index.html.

Swimming

Swimming Results

Swimming Results provides competition times and athlete clubs. This includes about 600k swimmers.

🔗 https://www.swimmingresults.org/individualbest/.

Golf

Hole19

Hole19 is a golf app showing member results and leader boards for UK golf clubs.

🔗 https://www.hole19golf.com/courses.

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PUBLIC RECORDS GUIDE

Find High-Value Public Data Sources for UK Investigations

Leveraging Public Records for UK Investigations

Download our UK Public Records Guide

Electoral Roll

192

UK Phonebook

Genes Reunited

Public Insights