Company Information Lookupwhere to actually find it
Registries, directories, Google Maps and B2B databases each hold a different piece of the puzzle. Here is what each source gives you, what it costs, and what is legal to use for sales.
Find Business··6 min read
The short answer
Where to look up company information
To look up company information, match the source to the data you need: business registries for legal and financial filings, official directories and Google Maps for live contact data, and B2B databases when you need many companies at once. No single source holds everything, so the fastest lookups combine two or three.
Each source answers a different question. A business register tells you who legally owns a company and whether it is solvent. Google Maps tells you where it is, what it does and what customers think. A business directory sits in between. The skill is not finding one magic database, it is knowing which lever to pull for which field.
Key takeaways
Registries (Companies House, EDGAR, mercantile registry) own the legal and financial truth
Google Maps and directories own live contact data: address, phone, website, hours, reviews
B2B databases own scale: hundreds of companies with verified email in one search
Using published business contact data for relevant B2B outreach is legal under GDPR and CAN-SPAM
Per Vonsel internal data (2026), restaurants and dentists are the most-prospected categories, with Madrid, New York and São Paulo leading
The sources
4 places to look, and what each one gives you
Think of company information as four layers. Most lookups need data from more than one:
1
Business registries (legal and financial)
The authoritative layer. Companies House in the UK, SEC EDGAR in the US and the mercantile registry across Europe hold directors, registration number, status, accounts and ownership. Free to search; some full documents carry a fee.
2
Official and sector directories
Chambers of commerce, professional associations and trade bodies publish member lists with name, activity and often a phone or email. Great for niche verticals, but coverage is uneven and the data is rarely exportable in bulk.
3
Google Maps and web data
The freshest contact layer: address, phone, website, opening hours, category and reviews, updated by owners and customers daily. Email is rarely visible, and pulling more than a handful of records by hand is slow. This is where most business email lookups begin.
4
B2B databases and business finders
Platforms that combine map, web and registry signals into one searchable business database. Search a category plus a city and get hundreds of companies with verified email and phone in minutes, which is exactly where the other three layers fall short on speed.
Look up any company, with verified contact data
Search a category and a city, get name, address, phone, website, rating and a verified email for every company, no broker list, no manual copy-paste.
Before you open ten tabs, know what you are looking for. This is the data each source reliably returns:
Source
Best for
What you will not get
Business registry
Directors, accounts, legal status, ownership
Email, reviews, live phone
Official directory
Sector membership, niche contacts
Bulk export, full coverage
Google Maps
Address, phone, website, hours, reviews
Legal filings, most emails
B2B database
Hundreds of companies, verified email and phone
Court-grade legal documents
Buyers expect you to do this homework. HubSpot's sales statistics show that reps lose a large share of their day to research and admin instead of selling, so the goal is not perfect data, it is the right data fast enough to act on it.
3-5 min
to compile one full company record by hand from registry plus map plus directory
4
distinct source layers, no single one holds legal, contact and reputation data together
120+
countries of verified business data inside Vonsel's own database
Legality
Is it legal to use this company information?
Yes, with two distinctions. Looking up and reading public company data is always allowed. Using it for outreach is regulated, and the rules are workable:
Registry data is public by design, you can read, cite and store it.
Business contact data published by the company (website, Google profile, directory) is fair to use for relevant B2B contact.
In the EU, GDPR allows legitimate interest for B2B email, with identification and an easy opt-out.
In the US, CAN-SPAM requires accurate sender info and a working unsubscribe link.
Target the business mailbox, not private individuals, and never resell scraped personal data.
Quick diagnostic: which source do you need?
Need to know if a company is real and solvent? Go to the business registry.
Need to call or visit it today? Google Maps has the live phone and address.
Need 300 companies in a city with verified emails? A B2B database is the only fast route.
Need a niche, regulated vertical? Start with the official sector directory.
Common mistakes
4 mistakes that waste lookup time
Using one source for everything
Registries have no email; Maps has no accounts. Forcing one source to answer every question is the slowest path there is.
Trusting decayed broker lists
Static lists are resold and rot fast. Live map and registry data beats a recycled file on accuracy every time.
Skipping email verification
An address from any source can be dead. Verify syntax, domain and SMTP before the first send to protect your domain.
There is no single company database that holds everything. There is only the right source for each field, and a tool that stitches them together.
How Vonsel helps
How Vonsel turns four sources into one lookup
Vonsel's Business Finder does the stitching for you. Type an activity plus any city and it searches live map and web data across millions of verified businesses in 120+ countries with 85-95% email accuracy and 90%+ phone accuracy, returning name, address, phone, website, Google rating and a verified email per company. According to Vonsel internal data (2026), restaurants and dentists are the most-prospected categories, with Madrid, New York and São Paulo leading the cities. Plans on the pricing page start at €17.99/month, and you get 20 verified leads when you start the free plan.
In short:
Use registries for legal truth, Maps and directories for live contact data.
Use a B2B database the moment you need scale and verified emails.
Public business data is legal to use for relevant B2B outreach: identify, stay relevant, offer opt-out.
Stop juggling tabs, look up companies in one place
Search any category and city, export verified emails, phones and ratings for every company, and skip the four-tab manual hunt. See plans.
Where can I find information about a company for free?
Start with the official business registry of the country (Companies House in the UK, EDGAR in the US, the mercantile registry in most of Europe) for legal and financial filings. For contact data and reputation, use Google Maps and official sector directories. Both are free, though registries may charge for full documents.
What is a business information database?
A business information database is a structured collection of company records: name, address, phone, website, activity, size and often verified email. Some are public and official (registries), some are commercial directories, and some are B2B platforms that combine map, web and registry data into one searchable list.
How do I look up a company's legal and financial data?
Search the national business registry: directors, registration number, accounts and status are filed there. In the US use SEC EDGAR for listed firms, in the UK Companies House, and in continental Europe the mercantile registry. These are the authoritative sources for legal company information.
Can I get a company's email and phone legally?
Yes. Business contact data published by the company (website, Google profile, directories) is public, and using it for relevant B2B outreach is lawful under GDPR legitimate interest in the EU and CAN-SPAM in the US. Identify yourself, stay relevant and offer an easy opt-out.
Is Google Maps a good source of company information?
Google Maps is excellent for live, local company data: name, address, phone, website, opening hours, category and reviews. It does not give you legal or financial filings, and the email is rarely shown, so pair it with a registry or a B2B tool that extracts verified emails.
What is the fastest way to build a list of companies?
Use a business finder that pulls live map and web data for a category plus a location, returning name, address, phone, website, rating and verified email in minutes. Manual compilation from registries and directories works but takes 3 to 5 minutes per company.
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