Every limited company needs a registered office address. But what exactly is it, and what happens when you need to change it?
What is a registered office?
Your registered office isn’t necessarily an office at all. It’s simply a physical address where your company is based.
When you set up a limited company, you must provide an address in the country where you’re registering the business. So if you’re registering in England, you can’t use an address in Spain. This address gets recorded at Companies House and becomes your official correspondence address for all company documents and HMRC communications.
Which address should you use?
You don’t have to use your home address, even if you’re working from the spare room. Many people prefer using their accountant’s address or a service provider instead, particularly if they want to keep their home address private or avoid junk mail.
Whatever you choose, remember:
- The address must be real. HMRC can take action if it isn’t.
- You must be able to receive post there. HMRC assumes you’re getting everything they send, so it’s your responsibility to access any correspondence.
Changing your registered office address
Whether you’re moving to new premises, relocating, or switching to a service provider, you’ll need to update your registered office address. Just make sure your new address is in the same country where your company is registered.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Update Companies House
Fill in form AD01 to notify Companies House of your address change. You have 14 days from the change to do this. You can file online or by post, though post takes longer.
Platforms like governance360 can help you manage these statutory filings with the Action Register workflow tool, helping you keep track of deadlines, so nothing gets missed.
- Tell your bank and financial providers
Update your address with your bank, pension providers, credit card companies and any other financial services you use.
- Inform professional contacts
Let your accountant, legal advisers, insurers and any professional bodies know about the change.
- Update customers and suppliers
Don’t forget the people you do business with. Your customers and suppliers need to know where to reach you.
- Tell your staff
If you have employees, make sure they’re in the loop.
- Update your materials
Change the address on letterheads, invoices, business cards and any other printed materials.
- Sort your online presence
Update your website, Google Business listing, LinkedIn company page and anywhere else your business appears online.
- Deal with VAT
If you’re VAT registered, use form VAT 484 to notify HMRC. You’ll get a new VAT certificate once processed. If you’re not VAT registered, you can skip this step.
- Corporation tax
The good news here is that when you update Companies House, HMRC gets notified automatically about your new address for corporation tax purposes.
Keep on top of company admin
Changing your registered office address involves quite a few steps, but staying organised makes it manageable. Using a platform like governance360 can help you keep track of what needs doing and when, so you can focus on running your business rather than worrying about missing important deadlines.
Related: What to do when you appoint a new director