What is a limited company registered office address?

A registered office is the official address of a limited company, and every incorporated business trading in the UK must have one.

The registered address must be a physical location where official paperwork, such as communications from Companies House and HMRC, can be delivered.

Some small company owners use their accountant’s address. Or you may decide to use another intermediary, such as a formations agent, to provide a registered office service – in return for a modest annual charge.

This has the obvious benefit of ensuring that any important mail addressed to your company is received directly by the people tasked with overseeing your tax and statutory affairs.

The registrar of companies will automatically provide HMRC with the registered office details of all new companies immediately after incorporation.

Where should my registered office address be?

There are several rules to bear in mind when choosing an address for your new company.

Physical address and ‘appropriate address’ rules

• It must be a physical address somewhere in the UK.
• It must be an ‘appropriate address’. Documents delivered there by post or in person should be expected to come to the attention of someone acting for the company, and the delivery must be capable of being acknowledged.
• You cannot use a Royal Mail PO Box as your registered office address. Similar mail-only services from other providers are also not permitted.
• There is no legal requirement to work from, or regularly visit, the address. It can be used solely for statutory purposes.
• Since March 2024, you must also provide Companies House with a registered email address. This is separate from the physical address, is not published on the public register, and must be an address where Companies House communications will be expected to reach someone acting for the company.

Companies House explains the current registered office and email requirements in its official guidance.

Jurisdiction, usage, privacy and inspection rules

• The address must match the company’s registration jurisdiction. A company registered in England and Wales must have its registered office in England and Wales. Companies registered in Scotland or Northern Ireland must keep their registered office within the relevant jurisdiction.
• You can use your home address or the address of someone who helps your company manage its affairs, such as your accountant, provided you have permission to use it and it meets the appropriate-address rules.
• Your company’s registered office address is publicly available and can be searched on the Companies House register.
• Certain company records must be available for inspection at the registered office or, where permitted, at a notified SAIL address.

If the registered office does not meet these rules, Companies House can take action. This can include changing the company’s registered office to a default address and, ultimately, beginning strike-off action.

Using your personal address – is this an option?

There are benefits to using your home address as your registered office address – such as making sure you can receive any important mail – but it may not necessarily be the best choice.

If you do use your home address, it will appear on the public register. This is an important privacy consideration, particularly if you work from home.

Historically, previous registered office addresses remained visible on the public register even after the company moved.

However, the rules have changed. In certain circumstances, an individual can now apply to Companies House to remove a home address from documents on the public register if it was used as a registered office, service or correspondence address.

If the company is still active and your home is its current registered office, you must change the registered office first before applying to have the home address suppressed from earlier documents.

Another benefit of using a non-residential address is that an ‘office’ type address can give your clients a more professional image of your business.

A simple Google search will reveal dozens of companies that provide registered office services.

You pay an annual fee for the service, and mail is normally forwarded or handled according to the provider’s terms.

What is a SAIL address (Single Alternative Inspection Location)?

If you do not want company records that must be kept available for public inspection to be held at the registered office, you can use an alternative address.

This is known as a SAIL address.

The role of the SAIL address has changed following recent Companies House reforms. Companies no longer have to maintain some of the old statutory registers locally, including the registers of directors, directors’ residential addresses, secretaries and PSCs.

However, the company must still maintain its register of members, together with other records that remain subject to inspection requirements. A SAIL address can therefore still be useful if you want these records kept somewhere other than the registered office.

Is a registered address the same as a business address?

Not necessarily.

A company’s registered address is where official paperwork can be sent. As we mentioned previously, this can be your accountant’s address or a third-party address.

There is no legal requirement for your registered address to be the same place where you carry out your business.

What is the difference between a registered and a service address?

A service address is a correspondence address used by an individual company officer, such as a director or company secretary.

A director must provide Companies House with both a service address and their usual residential address. The service address appears on the public register, while the usual residential address is normally kept private.

The service address can be the director’s home address, the company’s registered office or another suitable address.

The service address is a separate requirement from the registered office address, but many company directors opt to use the same third party to provide both addresses for simplicity.

How do I change my registered address?

The Companies House register holds the registered office address of every company on the register.

If you want to update the address at any time, you or your accountant can submit Form AD01.

The new address does not officially take effect until Companies House has registered the change, so make sure you continue to monitor the old address until the update has been processed.

You should then update your website, invoices, letters and other business stationery to show the company’s current registered office address.

You can also read the Companies House guidance on registered office and email addresses.