Every UK limited company needs a registered office address. It is the company’s official address for Companies House and other formal correspondence, and it appears on the public register.
That sounds straightforward until you are halfway through forming a company and realise you are being asked to put an address on the internet for the foreseeable future.
For freelancers and small business owners who work from home—or spend half the year on tour—the choice deserves more thought than simply typing in the first address that comes to mind.
The short version: Your registered office is your company’s official public address. It must meet Companies House rules, formal post must reliably reach the company, and it does not have to be where you carry out your day-to-day work.
What is a registered office address?
A registered office address is the official legal address of a limited company or limited liability partnership. It is recorded at Companies House and used for statutory letters, notices and other official correspondence.
It is an address for the company itself, not simply the director’s personal contact address. Companies House, HMRC, courts and other organisations may send important documents there, so somebody must monitor the post and make sure it reaches the right person promptly.
Ignoring a brown envelope does not make it disappear. It merely gives it time to gather friends.
Does every limited company need one?
Yes. You must provide a registered office address when you incorporate a UK company and keep a valid address in place throughout the company’s life, including while it is dormant.
Sole traders do not have a Companies House registered office because the business is not a separate company. They may still need to give HMRC and clients an address, but that is a different requirement.
What makes an address acceptable to Companies House?
The registered office must be a physical address in the UK and in the same legal jurisdiction where the company is registered. A company registered in England and Wales must therefore have an address in England or Wales; a Scottish company needs an address in Scotland; and a Northern Irish company needs one in Northern Ireland.
The address must also be an ‘appropriate address’. This means:
You, or somebody acting for the company, will be made aware of post addressed and delivered to the company.
A sender can obtain acknowledgement or confirmation that the post was delivered.
You must have permission to use the address. If you use an accountant, solicitor, agent, serviced office or another provider, check exactly what their service includes before entering the address at Companies House.
Can I use a PO Box?
No. Companies House says a Royal Mail PO Box cannot be used as a registered office address, and the restriction also covers similar PO Box services from other providers.
A mail-handling or virtual-office service may be acceptable if it supplies a real physical address, meets the ‘appropriate address’ requirements and allows the company to use it. The words ‘virtual office’ on a website are not, by themselves, a compliance certificate.
Is the registered office address public?
Yes. The registered office appears on the public Companies House register, which anyone can search online for free. Information from the register may also appear on third-party websites and through search engines.
This is why choosing the address before incorporation matters. If you use your home address, you should assume that clients, suppliers, strangers and anybody with Wi-Fi may be able to find it.
Read Should I Use My Home Address for My Limited Company? before deciding whether the convenience is worth the loss of privacy.
Can I use my home address?
Yes, provided it meets the registered-office rules and is in the correct UK jurisdiction. But it will be public, so the more useful question is whether you should use it.
Using a home address may be free and easy, but it can create privacy concerns. It may also be awkward if you move house, receive client or legal correspondence at home, or simply do not want your residential address attached to the company online.
If the business is run from home, GOV.UK says you do not need to display a company-name sign there. Other disclosure rules still apply to company documents and websites.
Can I use my accountant’s address?
Possibly. An accountant, solicitor or registered office provider may allow clients to use its address, but you must have permission and the address must meet all the Companies House requirements.
Before relying on a service, check:
Which types of post will be accepted and forwarded.
How quickly you will be told that post has arrived.
Whether scanning, forwarding and postage cost extra.
What happens if you stop paying for the service or change accountant.
Whether the service also covers directors’ service addresses, if required.
An address service is not a filing service unless the provider expressly says so. The envelope may arrive safely while the deadline inside it continues marching towards you.
Registered office, service address and trading address: what is the difference?
| Address | What it is used for | Public? |
| Registered office | The company’s official legal address and formal post | Yes |
| Director’s service address | Public correspondence address for a director | Yes |
| Director’s residential address | Home address supplied privately to Companies House | Normally no |
| Trading address | Where the business operates or receives ordinary commercial post | Not automatically on the register |
The same address can sometimes perform more than one role, but the labels are not interchangeable. In particular, using a different registered office does not mean Companies House no longer needs a director’s usual residential address on its private register.
Does the registered office need to appear on invoices and websites?
On business letters, order forms and company websites, you must show the company’s registered number, registered office address, the part of the UK in which the company is registered and the fact that it is a limited company. The company name must also appear on company documents, publicity and letters.
Invoices have their own information requirements, including the full company name as it appears on the incorporation certificate and, where you put directors’ names on the invoice, all directors’ names.
Can I change the registered office address?
Yes. A company can change its registered office, but Companies House must be told within 14 days of the change. The new address must remain in the same UK jurisdiction as the company’s registration.
The change can usually be filed online using the company authentication code. Updating your website, invoice template, letterhead, banking records and other business systems is a separate job; changing Companies House does not automatically update everything else.
Practical reminder: Do not stop monitoring the old address immediately. Make sure any post already in transit or held by the previous provider still reaches you.
What if I have already used my home address?
First, change the current registered office to a suitable replacement address. For an active company, Companies House requires the registered office to be changed before you apply to remove a home address from historic documents.
You may then be able to apply to suppress the home address where it appeared as a former registered office or correspondence address. As at 4 August 2026, the published fee is £34 for each document listed in the application. Suppression is not automatic, and information already copied by third parties may remain elsewhere.
What happens if the address is not appropriate?
An unsuitable address can mean missed deadlines, penalties or sensitive documents going astray. Companies House also warns that a company could be struck off the register if it does not provide a registered office that meets the requirements.
The cheapest address is not much of a bargain if nobody tells you that an HMRC notice has been sitting there for six weeks.
How should I choose a registered office address?
Choose an address that works for privacy, compliance and everyday administration. Ask yourself:
Do I want this address to be publicly searchable?
Is it in the correct UK jurisdiction?
Do I have clear permission to use it?
Will somebody reliably receive and acknowledge company post?
How quickly will urgent documents reach me?
What will happen if I move or change service provider?
Are the ongoing fees and forwarding charges clear?
For a freelancer who is regularly away on tour, reliable mail handling may matter just as much as privacy. A perfectly respectable address is no use if the post waits for you to return from a six-week European run.
Need help setting up or running your limited company?
A registered office is only one of the decisions involved in forming and running a company. You also need to think about the business structure, records, banking, taxes, payroll, dividends and Companies House filings.
At Carter Clear, we work with freelancers, sound engineers, touring crew, bands and creative businesses. We can help you understand what your company needs, keep the records straight and avoid discovering important deadlines through an envelope you opened three months late.
👉 Book a call with me to discuss
Sources and fact-check links
GOV.UK: Rules for registered office addresses and email addresses: https://www.gov.uk/limited-company-formation/company-address
GOV.UK: Personal information on the Companies House register: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/your-personal-information-on-the-companies-house-register
GOV.UK: Change a company’s registered office address (AD01): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/change-a-registered-office-address-ad01
GOV.UK: Removing personal details from the Companies House register: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/removing-your-home-address-from-the-companies-house-register
GOV.UK: Signs, stationery and promotional material: https://www.gov.uk/running-a-limited-company/signs-stationery-and-promotional-material