Change your registered office address

What's included

• Check that the new address is an appropriate address
• Check that it is in the same UK nation as your company's registration
• Board resolution or minute recording the change
• Preparation and online filing of form AD01
• Email confirmation once Companies House registers the changeThe legal records every company must keep: members (shareholders), directors, people with significant control and more. We set them up for you.
• Checklist of records and documents to update
• Help if Companies House queries or rejects the filing

What the registered office is

Every UK company must have a registered office. It is the company's official address on the public register, where Companies House, HMRC, courts and others send legal documents. It does not have to be where you work.

You can change it whenever you need to: when you move premises, when you stop using an accountant's address, or when you want to keep your home address off the register.

The rules for the new address

The new address must meet three tests:

• Same UK nation. A company registered in England and Wales must keep its registered office in England or Wales. A Scottish company must keep it in Scotland, and a Northern Ireland company in Northern Ireland. You cannot move a company to another nation by changing its address.
• An appropriate address. Since March 2024, documents sent there must be expected to come to the attention of someone acting for the company, and it must be possible to record their delivery by an acknowledgement. A PO box on its own does not qualify.
• Permission. You need the right to use the address. Using someone else's address without consent can lead Companies House to remove it from the register.

How the change works

1. Order online and tell us the company and the new address.
2. We check the address against the rules above and raise anything that could cause a rejection.
3. We prepare a board resolution or minute recording the directors' decision.
4. We file form AD01 online with Companies House. There is no Companies House fee.
5. We email you once the change is registered and send you a checklist of what to update.

When the change takes effect

The new address takes effect when Companies House registers it, not on the date you decide to move. For 14 days after the change is registered, people can still validly deliver documents to the old address. Keep collecting post at the old address for at least that long, or arrange forwarding.

What to update afterwards

• your website, emails, invoices and letterheads, which must show the registered office address
• company registers and records, if you keep them at the registered office
• your bank, accountant, insurers and HMRC records where they hold the address

Using our address

If you do not have a suitable address, or you want to keep your home address private, our Registered Office Address service gives you a central London address for England and Wales companies or a central Edinburgh address for Scottish companies, for £250 a year. Filing the change to our address is included in that service, so you do not need this one as well. The full address is confirmed after your order and identity checks.

If you expect several changes in a year, the Annual Compliance Plan includes a registered office and up to 4 routine changes.

Common mistakes

• Choosing an address in the wrong UK nation
• Using a PO box or an address where no one accepts post
• Stopping post collection at the old address the day the form is filed
• Forgetting to update the address on the website and invoices

Your next confirmation statement will show the new address, so it is worth getting the change right before that is due.

Frequently asked questions

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