Single Alternative Inspection Location (SAIL) address – what is it?

Under company law, limited companies are required to keep certain records and make some of them available for inspection.

The Single Alternative Inspection Location (SAIL) is a facility provided by Companies House that allows companies to keep certain statutory records at a location other than their registered office.

The SAIL address was introduced into company law via the Companies Act 2006.

Why use a SAIL address?

There are several reasons why a company may choose to use a SAIL address, including:

• Convenience: If your company’s statutory records are maintained by an accountant, company formation agent or other professional, it may be more convenient to make those records available for inspection at their premises rather than your registered office.
• Privacy: If your registered office is your home, you may prefer any company records which can be held at a SAIL address to be available for inspection somewhere else. However, a SAIL address does not hide or replace your registered office address, which remains publicly available at Companies House.
• Flexibility: A SAIL address can provide companies with greater flexibility in managing their records. For example, a company may choose to use a SAIL address if its registered office is not a convenient location for keeping records available for inspection.

If your main concern is keeping your home address off the public register, a SAIL address isn’t the solution. You would need to use a different registered office address and, where appropriate, a director’s service address.

What is a SAIL address?

A SAIL address is an alternative location to the registered office where specified company records can be kept and made available for inspection.

• The address is notified to Companies House using form AD02. You can also make the notification online.
• The company must notify Companies House when records are moved to the SAIL address using form AD03, and when records are moved back to the registered office using form AD04.
• Your limited company is only allowed to have one SAIL address at any one time.
• The address must be in the same part of the UK in which the company is registered – for example, a company registered in Scotland cannot have a SAIL address in England.
• It must be a physical location at which the relevant records can genuinely be made available for inspection.

You can find AD02, AD03 and AD04 in the Companies House forms for limited companies.

Which company records can be kept at a SAIL address?

A SAIL address isn’t somewhere you simply move all of your company’s paperwork. It applies to specified company records which are required to be available for inspection.

The records which may need to be kept available depend on the company and can include records such as:

• The register of members (shareholders).
• Records of resolutions and general meetings.
• Copies of directors’ service contracts.
• Records relating to directors’ indemnities.
• Certain records relating to debentures and charges, where applicable.

Companies House reforms under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 are changing the statutory register regime, including removing the requirement for companies to maintain certain local registers as information is held centrally at Companies House.

As a result, it’s worth checking the current GOV.UK guidance on company and accounting records to see exactly which records your company needs to maintain.

Requirements and obligations

Using a SAIL address doesn’t remove the company’s legal responsibilities for maintaining its records.

• Records kept at the SAIL must still be available for inspection where company law provides a right of inspection.
• Records must be kept accurate and up to date.
• Different types of company records have different retention requirements, so there is no single rule that every record must simply be kept for six years.
• Company directors remain responsible for ensuring that the company complies with its legal obligations.

You can view more information about the company records you need to maintain in the official GOV.UK guidance.

How to set up a SAIL address

Setting up a SAIL address is a straightforward process.

A company officer can notify Companies House of the SAIL address using form AD02 or the appropriate online filing service.

You must then tell Companies House which records have been moved there. Form AD03 is used when records are moved from the registered office to the SAIL address.

If you later move those records back to the registered office, you notify Companies House using form AD04.

Remember that a company can only have one SAIL address, although it does not have to move every eligible record there.

Do small limited companies need a SAIL address?

No. There is no requirement for a limited company to have a SAIL address.

For most small owner-managed companies, keeping the required records at the registered office is perfectly adequate. A SAIL is mainly useful where another location is more practical for keeping particular statutory records available for inspection.

If you do use one, remember that the SAIL address is itself shown on the Companies House public register. You can check your company’s information at Companies House to see what information is currently recorded.