A registered office address and service address are two types of addresses you need to provide to Companies House when you set up a company or limited liability partnership (LLP) in the UK. A service address is the official contact address for certain people associated with these incorporated business structures. A registered office address is the official address of the company itself.
We’ll explain what each address is for, where it can be located, and how the two differ. If you’re planning to set up a company in the UK, this will help you understand the requirements for each address.
Key takeaways
- A registered office is the official address of a company or LLP, while a service address is for certain individuals associated with it.
- A registered office’s address must be in the same UK jurisdiction as where the company or LLP was formed.
- Using non-residential addresses can help keep your home address off the public register.
Service vs registered office address
Service addresses are for individuals, while registered office addresses are for companies and LLPs. Both types of addresses are important for receiving official documents and correspondence.
| Service address | Registered office address | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is it for? | Certain individuals associated with a company or LLP, including company directors and secretaries | A company or LLP |
| What is it for? | Receiving official correspondence and legal notices relating to the individual’s role in a company or LLP | A location for receiving official correspondence related to the company, including legal notices, and storing company records and registers |
| Where can it be located? | Anywhere – UK or abroad | The appropriate UK jurisdiction where the company is registered – England and Wales, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland |
| How do you change it? | Notify Companies House as soon as possible. The type of form you’ll need depends on your role. For example, if you’re a director, you need Form CH01. | You must notify Companies House within 14 days of changing your registered office address. This is done via Form AD01 for limited companies. |
What is a service address?
A service address is an official contact address for certain individuals associated with a company or LLP. For example, a company director’s service address is used by Companies House, HMRC, official bodies, and private parties to send statutory mail, legal notices, and correspondence related to their role.
By law, you must provide a service address to Companies House if you’re a:
- Company director
- Company secretary
- Person with significant control (PSC). You’re a PSC if you’re a person who has significant influence or control over a company. Most PSCs have this role because they hold more than 25% of the shares or voting rights in the company and can appoint or remove most directors.
- Member of a limited liability partnership (LLP member)
- Company subscriber (a founding shareholder or guarantor)
Companies House displays service address details on the public register. Everyone can access this via Companies House online search service. Because this information is publicly available, many people prefer to use a commercial address that isn’t their home address. Your service address can be located anywhere in the world – it doesn’t have to be in the UK.
- A registered office – what is it?
- What mail is sent to a registered office?
- Changes to registered office address requirements
What is a registered office address?
A registered office is the official address of a limited company or LLP. It’s the address used to send official communications and legal notices. It’s also where the organisation must keep certain records and registers unless it uses a single alternative inspection location (SAIL).
Under the Companies Act 2006, a registered office must be in the UK jurisdiction where 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 for a significant amount of time, even if you change address or dissolve the company.
You can use a commercial address or residential address, provided it’s compliant and situated in the correct jurisdiction. You might prefer to use a non-residential address to protect your privacy. You can change your registered office address after incorporation, but you must tell Companies House within 14 days.
What is a compliant address for a registered office?
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 states that a registered office must be an ‘appropriate address’. In practice, this means someone acting on the company’s behalf must be able to receive documents at the address. They also need to be able to record deliveries.
PO Boxes are an example of a non-compliant address type. Rapid Formations offers London registered office address services to help you keep your home address off the public register while staying compliant.
What will happen if my registered office isn’t compliant?
If your registered office address doesn’t meet the appropriate address requirements, Companies House can take action. In some cases, this can lead to your company being struck off. If a company is struck off, it ceases to exist as a legal entity and can no longer trade or hold assets.
Companies House can change your registered office to a default address if it deems that your existing address is not appropriate. You then have 28 days to provide a compliant replacement address. If you fail to do so, Companies House can begin the process of striking your company off the register.
Failing to monitor your registered office address can also cause problems. If nobody acting for your company monitors the post sent there, you could miss important correspondence. This can have serious consequences. You might miss legal deadlines, including those relating to strike off proceedings.
Does my residential address stay confidential?
Using a non-residential address for your limited company’s registered office and your service address can help keep your home address private. Having a commercial address can also make your business appear more professional.
Directors, LLP members, and PSCs are still required to provide their residential address details during the company formation process or when they join a company after incorporation. However, this information is only publicly available on Companies House if you use your home address as a registered office or service address. Some government and credit reference agencies will still be able to access your residential address, unless specific exemptions apply.
Keep your home address off the public record
Rapid Formations offers a professional London Service Address located at 71-75 Shelton Street in Covent Garden. You can use this to keep your personal address details confidential, with the address we provide appearing on Companies House instead of your home location. Official bodies will deliver correspondence here.
We also provide a London Registered Office at the same prestigious address, which is suitable for companies and LLPs in England and Wales.
Both services include mail monitoring, document scanning, and email forwarding within one working day. This can help you manage official correspondence without using your home address.
| Our service | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| London Service Address | £26.00 per year |
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| London Registered Office | £39.00 per year |
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If you’re setting up a company and need a service address and a registered office address, you may want to consider one of our packages. Our All Inclusive Package includes support with company formation, filing your first confirmation statement, registering for VAT, and much more. It also includes a free London registered office address and service address for 12 months. It’s available for £39.99 (plus a £100 Companies House fee). This can be more cost-effective than paying for each service separately. Compare our company formation packages to find the one that suits your business.
If you haven’t yet gone through company formation, you can register your company with Rapid Formations and choose the address services that suit your business from day one.
Join The Discussion
Comments (7)
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?