Companies House vs Registro Imprese: checking an Italian supplier

In short: Companies House will not show you an Italian company. Search Registro Imprese, the register of the Italian Chambers of Commerce, and compare its legal name, registered office and VAT number with the invoice or contract before you pay or ship. The comparison is quick and costs nothing if you only need to confirm the company exists.

Part of the guide Checking an Italian company: a guide for UK businesses after Brexit. All guides: Guides.

Two registers, two jurisdictions

• UK: Companies House offers its public company data free of charge, with no registration needed. Its free items include company details, filing history, officers and insolvency information. Its name search excludes UK establishments of overseas companies (GOV.UK).
• Italy: Registro Imprese is the official portal of the Italian Chambers of Commerce, run by InfoCamere. It has a free company search by name or activity, and lists the visura camerale, annual financial statements, protest records and an English-language visura (Registro Imprese, the Italian business register portal (InfoCamere)).

What to compare before you pay

Check the register against your paperwork

On your invoice or contract	In the register
Legal name, including the form (S.r.l., S.p.A.)	Registered name and legal form
Registered office	Registered office address
VAT number	Same number, checked also in the EU VIES system
Signatory	The officers named in the company documents you obtain

A mismatch is a reason to stop and call the company on a number you found independently.

If your business is in Northern Ireland

GOV.UK says you need a VAT number starting with XI to trade under the Windsor Framework, and that you must use it on all documentation when communicating with EU customers or suppliers (GOV.UK: selling or moving goods between Northern Ireland and the EU (XI VAT numbers)). It is your own number: your Italian counterparty's number is a separate thing to check.

Where Veryfy fits

Verifica (€19) reads Italian official sources for you and returns one report on the company: beneficial owner, shareholders and directors, protests and insolvency signals, and an estimated operating credit line.

Every company product comes with a free Check anti-truffa (anti-scam check): it looks at the VAT number in the EU VIES register, free webmail or disposable email, domain age, domains flagged for malware or phishing, SPF and DMARC protection, the VAT number shown on the website, data breaches affecting the site, and whether the IBAN is correctly written and from a country consistent with the company.

The service and the report are in Italian, and they come from Italian official sources: company names, offices and procedures keep their original Italian wording. Veryfy does not offer a translated report.

Frequently asked questions

Can I search Italian companies for free?

Registro Imprese offers a free company search by name or activity. Documents such as the visura or the annual financial statements are listed separately on the portal, so check its conditions before you order.

Do I need an XI VAT number to buy from Italy?

GOV.UK says a VAT number starting with XI is needed to trade under the Windsor Framework, and must be used on all documentation with EU customers or suppliers. It applies to Northern Ireland businesses; ask HMRC about your own position.

What should I do if the VAT number does not match the name?

Do not pay. Ask the company for a document you can check in the Italian register, and contact them on a phone number you found independently of the email that raised the doubt.

Sources

Official sources opened and read on 2026-10-24.

• Companies House: search the register (GOV.UK)
• Registro Imprese, the Italian business register portal (InfoCamere)
• GOV.UK: selling or moving goods between Northern Ireland and the EU (XI VAT numbers)

General information, not legal advice. Sources verified on 2026-10-24.