HTTP 403 / S3 AccessDenied for six filing PDFs (Document API and public links)

API Issues
1

Hello,

Companies House customer support asked me to raise this issue here. We are conducting academic research using historical public filings and need help retrieving six specific PDFs.

Our saved recovery records from 8 September 2026 show the same sequence for each document:

  • Document API metadata: HTTP 200, with an application/pdf resource listed.
  • Content request: HTTP 302 redirect.
  • Redirected download: HTTP 403, application/xml, with an S3 AccessDenied message referring to s3:ListBucket. Each error body contains 527 bytes.

We also checked all six official public PDF links below on 19 September 2026 at 10:10 UTC, without API authentication. Each returned the same HTTP 403 / AccessDenied error. This is our latest recorded check.

Company number and public PDF link Document API document ID
03571253 ---CHxQqJjcwFC4fAmQHTQiCMu6NYqdyvUyyqH-es60
05347385 ---OlXfom8dm944VpZZeg6h9N1pwAOsvatNeL_gFhMo
05984456 --0eLAn_3l6-AD1wY-IuKFoLb-79V_vfYLGSz-UgV8s
06697925 --0hwSgskIuSaV6wF9KPrNGhV4rQSj8ks0ZkCV15wMo
06933985 ---RrdelrtK4-SJ0z7Zr6BdLmMYwTutV_2JJLtSaTsE
07519239 --1-kxSD4oM9Gj9IE-Pp0Sa_H3Ev_bOJcwk5cILIwA8

Could the technical team please investigate these six filings and confirm:

  1. Whether each PDF object exists and is associated with the stated company and filing transaction.
  2. The cause of the AccessDenied / s3:ListBucket response, and whether access can be restored.
  3. Any official alternative route or format for obtaining the exact same filing.
  4. For each unavailable document, its status, reason for unavailability, and any expected restoration date.

We retain these cases as unresolved retrieval failures in our research records. Your confirmation would help us document the source availability accurately. Redacted response details and saved metadata are available if useful.

Thank you for your help.

Kind regards,
Alexander

2

Hello,

I’d like to share an updated check of the six filing PDFs reported above, in case it helps with the investigation.

On 8 October 2026 at 15:45 UTC, I checked all six documents through the Document API using our valid API key. Each returned the same sequence:

  • Metadata endpoint: HTTP 200 — application/pdf is listed as an available resource.
  • Content endpoint: HTTP 302 — requested with Accept: application/pdf.
  • Redirected S3 download: HTTP 403 — a 527-byte XML response containing AccessDenied and a reference to s3:ListBucket.

I followed each API-provided redirect without forwarding the API Authorization header to S3. All six PDFs remain inaccessible. The public filing-history PDF links also returned HTTP 403 in a separate check earlier today.

Companies House support has also forwarded this issue to the relevant department (reference COH2348220X).

Would someone from the Document API team be able to take a look? I would be grateful for any update on the investigation or an indication of when further information might be available.

I’m happy to provide any additional diagnostic details that would help.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

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