Registered Office Address
A prestigious address to shout about!
Why You Need a Registered Address
How it works
For registered companies, you are required to have a registered address. It is the address of a company to which Companies House or otherwise relevant governing body letters and reminders are sent to. The Company Registered Address must always be an effective address for delivering documents to the company and its Directors/Shareholders. This service is otherwise known as a virtual office and typically offer other services such as phone answering services, meeting rooms and physical office space solutions.
The Registered Office Address is the address that your company is officially registered at upon incorporation, and is displayed on the Public Registrar at Companies House. As the Registered Office Address site needs to be readily available for post to be delivered to, and if necessary, documents to be signed for. This service is also commonly referred to as a virtual office and sole traders and business owners tend utilise the service in prestigious locations. Your City Office offer the services across the UK, with London virtual offices and mayfair virtual offices being some of the more popular locations.
It is not possible to use a PO Box address as the Registered Office Address. Other requirements are that the Company Registration Number and the Registered Office Address must be displayed on your company stationary (letterheads and invoices).
Mail delivered to the Registered Office Address is sent from Companies House and HMRC (Inland Revenue) as well as mail from other relevant Governing Bodies, including official reminders and letters regarding a number of important things relevant to your company.
Everything you need to know before you get your registered office address
Letters sent from HMRC (Inland Revenue) can include the necessary forms to register your company with HMRC (Inland Revenue) so you will be able to file your Annual Accounts, setting up your Payroll system (PAYE), as well as forms you will be required to complete if you decide to apply for VAT Registration Number (necessary if your annual turnover is going to be in excess of £67 000 per annum).
It is very important that all HMRC notifications are replied to in a timely fashion, especially the submission of Annual Accounts as the laws have recently changed and very hefty fines and penalties are now in place for the late filing of Accounts.
If you need to change the Registered Office Address then form 287 needs to be downloaded from here or the Companies House website, completed and then submitted to Companies House. This can be done via the post, or electronically via WebFiling.
It will take a couple of days for Companies House to process the application. There is no additional charge to change the Registered Office Address.
The advantages of Registered Office Address use, is that you can present your company as being established at one of our prestigious addresses in some of the most famous business locations across the UK.
You can also utilise it as a separate address from your normal mailing address, so that only official or Government mail from Companies House or Inland Revenue will be sent to the Registered Office Address.
We have a list of especially prestigious addresses available for Registered Office Address use within the UK, click here for a list of available addresses and prices.
Any official mail delivered to the address will be forwarded onto you to the address you supply.
*Please note that if you wish to have any other mail sent to our location that is not from Companies House or Inland Revenue, then you will need to purchase Business trading use.
Registered Office Address for US Businesses and Individual Use
As required by the US Government, the 'post forwarding' form, which can be downloaded here, must be filled, notarised and returned to a member of the City Office team.
Advise on how to fill in the form can be found by clicking here.
Note* As per the documents instructions, you must also supply two forms of ID along with the form.
Virtual Office City Locations
Check out our most popular virtual office locations
What is a registered office address?
A registered office address is your company's official address and is published publicly on the UK government's website. It must be a physical address because official post is sent there.
When you register your business as a limited company or LLP, you'll have to provide Companies House with your registered office address. Having an official mailing address and postcode is a legal requirement for all registered businesses.
You can only have one registered address but can revise it as your circumstances change. You're free to choose a registered address in any location in the jurisdiction in which you've registered your business (i.e. England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland).
Section 68 of the Companies Act 2006 states that every company needs to have a registered office in the UK.
Your registered address doesn't need to be the same as your business address, which is where your business operates or trades from (see below for more information). It does, however, have to be somewhere you can access post because it's where mail from Companies House, HMRC and Government Gateway is sent.
It's important to note that your business' registered address will be publically visible on the Companies House Register. Anyone can view this information, together with details such as date of incorporation, current and resigned officers and previous company names.
Bear in mind that other countries operate differently. In many places, a company's registered business address must also be the location of its headquarters, for instance.
What are the benefits of having a registered office address?
Aside from being a legal requirement for all incorporated companies, having a registered office address has additional benefits that you might not have thought of. For instance, it can contribute towards the credibility of your business in the eyes of customers or clients.
You have a legal responsibility to publish your registered address on your invoices and letterheads, for example. With this in mind, choosing a registered address in a prestigious business location can make you seem more established and professional.
Virtual registered office addresses aren't very expensive to obtain and often come with added benefits such as access to meeting rooms and a mail forwarding service. Many prefer to purchase a virtual registered office membership to keep their residential address private.
Other reasons for having a registered address:
- To house a dormant company
- If you want to register a company but don't know when it will start trading
Where do I have to use my registered address?
The law states that you must display your registered business address on contracts, official documents and even stationery. However, if you want to use it on stationary, you need to specify that this is the Registered Address of your company. If you want to use the address for marketing or trading purposes, you need to purchase the Business Address service as well.
The types of communications your registered address and company number should also be stated on include the following:
- Website
- Business cards
- Emails
- Letterheads
- Letters
What's the difference between a registered address and a business address?
A business address is used to receive correspondence from your customers, suppliers and anyone else who has a relationship with your business. You can, of course, have multiple business addresses, and none of them have to be the same as your registered address.
You'll also have to provide your business address (otherwise known as a trading address) when you register your company with Companies House.
On the other hand, your registered address is only for statutory post from organisations like Inland Revenue or Companies House. Note that you do want to use the address of your serviced office, virtual office or coworking space on your website and marketing / advertising collateral, you'll have to purchase Business Address Trading Use.
Can a company be registered at a residential address?
Technically, yes. It's perfectly legal to use your home address as your registered address, as long as it's located in the country in which your business is incorporated. However, as your registered address is publically viewable online, you might decide against it.
As an alternative, you can use a virtual registered office address. Virtual offices are available all over the country many operate a mail forwarding service, meaning you can rent a registered address in London and operate in, for example, Stockport.
As well as a registered address and mail forwarding service, a virtual office can provide:
- Personalised telephone answering service
- Meeting room access
- Hot desking facilities
How do I change my registered office address?
You can change your registered office address at any time as long as it's in the same part of the UK where the business was initially incorporated. You need to notify Companies House within 14 days of changing it, and to do this you need to complete and return Companies House be expected to provide your company number and name, new registered office address and a signature. The change will be approved once your new address is deemed suitable.
To find a new suitable registered office address through Your City Office, search our locations or request a callback and one of our consultants will guide you through the process.
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