A service address and a registered office are two types of addresses that must be provided during the company formation process. To help you to get to grips with these important addresses before setting up a company, we will discuss the different purposes and requirements of a service address and registered office below.
A service address is also required by all company directors, subscribers, company secretaries, LLP members, and People with Significant Control (PSCs). Serving as the official contact address for the individual, official government mail from HMRC, Companies House, and other government agencies are delivered to that location.
A registered office, on the other hand, is the official contact address for the company or LLP itself. It serves as the official contact address for the receipt of official government mail and for the public inspection of the company’s statutory registers.
About service addresses
A service address must be provided to Companies House and maintained at all times by the following individuals:
- Directors
- Company secretaries
- LLP members
- Guarantors with in excess of 25% voting rights in a company
- Shareholders who hold more than 25% of the company’s shares or voting rights
- Any other person or registrable legal entity with significant control or influence over a company – these individuals are known as People with Significant Control, or PSCs
A service address is the official contact address where the registered individual will receive official government mail and correspondence from Companies House, HMRC, and other official bodies regarding their role in the company or LLP
Companies House will display the address details on the public register. All members of the public have access to these contact details.
A service address can be:
- located anywhere in the world – it does not have to be in the UK
- a residential or commercial (non-residential) address
- the same address as the registered office (you can also ‘link’ the service address to your registered office so that it will automatically change whenever the latter is changed)
Due to the public disclosure of this information, the majority of individuals prefer to use an address that is not their place of residence. A non-residential service address will allow you to keep your home address off the public register of companies and protect your privacy.
You can change your service address at any time, but you must notify Companies House as soon as possible to ensure your details are accurate and up to date on the public register. You can report a change of service address for a director, company secretary, PSC, or LLP member online via Companies House WebFiling or Rapid Formations’ free Client Admin Portal.
Does my service address have to be in the UK?
No, your service address can be located in any country and you can change it at any time, as often as you wish.
Can I use my registered office as my service address?
Yes, you may use the same address as your registered office and service address.
About registered office addresses
A registered office is the official contact address of a limited company or LLP. One must be provided to Companies House during the incorporation process and maintained throughout the life of the company.
Under the Companies Act 2006, a registered office must be located in the UK jurisdiction in which the company is incorporated (i.e., England & Wales, Wales only, Scotland, or Northern Ireland).
Registered office details are disclosed on the central public register at Companies House. This information remains on record indefinitely, even if the address is changed or the company is dissolved.
The principle purpose of a registered office is to receive statutory correspondence and legal notices from official bodies such as Companies House and HMRC.
A registered office can be a residential address or a commercial address, as long as it’s located in the correct jurisdiction and the full postal address is provided. However, a non-residential address is more appropriate. Aside from protecting the privacy of your home, your business with benefit from a more professional, corporate image.
You can change your registered office at any time and as often as you wish. Companies House must be notified of any change of address immediately – you can report this change free of charge online via Companies House WebFiling service or Rapid Formations’ free Client Admin Portal.
HMRC will be automatically notified of by Companies House, so there will be no need to report the change to HMRC yourself. Please note: documentation can still validly be served at your old address for fourteen days after the change.
Can I move my registered office to a different country?
No, your registered office must always remain in the country of incorporation. However, if you register your business in England and Wales, you can move your registered office from England to Wales, or vice versa. These two countries are classed as one jurisdiction for the purpose of company formation and registered offices.
Confidentiality of residential addresses
Directors, LLP members, subscribers, and PSCs are required to provide their residential address details during the company formation or appointment process, although this information will only be made available to the public if used as a service address or registered office.
Our services
Rapid Formations offers a professional Service Address in London or Glasgow from just £24.00 per year. All of your official government mail will be delivered to your chosen service address, scanned by our Mail Team, and emailed to you free of charge within one working day.
We also provide a London Registered Office in Covent Garden, which is suitable for companies and LLPs in England & Wales, and a Scottish Registered Office in Glasgow city centre for £39.00 per year. All official government mail addressed to your company will be scanned and forwarded to you by email within one working day.
Hello am I allowed to leave machinery at my correspondence address for my business instead of the registered address
Dear Gerry
Unfortunately I do not have enough information to answer your question though where equipment is kept is at the discretion of the company directors so whatever they decide will normally be the rules to follow.
Best Regards,
Hi, I am trying to make sense of this, Does it mean if you are living in Scotland and running your Company in Scotland, you must opt to use the Scottish registered service address and business address? or can you use the London address through personal choice because you feel it looks and sounds better? OR could you mix them up like having the business address in London and service address in Scotland to then switch the service address also to London a year later, not that I’d do that, I just want to see what kind of flexibility is available within my question and how the rules of company formation registration go?
Dear Mark
Your company’s Registered Office must always be located in the country you originally register it in – so if you form a company with a Scottish Registered Office then for the life of your company the Registered Office must remain in Scotland. In terms of a Service Address for a director or the company’s Business Address they can be anywhere and can be changed at any time.
Best Regards,
Hi, thanks for this helpful article. I am wanting to use my home address as the company address, as suggested as a valid option by Companies House (https://www.gov.uk/limited-company-formation/company-address). When registering online and filling in the director’s details, if I select the option “The service address is ‘same as’ the company’s registered office”, it will not however allow me to also select the option “The residential address is ‘same as’ the service address
“. Am I allowed to just type the same address again as the director’s residential address or do I need to use a different address?
Thanks for your help
Dear Sam,
Thank you for your message.
This is a common issue with the Companies House website that you cannot tick the box to make the Residential Address the same as the Registered Office if the Service Address is already ticked to be the same as the Registered Office. The answer to your question is, yes you can type in your home address to be the Residential Address.
Best regards,
Rapid Formations Team.
I admit I am still confused. If you can use the registered address as your service address then why are Companies separating them into 2 different costs? For example £30/yr for registered address and additional £20/yr for service address – why can’t you just pay £30/yr and use that address as registered and service?
Also why is this only applicable to Companies – why as a sole trader do you then need a virtual address? Why can’t you just use a registered address?