Changing your registered office: filing, mail and address privacy

Identify exactly which address is changing

The registered office is the company’s formal address for official correspondence. A director’s service address, their residential address and the company’s trading premises serve different purposes. Moving the office does not automatically update all of them. A company can operate from premises different from its registered office, but its records and customer disclosures must remain accurate.

Before filing, list the addresses held by Companies House, HMRC, banks, insurers and service providers. Identify which are legal service addresses and which are merely contact or trading locations. This prevents a move intended to protect home privacy from leaving the same home address visible elsewhere on the register or in website disclosures.

Check that the replacement address is appropriate

An appropriate registered office is a physical address where documents are expected to reach someone acting for the company and delivery can be acknowledged. A PO Box on its own is not sufficient. An address service needs genuine permission and an operational mail process, not simply a postcode on a website.

The address must remain in the company’s registration jurisdiction. England and Wales, Wales-only, Scotland and Northern Ireland need careful treatment under the relevant rules; a move across legal jurisdictions is not an ordinary office update. Ask Companies House or a solicitor if the proposed move raises a jurisdiction issue. Do not submit a convenient London address for a Scottish company without checking the legal position.

• Obtain the owner or provider’s permission to use the address.
• Check physical delivery and acknowledgement arrangements.
• Confirm the company’s registration jurisdiction.
• Read renewal, cancellation and forwarding terms.
• Make sure official post can reach a responsible person promptly.

Follow the official change process

Use the Companies House online service where supported or the relevant paper form, AD01. Some circumstances require paper rather than online filing, so check current service guidance if the company is at a default address, in liquidation or otherwise has a special status. Keep the company authentication code secure and use a trusted filing route.

The office change takes legal effect when Companies House registers it. Retain acceptance evidence and check the register rather than relying on a submitted-form message. Documents can still be validly served at the former address during the statutory transition period, so arrange forwarding and do not immediately abandon access. Companies House generally notifies HMRC of the registered office update, but other business records may still need separate action.

1. 1

   Check the proposed address, permission and jurisdiction.

2. 2

   Arrange mail forwarding from the old address.

3. 3

   Prepare and submit the appropriate Companies House filing.

4. 4

   Check acceptance and the updated public record.

5. 5

   Update director or other addresses separately where needed.

6. 6

   Notify banks, insurers, counterparties and any relevant tax contact records.

Understand the limits of a privacy move

Using a commercial address can avoid putting your home on future registered-office filings, but changing the live office does not simply erase historic public records. Companies House has specific processes and conditions for suppressing certain personal information from documents. Review those procedures rather than assuming all older address appearances can or cannot be removed.

If safety is the concern, consider the applicable protection routes and get advice before making more public filings. A service address is not anonymity: directors, PSCs and other company information can still be public. Do not promise complete privacy to a co-founder because the office is a mail-handling service.

Treat mail handling as a compliance control

Ask the new provider what it scans, what it forwards and what it excludes. Some packages include Companies House and HMRC post but charge extra for general business mail. Clarify how legal notices, bank letters and originals are handled, and whether the provider can acknowledge delivery. A missed notice may create consequences before the next monthly mail bundle arrives.

Create an escalation rule: an official document is reviewed promptly by a named director or employee and any deadline is entered in the calendar. Store scans securely because they may contain tax references or identity information. If the provider closes or cancels the service, have a replacement address ready rather than allowing the company to lose an appropriate office.

Worth knowing: The value of an address service is reliable access to important documents, not just avoiding a home address on the live register.

Worked scenario: moving away from a founder’s home

Illustrative scenario: a director has been using their home as the company’s registered office and is moving abroad. They buy a UK address service in the correct jurisdiction, confirm scanning and overseas forwarding, and arrange access to mail from the old home during transition. They file the office update and separately review their service and residential address records.

The director then checks the register and informs the bank and insurer. They investigate official suppression procedures for historic home-address appearances instead of expecting the AD01 to remove them. Their colleague is given responsibility for urgent post when the director travels. The company keeps its incorporation number and filing dates.

Move the registered office without losing official mail

A director ending an address-service subscription should first confirm the new address is appropriate and in the company’s registration jurisdiction. The company needs permission to use it and a workable means for official documents to reach someone acting for the business. A cheap mailbox or PO Box alone is not enough. If the new address is a home, the director reviews the public-register privacy consequences before filing. The company’s registered office, director service address and other business addresses are different records and may require separate changes.

The director arranges the new service before cancelling the old one. They check mail scanning, originals, urgent notices, overseas delivery and renewal conditions. They file the office change through the supported official route and retain the acceptance evidence. The date the change takes effect matters, and documents may still be sent to the old address during the relevant transition rules. The old provider’s forwarding or retention terms are therefore checked rather than assuming post stops immediately. Pending tax letters or authentication-code recovery requests are specifically considered.

The company then updates banking, insurers, accountants, licences and contracts where required. HMRC and other records may need their own processes even where Companies House information is available. It distinguishes a registered office change from changing the registered email or trading premises. Website and invoice disclosures are updated, and staff are told which address applies to official communications. The public record is checked for acceptance, not only the email confirming a submission. If an old address remains on historic documents, the company does not assume the new filing removes every previous public mention.

The director keeps a mail-control log for the first weeks after the move. It records items received at each location, who opened or scanned them, deadlines and action owners. A backup person can respond during illness or travel. If the company changes accountant at the same time, credential handover and statutory records are handled separately from the address subscription. A completed move is one where the company can reliably receive and act on notices, not merely one where a form has been sent and the old service cancelled.

Check the company remains reachable

Review the new address after the first official delivery and at renewal. Test access to scanned post, check notification emails and make sure shared access does not expose sensitive information unnecessarily. A registered email address is separate from the office and should also remain monitored when staff or advisers change.

If you discover an unauthorised address change or cannot access the registered office, contact Companies House through official guidance promptly and review filing security. Do not use an unrelated address without permission as an emergency shortcut. A wrong office can make other filings and banking recovery harder, so address the cause as well as the visible record.

Common questions

Official sources & further reading

This guide draws on the official guidance below. Rules, fees and individual circumstances can change; check the relevant source before acting.

• GOV.UK: Change company address
• Companies House: AD01
• Companies House: Personal information on the register

General UK information, primarily for private companies limited by shares. This is not personalised legal, tax or financial advice. An accountant or solicitor can help apply the rules to your situation.