Check the rules for company addresses

You must provide a registered office address when you set up a limited company. This is where all written communication must be sent.

If you choose to use a third party agent to handle your mail, they must send you all your company’s mail.

You may be breaking the law if you choose to receive only some of the mail sent to your company (for example, by using a service which stops junk mail).

The address must be:

  • a physical address in the UK
  • in the same country your company is registered in, for example a company registered in Scotland must have a registered office address in Scotland

You can no longer use a PO Box as your registered office address.

Your company address will be publicly available on the online register. You cannot remove the address from the register.

Keeping your address private

If you do not want your address to be publicly available (for example, if it’s your home or someone else lives there) you can either:

  • use a different address, such as the address of the person who will manage your Corporation Tax - you must get their permission first
  • appoint an agent who will give you an address to use

You must have the address in place before you register your company.

  1. Step 1 Check if setting up a limited company is right for you

    1. Check what a private limited company is

    How you set up your business depends on what sort of work you do. It can also affect the way you pay tax and get funding.

    Check if you should set up as one of the following instead:

    1. Get help deciding how to set up your business
  2. Step 2 Choose a name

  3. Step 3 Choose directors and a company secretary

    You must appoint a director but you do not have to appoint a company secretary.

    1. Find out what directors are responsible for
    2. Check who can be a director or company secretary
  4. Step 4 Decide who the shareholders or guarantors are

  5. and Identify people with significant control (PSC) over your company

    For example, anyone with voting rights or more than 25% of the shares.

    1. Find out what counts as a PSC
  6. Step 5 Prepare documents agreeing how to run your company

    You need to prepare a 'memorandum of association' and 'articles of association'.

    1. Find out how to create a memorandum and articles of association
  7. Step 6 Check what records you'll need to keep

  8. Step 7 Register your company

    You'll need to register an official address and choose a SIC code - this identifies what your company does.

    1. You are currently viewing: Check the rules for company addresses
    2. Check what your SIC code is
    3. Register your company with Companies House

    Most people can register for Corporation Tax at the same time as registering with Companies House.

    If you cannot, register separately with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) after you’ve registered your company with Companies House.

    1. Register with HMRC for Corporation Tax