What address can I use as my registered office?
By SuLe · Updated 6 June 2026
Your registered office must be an "appropriate address" in the UK jurisdiction where your company is registered — one where documents can reach a person acting for the company and delivery can be acknowledged. Since the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, a PO Box alone will not do. A home, an office or a professional agent's address all work — but whatever you choose is public.
Key facts
- The test is an "appropriate address": documents must be able to reach a person acting for the company, and delivery must be capable of being acknowledged (ECCTA 2023).
- A PO Box alone no longer works as a registered office.
- The address must be in the jurisdiction where the company is incorporated — England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
- Every company must also maintain a registered email address.
- The registered office appears on the public register — a home address becomes publicly searchable.
What counts as an "appropriate address"?
One that passes the two-part test introduced by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023: a document delivered there would come to the attention of a person acting for the company, and delivery can be acknowledged. A bare PO Box fails, because nobody is there to receive or acknowledge anything.
The address must also sit in the right jurisdiction. A company registered in England and Wales needs a registered office in England or Wales; Scottish and Northern Irish companies need addresses in Scotland or Northern Ireland respectively — you cannot mix them.
Beyond that, the law is flexible: a home, business premises, or your accountant's or agent's address are all fine if documents genuinely reach you.
Can I use my home address?
Yes — if post arriving there reaches you and can be acknowledged, a home address passes the test, and plenty of founders start this way because it is free.
The cost is privacy. The registered office appears on the Companies House register, which anyone can search online, so your home becomes publicly linked to the company for customers, suppliers and strangers alike.
Moving the registered office later takes minutes, but it does not rewrite history — filings showing the old address remain on the public record. If that bothers you, start with a different address rather than fixing it after the fact.
Can I use my accountant's office or a paid registered-office service?
Yes, and it is the standard startup answer: an accountant, solicitor or formation agent provides their address, keeps your home off the register and handles official post.
The quality question is speed. Statutory demands, HMRC letters and court papers are served at the registered office and are effective when they arrive — so ask any provider how fast mail is scanned and forwarded, and test it.
Since ECCTA 2023 the company must also maintain a registered email address, which Companies House uses to contact you. Point it at a monitored inbox, not a founder's abandoned side account.
| Address option | Allowed? | Watch out |
|---|---|---|
| Your home | Yes, if documents reach you there | Publicly searchable — and old filings keep the history visible |
| Your office or co-working space | Yes | Update Companies House promptly if you move out |
| Accountant, solicitor or agent service | Yes — the common startup choice | Check how fast official mail is scanned and forwarded |
| PO Box alone | No — fails the ECCTA 2023 test | Use a full street address instead |
| Address in the wrong UK jurisdiction | No | An England & Wales company needs an address in England or Wales |
What else is changing at Companies House under ECCTA 2023?
The registered-office tightening is one strand of a wider reform aimed at making the register trustworthy — worth knowing because more of it lands on founders over time.
The registered email address is already required. Identity verification for directors and people with significant control is being rolled out in stages, with verification mandatory for new appointments from late 2025 — the rollout is still in progress as of mid-2026, so check gov.uk for exactly what applies when you incorporate or appoint someone.
The direction of travel is clear: accurate addresses, verified people, and quicker consequences for companies that let their details go stale.
How do I change my registered office later?
File the change with Companies House — it is a quick online filing, and the new address takes effect once registered. There is no shareholder vote to organise; a director's decision is enough.
Remember the follow-through: your website, emails and invoices should show the company's registered details, so update them at the same time, along with banks, insurers and key suppliers.
The one thing you cannot change is jurisdiction — an England and Wales company must stay registered in England or Wales, so a move to a Scottish address would need more than a change-of-address filing.
Worked example
Dominic incorporates Caldera Health Ltd, a healthtech startup registered in England and Wales, and works from his Manchester flat. Not wanting his home on the public register, he uses his accountant's Leeds office as the registered office for £15 a month — £180 a year — with same-day scanning of official post, and sets the registered email to an inbox both he and the accountant monitor.
Eight months in, a county court claim from a supplier is served at the Leeds address. It is scanned to Dominic that morning; he instructs a solicitor and responds within the deadline.
Had the claim sat unread at an unmonitored address, it would still have counted as served — and the first he heard might have been a default judgment.
Where founders go wrong
Using a home address without clocking that it is public.
And past filings stay visible even after you move the registered office.Letting official mail pile up unread.
Documents served at the registered office count as served whether or not you saw them — deadlines run anyway.Relying on a PO Box alone.
It fails the ECCTA 2023 "appropriate address" test; use a full street address where someone can acknowledge delivery.Picking an address in the wrong jurisdiction.
An England and Wales company with a Scottish address will not get past Companies House.
Related questions
Is my registered office address public?
Yes — it appears on the Companies House register, which anyone can search free online. That is the main reason founders think twice before using a home address. Changing the address later does not scrub history either: past filings showing the old address stay publicly available.
Does my registered office have to be where we actually work?
No. The registered office is the company's official address for statutory mail and legal documents; your trading address is wherever you really operate, and they can be different. Many startups run the business from home or a co-working space while an accountant's office serves as the registered office.
What is the registered email address requirement?
Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, every company must maintain a registered email address, which Companies House uses to contact the company. It sits alongside the registered office, not instead of it. Point it at an inbox someone actually monitors — filing reminders land there.
What happens if legal documents are served at my registered office and I miss them?
They generally still count as validly served — that is the point of a registered office. Deadlines run whether or not you read the papers, and ignoring a court claim can end in judgment against the company by default. Choose an address where documents genuinely reach you fast.
The registered office looks like a form field, but it is where court claims, HMRC demands and strike-off warnings are deemed to reach you — an address nobody watches is a legal blind spot. A SuLe solicitor can help you set up the address, email and filings properly from day one. Book a free 15-minute consultation about your setup and get the foundations right.
Keep reading: Can I be the sole director and shareholder of my startup? · What is a confirmation statement and when do I file it? · What legal documents does a UK startup actually need? · Can I use a company name similar to an existing business? · What is a PSC and who counts as one? · What are directors' duties under the Companies Act 2006?
Primary sources: GOV.UK — Set up a private limited company · GOV.UK — Running a limited company
