When setting up a limited company, you are required by law to select a registered office.  A registered office is the official address of the company where all official correspondence should be sent.  This includes letters from Companies House, HM Revenue & Customs and any other official correspondence that may be sent to the company.

For a UK limited company the registered office must be a valid address within England or Wales, or alternatively Scotland if that is where your company is going to be incorporated.

Using your Home Address as the Registered Office Address

Using your home address may seem to be the best choice at first glance, as the post addressed to your company will reach you swiftly and you do not have to rely upon someone else to pass it on to you.  However the registered office address is an address which is easily accessible and publically available, meaning that anyone who wants to can easily find it.  This includes customers and suppliers.  Whilst you would hope to avoid it, any disagreement with one of these groups could mean that they turn up at your home address, even outside of business hours or at weekends.  Therefore careful consideration should be given before deciding to choose your home address at the company’s registered office.

The Introduction of a Service Address

One of the changes resulting from the 1 October 2009 implementations of the Companies Act 2006 is to allow Directors to use a service address.  Previously the residential address of directors could be accessed from Companies House, meaning that even if you had a different registered office address you could still be personally found. From 1 October 2009 a service address will replace this, which is an address that a specific director can be contacted at. This can of course be the registered office address of the company.  By using the registered office address as your service address you are ensuring that your privacy is protected, as although you still will be required to give your residential address, it will only be used by public authorities and credit referencing agencies.

Using a Different Registered Office Address

Clearly by using a different address as your registered office address, especially after a service address is introduced, you will be protecting your privacy.  In most circumstances, it is usual to use your company formation agent or accountant’s address as your registered office.  They will then forward on your post and it will be their address which is publically available.

The cost for this service ranges from around £100-£500 per year depending on where it is located. If it is below this price be sure to check that the use of registered office includes ordinary mail forwarding, as some services only provide the use of their office on your Companies House forms.  Such agencies then normally charge you further for each item of mail which is sent on – this can be a costly process.

Some people decide to use a prestigious address, such as in the City of London, but these are often are expensive. Many newly formed companies decide that the best person to use is their accountant as they already have a formal relationship with them and letters from HMRC or Companies House can be dealt with quickly by the accountant as necessary.

For more information about Wisteria Formations Ltd registered office service call our support team on 0844 893 0808.