Check a company before you sign a contract

You're signing with a legal entity, not a logo

Trading names, brands and websites aren't legal entities. The company you can actually enforce a contract against is the registered one — so it's worth confirming it exists, is active, and is who you think before you commit.

Companies House records the legal entity, its status, its officers and the people in control. Getting the counterparty right on the contract — the correct company number, not a dormant namesake or a dissolved shell — is the difference between an enforceable agreement and an empty one.

Verif-AI confirms the entity and reads the filings behind it, so you sign knowing who's on the other side and whether they can stand behind the deal.

What to confirm before you sign

Seven things the register settles before a signature — and where each comes from.

1. 01Is this the right legal entity?
   Trading names and groups create namesakes. Match the exact registered name and company number to the party on the contract — not a dormant lookalike or a dissolved predecessor.From: company number + previous names
2. 02Is it active?
   A company in liquidation, dissolved, or being struck off can't reliably perform. Status is the first thing to read.From: company status
3. 03Who can sign for it?
   Directors bind the company; others may not. Confirm the signatory is an appointed officer, and watch for a board that has recently resigned.From: officers + appointment dates
4. 04Who actually controls it?
   Persons of significant control reveal who's really behind the company — useful when the named director is a nominee or the real decision-maker sits elsewhere.From: the PSC register
5. 05Is there substance behind the promise?
   Net assets, cash and trading history show whether the entity has the means to perform — or whether it's a thin shell signing on behalf of value held elsewhere.From: filed accounts
6. 06What group does it sit in?
   A subsidiary may sign while the assets sit in a parent or sister company. The structure shows where the substance — and any recourse — actually is.From: group structure
7. 07Any signs of distress?
   Registered charges, overdue accounts or an insolvency marker are all visible before you sign, and all change how much weight the signature carries.From: charges + filing history

What the register doesn't cover

Companies House confirms the entity and its filings; it isn't a litigation or contract-history database. It won't show disputes, judgments outside the charges register, or the terms of deals already in place. Accounts also describe a closed past, not today.

Verif-AI reads everything filed and connects it across years and people, and flags when the picture is thin or out of date. It describes the public record — it isn't legal advice, and the decision to sign stays with you and your advisers.

Put the entity check in your signing process

The cheapest moment to catch a wrong-entity or dissolved counterparty is before signature, not in a dispute. The points above are the ones a contracts or legal-ops reviewer confirms: right entity, active status, authority to sign, and substance behind it.

Verif-AI turns the register into a brief you can attach to the contract file — the evidence of who you signed with, captured at the moment you signed.