The full Companies House file will not fit in one Excel worksheet
You downloaded the combined file because you need a company list, not a database project. Excel stopped before the register did. The row limit is real, but the official source also provides smaller files and a capped advanced search that may solve a smaller job free.
Preview a filtered Companies House list See companies by SIC code and town
What is happening
Companies House publishes the monthly basic company data as one 470 MB ZIP and as seven smaller ZIP files. The smaller files are the free official route when you are happy to work across several worksheets or combine them yourself.
Excel worksheets stop at 1,048,576 rows. The current DataScoop import contains 5,695,465 company records, so the combined national result cannot fit on one sheet. No Excel setting changes that limit.
What it disrupts
- The download completes, but the spreadsheet loads only part of the register or becomes unresponsive.
- A simple list task turns into working across seven files, database setup or a Power Query project.
- You still need to filter the result by place, industry, status or incorporation date after getting it open.
Why it happens
- Companies House offers both split bulk files and advanced search. The bulk route is complete but still needs downstream filtering, while advanced search returns at most 5,000 rows per request.
- The register is several times larger than Excel's fixed worksheet row limit.
- A broad, exact list can sit between those routes: larger than the search export and smaller than the complete snapshot.
Checks to make now
- If seven smaller files work for you, use the free official split download. If your advanced search returns no more than 5,000 rows, use that free route first.
- If you genuinely need the complete register in one queryable store, load the official snapshot into a database and retain its source date and acknowledgement.
- If you need a slice, write down the smallest useful combination of post town, postcode, SIC code, company status and incorporation dates before downloading anything.
- For a legal or time-sensitive decision about one company, check the live Companies House register rather than relying only on a monthly snapshot.
Where DataScoop fits
DataScoop keeps a queryable copy of the official monthly snapshot. Filter it first, preview 25 rows without an account, then download the matching rows as a CSV.
The same filters are available through the REST API and MCP. JSON responses are paged; a paid CSV export streams the full matching result.
Where it fits, and where it does not
Good fit
- People who need a filtered company list for research, analysis or organisation-level outreach.
- Developers and agents that need the same register through a queryable API rather than as one national file.
Not the right fit
- Anyone whose job is satisfied by the official 5,000-row advanced search or the seven free split files.
- Anyone who needs the complete raw snapshot unchanged; use the official bulk product and a database for that.
- Decisions that depend on one company's latest filing, or requests for directors and personal contact details.
Proof and boundaries
The live catalogue currently contains 5,695,465 Companies House records and was last imported on 2026-08-25. The source itself is a monthly snapshot, so a weekly DataScoop refresh check does not make the underlying register real-time.
DataScoop carries company-level organisational data only. It does not include directors, persons with significant control or personal contact lists.
There is no customer outcome claim here yet. The proof is the mechanism: visible filters, a free 25-row preview, dated source data and the official attribution attached to results.
Questions people ask
Can I open the official Companies House data in Excel?
Not as one complete worksheet. Companies House also publishes seven smaller ZIP files that you can open or combine separately. For a result of 5,000 rows or fewer, its advanced search is another free route.
Is this the same source as Companies House?
Yes. DataScoop imports the official basic company data snapshot and keeps the source acknowledgement and import date with the result.
How current is the data?
Companies House publishes the basic company data as a monthly snapshot. DataScoop checks and imports on its own schedule, but the source remains monthly. Check the live register for a decision that depends on one company's latest filing.
Does the export contain directors or contact details?
No. It contains company-level organisational fields such as company number, status, registered office, SIC codes and incorporation date.
Get only the companies you need
Preview 25 rows free. Pay only when the filters return the right list.
Preview a filtered Companies House list