Limited company registered address – what are my options?

When you form a company for the first time, you’ll have to provide Companies House with several addresses, the most important one being your registered office address.

As Section 86 of the Companies Act, 2006 states:

…a company must at all times have a registered office to which all communications and notices may be addressed.

This is the official headquarters or home address of your limited company or limited liability partnership and will appear on the public record.

In addition to a registered office address, you must also provide Companies House with a registered email address.

This email address is used by Companies House to contact your company about official matters and reminders, but it is not published on the public register.

You can read the official guidance here: company address rules on GOV.UK.

In this article, we explore your options for selecting a registered office address, along with the requirements and restrictions that apply.

Which jurisdiction?

The registered address of the company must be in the same jurisdiction as where you establish your limited company or LLP, namely England & Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

If you set up a company in England and Wales, the registered office address can be in either country. However, if you are setting up a Welsh company only, you must provide a registered office address in Wales.

You can change your registered address at any time, provided it is within the same jurisdiction.

The exception to this is if your company is registered in England & Wales. In this case, you can change the registered office address between the two jurisdictions.

Your company’s registered address

You must provide a physical street address for your limited company (including a postcode), which serves as its mailing address for official correspondence.

The address must be an ‘appropriate address’, i.e. one where documents sent by post or hand delivery can reasonably be expected to come to the attention of someone acting on behalf of the company, and where delivery can be recorded or acknowledged (e.g., via signed-for post or personal delivery).

PO Boxes, Legal Post numbers (LP), DX numbers, or similar mail-only services are not permitted, even with a postcode.

You need a real physical location (such as your home, an office, or a third-party registered office service provider that meets these criteria).

Public record

Your registered office address is publicly available on the Companies House register. You can use your home address as the registered office address, but it’s advisable to give this some thought.

Using your private address means clients, suppliers, and anyone else can turn up at your door unannounced to discuss business matters.

And if you live in rented accommodation, there may well be a clause in your agreement to say you can’t register a business at this address.

For all of the above reasons, many choose to protect their privacy by providing an alternative registered office address.

Options include using an accountant’s or solicitor’s address, or one provided by a company formations service that will forward mail to you. Please note that a fee will be charged for this service.

Most contractor accountants will be happy to provide their office address for your company’s use.

Alongside the privacy this offers you, it also makes a lot of sense, as your accountant will typically deal with any official correspondence sent to your company.

Mail to your registered office address

Your company’s registered office address is where all statutory, legal and other important documents are sent by the likes of HMRC, the Government Gateway, Companies House, and other official bodies.

The type of mail you receive will include your annual confirmation statement, notice to deliver your company tax and VAT returns, legal notices, any penalties for late-filing and information about or changes to PAYE and national insurance contributions.

Any request to inspect statutory records and LLP registers will also be sent to this address.

Other requirements

You can only provide one registered office address for your company. As mentioned above, this may not be the address where you work or trade from, but the one that appears on the public record and the address to which all statutory and legal mail is sent.

Changing your registered office address

If you decide to change your registered office address, the key thing is that the new address must remain within the same jurisdiction as your company’s registration (England & Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland).

In practical terms, you notify Companies House by filing form AD01 (online or by post).

There is no fee to change your registered office address, but you will typically need your company authentication code to file online, and you must inform Companies House of the change within 14 days.

Your address does not officially change until Companies House registers the update, and previous registered office addresses can remain visible on the public register for the lifetime of the company (and for a period after dissolution).

Read the official guidance on choosing or changing your registered office address here: Companies House: how to choose or change your company’s registered office address.

GOV.UK also covers the AD01 process here: Change a company’s registered office address (AD01).

What’s a service address?

As part of the company formation process, all company directors and LLP members must also provide a service address.

This is the contact address used by HMRC, Companies House, and other official bodies to send statutory and legal mail to individual directors, rather than to the company.

Your service address is also publicly available on the Companies House register. As such, you can again choose to protect your privacy by using your accountant’s address or a similar service.

Read more in our guide to service addresses.

Registered office services are available to provide privacy

If you would rather not use your residential address as your company’s official address, you can use one of the many third-party services to do so on your behalf.