Your registered office is your company’s official address, the one Companies House and HMRC use, and it’s public. Since 2024 it has to be an ‘appropriate address’, which rules out a PO box on its own.
That public part is what trips people up. If you run the company from home, your address goes on the open register unless you use another option. We cover the rules and the ways to keep your home address private.
- It’s your company’s official, public UK address for Companies House and HMRC.
- Since 4 March 2024 it must be an ‘appropriate address’, not a PO box on its own.
- It must be in the same UK country your company is registered in.
- If you work from home, your address is public unless you use a service.
- A director service address is public; your home address is kept on a private register.
- Changing it is free, but old addresses stay on the register for years.
Registered Office Address at a Glance
The rules in one line: your registered office is a public UK address, it can’t be a bare PO box, and if you work from home it goes on the open register unless you use a service. The table has the detail.
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| What is it? | Your company’s official, public address for Companies House and HMRC mail. |
| What are the rules? | A physical UK address, in your company’s country, that is an ‘appropriate address’. |
| Can it be a PO box? | Not on its own. PO boxes stopped qualifying on 4 March 2024. |
| Can it be my home? | Yes, but it’s then public. You can use a service address to avoid that. |
| Is it the same as a service address? | No. The registered office is the company’s; a service address is a director’s. |
| Does changing it cost anything? | No, changing is free, but previous addresses stay on the public register. |
| Verified against GOV.UK and Companies House, 6 July 2026. | |
What Is a Registered Office Address?
A registered office is the official address of your limited company. It’s where Companies House and HMRC send statutory mail, and it appears on the public register for anyone to see.
It doesn’t have to be where you actually work. Plenty of companies trade from one place and use another address, such as an accountant’s or a formation agent’s, as their registered office. You set it when you incorporate; our guide to registering a limited company shows where it fits in.
Registered Office Address Rules in the UK
Three rules matter. It must be a physical address in the UK, it must be in the same country your company is registered in (England and Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland), and since 2024 it must be an ‘appropriate address’.
That last one is the change that catches people out, so it gets its own section next.
What Counts as an Appropriate Address?
An ‘appropriate address’ is one where post is likely to reach a person acting for the company, and where delivery can be acknowledged. In plain terms: a real place where someone signs for the mail.
The headline consequence, in force since 4 March 2024, is that a Royal Mail PO box on its own no longer qualifies. A third-party agent’s address still works, as long as it meets those appropriate-address conditions, which the reputable services do.
Can You Use Your Home Address as Your Registered Office?
Yes, and many sole-director companies do. But your home address then appears on the public register, and once it’s published it’s hard to fully unpublish.
Use your home and, the day your incorporation clears, it’s on the open register: a supplier running a check or a customer searching for the company can read exactly where you live.
There is a route: since 27 January 2025 you can apply to suppress a home address that was used as a registered office, using Companies House form SR01, provided you’ve moved the registered office elsewhere first.
If privacy matters to you, we’d use a service address from the start. It’s easier than unpicking it later.
Registered Office Address vs Director Service Address
These get confused, but they’re different things. Here’s the distinction that matters for your privacy.
| Address | What it is | Public? |
|---|---|---|
| Registered office | The company’s official address for Companies House and HMRC mail | Yes |
| Director service address | A director’s official correspondence address | Yes |
| Usual residential address | A director’s actual home address | No, held on a private register |
| Verified against GOV.UK and Companies House, 6 July 2026. | ||
So a director gives two addresses: a service address that’s public, and their home address, which Companies House keeps private. Using a service address for both the registered office and your service address is how founders keep their home off the open register entirely.
Registered Office Address vs Registered Email Address
Since 2024 you also give a registered email address when you set the company up. It’s easy to mix the two up, so here’s the difference.
The registered office is a physical, public address. The registered email is private: Companies House uses it to contact the company, and it isn’t published on the register. We’d use an email you’ll actually monitor, because that’s where official notices land.
When a Registered Office Service Is Worth It
A registered-office service gives you a compliant business address to use instead of your home, and forwards or scans the official post that arrives. Prices are usually a few tens of pounds a year.
When an official letter arrives at that address, the service scans it and emails it to you the same day, so a filing notice never sits unopened at a home you’ve since left.
We’d say it’s worth it in three cases: you run the company from home and want privacy, you’re a non-UK resident who needs a UK address, or you simply want a more professional address on the public record. If none of those apply, your own premises are fine.
How to Change Your Registered Office Address
Changing your registered office is free. You update it online through Companies House, and it must still be an appropriate address in the same UK country as before.
One thing to know: changing it doesn’t erase the old one. Previous registered office addresses stay on the public register for the life of the company and for 20 years after it’s dissolved.
Change it after a house move and the old address is still sitting on your public record years later, which is why we’d get it right at the outset.
Registered Office Address Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use my home address as a registered office?
Yes, but it becomes public on the Companies House register. Since 27 January 2025 you can apply to suppress a home address previously used as a registered office once you’ve moved the office elsewhere, but it’s simpler to use a service address from the start.
Can a registered office be a PO box?
Not on its own. Since 4 March 2024 the registered office must be an ‘appropriate address’ where post reaches a person and can be acknowledged, so a Royal Mail PO box by itself no longer qualifies. An agent’s address that meets the conditions is fine.
What is the difference between a registered office and a service address?
The registered office is the company’s official public address. A service address is a director’s official correspondence address, also public. Your usual home address is given separately and kept on a private register.
Is a registered office address public?
Yes. The registered office appears on the open Companies House register, along with your directors and anyone with significant control. The registered email address, by contrast, is not published.
Does it cost anything to change my registered office?
No, changing your registered office is free through Companies House. Bear in mind the previous address stays on the public register for the life of the company and 20 years after dissolution.
How We Checked This Guide
What this covers. The rules for a UK limited company’s registered office address: what it is, the appropriate-address requirement, home-address privacy, the service-address distinction, the registered email, and changing it.
What we checked. The rules were verified against GOV.UK and Companies House guidance on 6 July 2026. The registered office must be an appropriate physical UK address in the company’s country; PO boxes stopped qualifying on 4 March 2024.
What changed. The appropriate-address rule and the registered email requirement came in under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act in 2024, and a home-address suppression route (form SR01) opened on 27 January 2025.