A registered office is the official, public address of your limited company on the Companies House register, where statutory mail is sent — and it is not the same as where you trade (your business address) or a director's correspondence (service) address. Since 4 March 2024, it must be an "appropriate address": statutory post has to reach someone acting for the company, and delivery can be acknowledged. That rule means a PO Box on its own is not allowed, and every company must now also give Companies House a registered email address, which is kept private and not published. Your registered office can be your home, your trading premises, or a registered-office service address provided by an agent — the choice is yours, but whatever you pick goes on the public record the moment you incorporate. Getting the distinction right keeps your statutory mail, your privacy and your trading setup in the correct places from day one.
Rules cited are current at 4 March 2024 and sourced to gov.uk. General guidance for UK directors, not personal advice.
When you set up a limited company, one of the first things Companies House asks you to give is a registered office address. It sounds like an administrative box to tick, but it's the address the law treats as your company's official home — so it's worth a minute to be clear on what it is, and what it isn't.
Registered office vs business address vs service address — what's the difference?
Three different addresses can attach to a company, and directors routinely blur them. The registered office is the statutory, public one; the business address is where you actually work; the service address is a personal correspondence address for a director or other officer. Here's how they compare:
Address type
What it is
On the public register?
Registered office
The company's official address, where Companies House and HMRC send statutory mail
Yes
Business (trading) address
Where you actually operate, meet clients or take deliveries
Only if you choose to show it
Service (correspondence) address
A director's or officer's own address for personal statutory mail
Yes
The mix-up we untangle most is directors treating their registered office like a trading address. It isn't — it's the public, statutory one, which is exactly why many directors don't want it to be their home. Your business address can be wherever you actually operate, and you can run several trading locations or publish none of them; the registered office is the single official point of contact that always sits on the register.
What are the rules for a registered office address?
Since 4 March 2024, a registered office must be an "appropriate address" — meaning statutory mail sent there comes to the attention of a person acting on behalf of the company, and delivery can be acknowledged. In plain terms, someone connected to the company has to be able to receive the post and confirm it arrived, so a PO Box on its own no longer qualifies. The address must also be in the UK, in the same jurisdiction where your company is registered: a company registered in England and Wales keeps its registered office in England or Wales, a Scottish company in Scotland, and a Northern Irish company in Northern Ireland (gov.uk).
Alongside the address, every company must now give Companies House a registered email address. It's used for official communications, it is not published, and existing companies supply it at their next confirmation statement. These changes arrived with the same wave of reform that brought in identity verification for directors, so if you're incorporating now, you'll meet them together rather than one at a time.
Not sure whether your home, your office or a dedicated address is the right registered office for your company? Our free guide walks through the set-up decisions before you file, so you pick the address you can actually live with.
Yes, you can use your home as your registered office, and plenty of first-time directors do. The catch is that a registered office is public: anyone can look it up on the Companies House register for free, which means your home address is then searchable alongside your company. For a director running the business from the kitchen table, that's often the deciding factor against it.
The common alternative is a registered-office or service address supplied by a third party, so your company shows a professional, compliant address on the public register while your home stays off it. This is exactly where our connector model earns its keep: we don't act as your registered office ourselves, but we match you with a trusted partner who can provide a compliant registered-office address and get your company set up correctly. If you'd rather keep your home address private and still meet the appropriate-address rule, that's a short conversation.
What happens if your registered office isn't appropriate?
If Companies House decides your registered office is not an appropriate address, it can change the company's registered office to a default address that it holds. From that point you have 28 days to provide an appropriate address, with evidence of your link to it. Miss that window and the company faces strike-off action — the process that ends with your company removed from the register altogether.
That's a serious outcome for something as fixable as an address, and it's avoidable. Keep a genuine, monitored UK address as your registered office, make sure post is actually collected and acknowledged, and keep the details on the register current. If you use a service address, choose a provider that forwards or scans your statutory mail promptly — a compliant address only helps if you actually see what lands there. For the wider picture on staying compliant and being matched to the right accountant, see our accountancy overview.
Your registered office is the one address the state, the courts and the register will always use to reach your company — the front door, not an afterthought on the formation form. Our free guide covers that decision alongside the rest of going limited, so you get it right the first time.
What is the difference between a business address and a registered office address?
A registered office is your company's official, statutory address on the Companies House register, where statutory mail is sent and where the public can find the company. A business (or trading) address is simply where you actually operate. They can be the same place, but they don't have to be — and the registered office is the one that has to appear on the public record.
Can I use my home address as a registered office?
Yes. A home address is allowed as long as it's an appropriate address, where statutory mail reaches someone acting for the company and delivery can be acknowledged. The trade-off is privacy: a registered office is public, so your home address becomes searchable on the register. Many directors use a registered-office or service address instead, to keep their home off the public record.
Can a limited company use a PO Box as a registered office?
Not on its own. Since 4 March 2024 a registered office must be an appropriate address, and a PO Box alone doesn't meet that test, because delivery to a person acting for the company can't be acknowledged in the way the rules require. A full street address that happens to include a box number at a staffed premises is a different thing — but a bare PO Box is not enough.
How much is a registered office address?
It varies. A registered-office or service address is a commercial product, and the price depends on the provider and what's bundled in — mail forwarding or scanning, for example — with some formation agents including an address as part of company set-up. Rather than assume a headline figure, ask us and we'll match you with a partner and their current options.
Does a registered office have to be in the UK?
Yes. It must be in the UK, and specifically in the same jurisdiction where your company is registered — a company incorporated in England and Wales keeps its registered office in England or Wales, a Scottish company in Scotland, and a Northern Irish company in Northern Ireland.
