When a Limited company or Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) is formed, by law, the business is required to register an official registered office address listed at Companies House.
Why is this an important requirement?
Because all official correspondence for the business are sent to this address. For example, communications such as updates, notices, letters and reminders from:
- HMRC
- Companies House
- Official government mail
Basically, important updates and requirements you as a business owner need to be aware of (hence it being a legal requirement and all!)
Why does a limited company need a registered office?
- As already mentioned, it’s a legal requirement and it’s where important communications regarding your Ltd business will be sent.
- It’s the address that will be made available on the public register. For more information about the public register head here. The address is made publicly available to ensure openness and transparency.
Important considerations when choosing a registered office address:
You must register your company at a physical office address in the same country you registered your company in – so if you registered your company in England and Wales you must find a registered office there. By contrast, company’s incorporated in Scotland must have a Scottish registered office address.
You must ensure post can be successfully received at the address you pick. For example, there should be someone at the address who can collect/sign for the post or somewhere it can be safely delivered e.g. specific mailbox.
If you’re not based at the registered address you need to either be able to collect the post yourself or have someone at the address forward it to you. It’s vital that you receive communications on time.
Can I use my trading address as my registered office address?
Yes, you can use your trading address (otherwise known as your business address) as your registered office address but where you ‘do business from’ doesn’t have to be your registered office address. There are reasons business owners choose to keep the two separate:
- As mentioned a registered office address is made publicly available – some business owners prefer to have a different registered office to their business/trading address as a registered office address can receive a lot of junk/spam mail!
- For companies with multiple trading addresses e.g. more than one office, shop or factory there may not be any logical choice as to which becomes the registered office. You may therefore prefer to use a standalone registered office, separate to your trading addresses.
Can I use my home address as my registered office address?
Yes you can – there are no rules against registering your company address to your home, however many business owners prefer to use a commercial address rather than a residential address.
Why?
- A preference for keeping home and business separate.
- As mentioned previously a registered office address is visible on the public register. Some feel uncomfortable having their home address made publicly available for all to see.
- It could be considered more professional to have a company registered to a commercial address rather than a residential one.
Can I use a PO box as a registered business address?
Generally no, because a registered address needs to be a full address with a bricks and mortar physical location. For example, building number, building name, street name, town, county, postcode etc. A pure PO box doesn’t provide a physical address therefore can’t be used as your registered office address. It also wouldn’t be our recommendation – we’d suggest a registered office address in a physical location ideally manned for post delivery.
Where do I need to make visible my registered office address?
The registered office address should be present on:
- Your company website
- Invoices
- Business letters
- Emails
- Marketing material
Can I change/update my registered office address?
Yes, you can change your registered office address. You just need to head on over to Companies House website and file a change of registered address form. For clients this is a service we can provide.
Note, Companies House needs to be made aware within 14 days of the change taking place.
You can notify Companies House via WebFiling or by completing an AD01 form and sending it to them via the Post. Be aware that paperwork sent by post takes longer to process. Using their online WebFiling is the quickest option available.
Once the Companies House record is up to date HMRC will automatically begin using this address for corporation tax matters. Other taxes such as PAYE and VAT should always be registered to the trading address and so correspondence for these will continue to be received at the company’s trading address.
Of course, you’ll also need to make sure you update all your company docs (website/invoices etc) with your new address.
How can we help you with your registered office address?
At Raw one of the services we provide is using us as your registered office address.
Benefits of choosing Raw’s registered office address service?
- Our address is a commercial office address, based in Wokingham, Berkshire
- As your accountants we need sight of the important documents HMRC/Companies House send you. Having us as your registered address means we receive these communications and you don’t need to forward them on to us, saving you time!
- We scan important documents in and add them to your client portal notifying you of the documents as we receive them. You just use your existing portal login to access these, meaning post is kept secure.
Cost of having Raw as your registered office address?
The cost of our registered office address service is £150 annually. If you’re interested in becoming a client and using our registered office address service do contact us today.
Registered office address – FAQ’s
What is my registered office address?
You can check your current registered address for your company/LLP by visiting Companies House here and searching for your business name.
Can I use a virtual business address for my company’s registered office?
The short answer is yes. You can use a virtual address and list this as your company’s registered office. The important thing is that this virtual business address can receive mail, is a physical building and you have a way of getting the business mail received here. For example, at Raw, we scan mail direct on to your client portal.
Should I use a London address for my registered office service?
It depends. Some businesses like the idea of having what they perceive to be a prestigious London address. However, increasingly you will find lots of companies are using one of these addresses, meaning it’s not a prestigious as first thought. Others prefer a more local address to them, or something not as common such as using their accountants registered office address service.
How do Companies House and HMRC use my registered office?
Companies House will use the registered office to send notices, statutory mail and important documents to the Directors. HMRC will use this for corporation tax purposes. This means important HMRC reminders and other official mail will be sent to this address.
