News

What Is a Registered Address and Do I Need One?

registerd-office

Tags

Thinking of becoming a limited company, or considering the pros and cons of registering your office at your home address? Before rushing into deciding where to register your office, let us help you make an informed decision with some helpful information to guide the way.

A registered office address is an official correspondence address that every limited company (and LLP) is legally required to provide. In return for the benefits of limited liability, your business must remain open and transparent to the public. This means that when you register your business on the public register you must be prepared for this information, along with your details as a Director to be shared worldwide for free online.

Do I need a registered office address?

Although you're permitted to use your home address as the registered office address, it's not mandatory, nor recommended by Companies House. A separate registered office address is far more professional and helps to keep your home address private. For this reason, many companies use a different address to receive correspondence.

There are a couple of requirements to meet for the address that Companies House set out;

  • Your company’s registered office address must be in the same part of the UK that the company was incorporated – England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. You cannot change from one jurisdiction to another
  • It must be a physical address and not a PO Box. You can only use a PO Box address if you also provide the full address (including post code) of the physical building.

Should I use my home as the registered business address?

Using your home as your registered address is not advised by any professional body and should only be considered if you have no alternative option. Your home address will be made fully public for anyone to find.

Since the update to the General Data Protection Regulations there has been a greater recognition of the importance of personal privacy. It’s therefore essential you consider the security of your home address when publicly opening up its location for both yourself and any members of your family within your household. This is especially of prevalent importance to businesses that are, or are perceived as cash based.

Other businesses could take an unprofessional approach to contacting your business by spamming your home with junk mail and even sending cold callers to turn up at your door. Although this may not be too much of an issue for you, it can be time consuming and a test of patience when trying to reduce or refuse these unwanted nuisances.

Where should I register my business?

Your company registered office can be anywhere within the same part of the UK that it was incorporated. It doesn’t need to be the actual location where you conduct your business from.

Therefore, even if you run your business from home you can register it elsewhere, happy days!

It must be a physical, active location so that your statutory and legal mail can be securely delivered and dealt with in a timely manner.

It is imperative that your official government correspondence should not be ignored or lost, that’s why its wise to use a professional Registered Office Address provider.

In summary, even though your registered address can be a residential address and not a commercial property, it doesn’t mean it should be. There are benefits, to using a trusted Registered Office Address provider as it keeps your home address protected and it can be used to give your company instant credibility with new and potential clients.

How do I change my registered address on Companies House?

Changing your registered office is simple and fast, simply follow the steps below. There’s no charge to change your registered office address, it’s completely free – you just need your email address and your authentication code.

  1. Go to the Companies House Service.
  2. Find your company.
  3. Click on the “file for this company” tab and follow the instructions.
  4. Enter your new building name or number and postcode. You can find the address or enter it manually.
  5. Submit your changes and you’re all done!

 

Blue Rocket Accounting Registered Office Address Service

Keep your home and work life separate and protect your personal address by using the Blue Rocket Accounting Registered Office Address Service.

Benefit include:

  • The credibility of an accountant’s office address, showing potential customers and suppliers you are serious about your business.
  • Your residential address is shielded from public view.  
  • Prospects cannot make any pre-judgements about your work or pricing structure based on a Google Street View of your home address.
  • Businesses that are potentially cash-based are not advertising where some of that cash might potentially be temporarily stored.
  • Registered offices attract junk mail. We will filter that junk for you, ensuring you only focus on your company’s official mail.  
  • Similarly, we prevent essential mail from being mistakenly put into the recycling!
  • We forward all your business mail to you – not only your official government mail. No need for you to worry about the postage,that’s all part of the service. 
  • We review all that dreaded correspondence from both HMRC and Companies House, saving you from the risk of fines and penalties for failing to file those key statutory documents.

 

We’ll make your life easier for as little as £9+VAT per month or £108+VAT per year (with no additional charge for postage or other hidden fees).

It’s easy to move your registered office, and to ease the process further we can do it for you!

If you’d like to talk to one of our friendly team about your business address options, get in touch today.

 

 

For further information, please feel free to download the resource below:

No items found.

Access Exclusive Content

By submitting this form you agree to receive offers and news about our products and services by email.

Privacy Policy
Thanks! Click to download:
No items found.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Thinking of changing your accountant?

Download our free ebook highlighting 10 signs that now is the time to do it

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Brochure

We’re honoured to be recognised for our hard work and customer service.

Here are some of the accolades we’ve achieved.

Software Partners

Sage One Certified Advisor
Intuit Quickbooks Gold Pro Advisor
KashFlow Accounting Software
Xero