A registered office is the official, public address of your limited company on the Companies House register, where statutory mail is sent — and it is not the same as where you trade (your business address) or a director's correspondence (service) address. Since 4 March 2024, it must be an "appropriate address": statutory post has to reach someone acting for the company, and delivery can be acknowledged. That rule means a PO Box on its own is not allowed, and every company must now also give Companies House a registered email address, which is kept private and not published. Your registered office can be your home, your trading premises, or a registered-office service address provided by an agent — the choice is yours, but whatever you pick goes on the public record the moment you incorporate. Getting the distinction right keeps your statutory mail, your privacy and your trading setup in the correct places from day one.
Rules cited are current at 4 March 2024 and sourced to gov.uk. General guidance for UK directors, not personal advice.
When you set up a limited company, one of the first things Companies House asks you to give is a registered office address. It sounds like an administrative box to tick, but it's the address the law treats as your company's official home — so it's worth a minute to be clear on what it is, and what it isn't.
Registered office vs business address vs service address — what's the difference?
Three different addresses can attach to a company, and directors routinely blur them. The registered office is the statutory, public one; the business address is where you actually work; the service address is a personal correspondence address for a director or other officer. Here's how they compare:
Address type
What it is
On the public register?
Registered office
The company's official address, where Companies House and HMRC send statutory mail
Yes
Business (trading) address
Where you actually operate, meet clients or take deliveries
Only if you choose to show it
Service (correspondence) address
A director's or officer's own address for personal statutory mail
Yes
The mix-up we untangle most is directors treating their registered office like a trading address. It isn't — it's the public, statutory one, which is exactly why many directors don't want it to be their home. Your business address can be wherever you actually operate, and you can run several trading locations or publish none of them; the registered office is the single official point of contact that always sits on the register.
What are the rules for a registered office address?
Since 4 March 2024, a registered office must be an "appropriate address" — meaning statutory mail sent there comes to the attention of a person acting on behalf of the company, and delivery can be acknowledged. In plain terms, someone connected to the company has to be able to receive the post and confirm it arrived, so a PO Box on its own no longer qualifies. The address must also be in the UK, in the same jurisdiction where your company is registered: a company registered in England and Wales keeps its registered office in England or Wales, a Scottish company in Scotland, and a Northern Irish company in Northern Ireland (gov.uk).
Alongside the address, every company must now give Companies House a registered email address. It's used for official communications, it is not published, and existing companies supply it at their next confirmation statement. These changes arrived with the same wave of reform that brought in identity verification for directors, so if you're incorporating now, you'll meet them together rather than one at a time.
Not sure whether your home, your office or a dedicated address is the right registered office for your company? Our free guide walks through the set-up decisions before you file, so you pick the address you can actually live with.
Yes, you can use your home as your registered office, and plenty of first-time directors do. The catch is that a registered office is public: anyone can look it up on the Companies House register for free, which means your home address is then searchable alongside your company. For a director running the business from the kitchen table, that's often the deciding factor against it.
The common alternative is a registered-office or service address supplied by a third party, so your company shows a professional, compliant address on the public register while your home stays off it. This is exactly where our connector model earns its keep: we don't act as your registered office ourselves, but we match you with a trusted partner who can provide a compliant registered-office address and get your company set up correctly. If you'd rather keep your home address private and still meet the appropriate-address rule, that's a short conversation.
What happens if your registered office isn't appropriate?
If Companies House decides your registered office is not an appropriate address, it can change the company's registered office to a default address that it holds. From that point you have 28 days to provide an appropriate address, with evidence of your link to it. Miss that window and the company faces strike-off action — the process that ends with your company removed from the register altogether.
That's a serious outcome for something as fixable as an address, and it's avoidable. Keep a genuine, monitored UK address as your registered office, make sure post is actually collected and acknowledged, and keep the details on the register current. If you use a service address, choose a provider that forwards or scans your statutory mail promptly — a compliant address only helps if you actually see what lands there. For the wider picture on staying compliant and being matched to the right accountant, see our accountancy overview.
Your registered office is the one address the state, the courts and the register will always use to reach your company — the front door, not an afterthought on the formation form. Our free guide covers that decision alongside the rest of going limited, so you get it right the first time.
What is the difference between a business address and a registered office address?
A registered office is your company's official, statutory address on the Companies House register, where statutory mail is sent and where the public can find the company. A business (or trading) address is simply where you actually operate. They can be the same place, but they don't have to be — and the registered office is the one that has to appear on the public record.
Can I use my home address as a registered office?
Yes. A home address is allowed as long as it's an appropriate address, where statutory mail reaches someone acting for the company and delivery can be acknowledged. The trade-off is privacy: a registered office is public, so your home address becomes searchable on the register. Many directors use a registered-office or service address instead, to keep their home off the public record.
Can a limited company use a PO Box as a registered office?
Not on its own. Since 4 March 2024 a registered office must be an appropriate address, and a PO Box alone doesn't meet that test, because delivery to a person acting for the company can't be acknowledged in the way the rules require. A full street address that happens to include a box number at a staffed premises is a different thing — but a bare PO Box is not enough.
How much is a registered office address?
It varies. A registered-office or service address is a commercial product, and the price depends on the provider and what's bundled in — mail forwarding or scanning, for example — with some formation agents including an address as part of company set-up. Rather than assume a headline figure, ask us and we'll match you with a partner and their current options.
Does a registered office have to be in the UK?
Yes. It must be in the UK, and specifically in the same jurisdiction where your company is registered — a company incorporated in England and Wales keeps its registered office in England or Wales, a Scottish company in Scotland, and a Northern Irish company in Northern Ireland.
