By
August 11, 2026
How Do I Change My Company's Registered Office Address?
If your UK limited company moves premises, changes accountants or switches registered office providers, you may need to update its registered office address at Companies House.
The process is usually straightforward and can normally be completed online.
However, there are important rules about what address you can use, where it must be located and when the change becomes legally effective.
The key points are:
Choose an appropriate registered office address
↓
Notify Companies House
↓
Companies House registers the change
↓
New address becomes the official registered office
A company must notify Companies House of a registered office address change within the required timeframe.
This guide explains how to change your company's registered office address and what UK company directors should consider before doing so.
Every UK limited company must have a registered office address.
This is the company's official legal address and is used for formal correspondence from organisations such as:
Your registered office does not necessarily need to be the same place where you actually run the business.
For example, a company could operate from one location while using an accountant's office as its registered office.
No.
A company's:
Registered office address
and
Trading address
can be different.
The company's official address recorded at Companies House.
The location from which the business actually operates.
For example:
Registered office → Accountant's office in London
Trading address → Warehouse in Manchester
This can be perfectly normal.
For most companies, the easiest way is to use the Companies House online filing service.
The process generally looks like this:
Step 1 — Choose the new registered office
↓
Step 2 — Make sure it is an appropriate address
↓
Step 3 — Sign in to the Companies House filing service
↓
Step 4 — Enter the new address
↓
Step 5 — Authenticate the company filing
↓
Step 6 — Submit the change
↓
Step 7 — Wait for Companies House to register it
↓
Step 8 — Check the public company record
Your registered office does not officially change simply because you submitted the request.
The change takes effect when Companies House registers it.
Companies House currently requires a company to notify it within 14 days of the registered office address changing.
Do not wait until your next confirmation statement.
Changing the registered office is a separate Companies House filing.
If your company is moving, it is sensible to arrange the new registered office before losing access to the old one.
AD01 is the Companies House form used to notify a change of registered office address for a company.
For most ordinary companies, the change can now be made online.
Paper filing may still be required in certain circumstances.
For example, different procedures can apply where a company:
For an ordinary active limited company, online filing is generally the simplest option.
You will normally need information including:
Make sure the new address is entered accurately.
An incorrect postcode, unit number or building name could result in important company correspondence being misdirected.
For the standard online process, you will generally need your company's Companies House authentication code.
This is an important security credential used to authorise online company filings.
Keep it secure.
Do not publish it on your website or share it unnecessarily.
If you cannot access your company's existing registered office, Companies House provides options for requesting the authentication code to another permitted address in certain circumstances.
A UK company's registered office must be an appropriate address.
Broadly, this means the address should be one where:
This requirement is important.
A registered office should not simply be an address selected because it looks professional.
The company must have a genuine arrangement for receiving official correspondence there.
A registered office must satisfy the appropriate-address requirements.
You should therefore not rely on a PO Box alone where it does not meet those requirements.
The company needs an address where official documents can properly be delivered and brought to the attention of someone acting for the company.
If you use a mail-handling or registered-office service, make sure it complies with current Companies House requirements.
Potentially, yes, if your home address satisfies the registered-office requirements.
However, there is a major privacy consideration:
Your company's registered office address appears on the public Companies House register.
That means customers, suppliers and members of the public can potentially see it.
For this reason, some company directors prefer to use:
If privacy matters to you, think carefully before using your residential address.
Companies House provides procedures that can allow individuals to apply to suppress certain residential-address information from historical documents in qualifying circumstances.
However, this is separate from simply changing the company's registered office.
Changing:
Home address → Business address
does not necessarily mean the old home address instantly disappears from every historical filing.
If you have previously used your residential address publicly, check the current Companies House suppression rules.
Potentially, yes.
Many companies use their accountant's office as their registered office.
However, you need permission from the accountant and the address must meet Companies House requirements.
You should also confirm that the accountant will:
Do not use an accountant's address after the arrangement has ended.
Potentially.
A virtual-office or registered-office provider can be used if the address meets the legal requirements.
Before choosing a provider, check:
Will they accept Companies House mail?
Will they accept HMRC correspondence?
How quickly will mail be forwarded or scanned?
Is the address appropriate under Companies House rules?
What happens if you cancel the service?
The cheapest virtual address is not necessarily the best option.
Missing official correspondence can create serious problems.
No.
Your new registered office must remain within the same UK jurisdiction in which the company was incorporated.
Companies House divides companies into jurisdictions including:
England and Wales
Wales
Scotland
Northern Ireland
For example:
Company incorporated in England and Wales
can move its registered office:
London → Manchester
or:
Manchester → Cardiff
because an England and Wales company can have its registered office in England or Wales.
However, it cannot simply change its registered office to Scotland.
Not simply by filing a change of registered office.
A company's jurisdiction is established when it is incorporated.
For example:
England and Wales company
cannot simply change its registered office to:
Edinburgh, Scotland
using an ordinary AD01 address change.
Similarly:
Scottish company
must maintain its registered office in Scotland.
Check your company's jurisdiction before choosing the new address.
No.
A UK company's registered office must be within the appropriate UK jurisdiction.
You may personally live overseas and operate the business internationally, but the company still needs a qualifying UK registered office.
For example:
Director lives in Spain
Customers mainly in USA
Company incorporated in England and Wales
The company must still maintain an appropriate registered office in England or Wales.
Yes.
A director does not need to live in the UK simply to change the registered office of a UK company.
The important issue is the company's registered office itself.
It must meet the Companies House requirements and remain in the company's jurisdiction.
This makes professional registered-office services particularly useful for some overseas owners of UK companies.
The new registered office becomes official when Companies House registers the change.
Submitting the form is not enough by itself.
Therefore:
Submit address change
↓
Companies House processes filing
↓
Change registered
↓
New address becomes official
After filing, check your company's public Companies House record.
Search for your company on the Companies House register.
Check the company overview.
The new registered office should appear once the change has been registered.
You can also check the company's filing history.
A successful registered-office change normally appears as an AD01 filing.
Potentially, yes.
Companies House maintains a public filing history.
Although the company overview will show the current registered office, previous filings may contain historical address information.
This is particularly important if you previously used your home address.
Changing the current address does not automatically erase historical company records.
Companies House states that it will notify HMRC when your company's registered office address changes.
However, do not assume that this automatically updates every address or contact detail HMRC holds for your company.
Your business may separately have information connected with:
Review these records after moving.
Usually, yes.
Your business bank should have accurate company information.
After changing the registered office, consider updating:
Business bank
Payment processors
Accountant
Insurer
Finance providers
Suppliers
Customers
Professional advisers
and other organisations that hold your company's legal address.
Some may request evidence from Companies House before making the change.
Yes, where your website displays the company's registered office.
UK company websites and business communications can be subject to company-disclosure requirements.
After changing the registered office, review:
Do not leave the old registered office displayed indefinitely.
Yes, if your invoices display the company's registered office.
Review your invoicing software immediately after the address changes.
Otherwise, invoices could continue displaying outdated company information for months.
This is particularly easy to overlook when invoices are automatically generated.
If your company is VAT registered, make sure its relevant business information is also correct for VAT purposes.
Companies House and HMRC are separate systems.
Although Companies House notifies HMRC about a registered-office change, check that your VAT and business records remain accurate.
Your company's registered email address is separate from its registered office.
Changing:
Registered office address
does not automatically mean:
Registered email address changes
If the company's registered email also needs updating, use the appropriate Companies House process.
The registered email is not displayed publicly in the same way as the registered office.
No.
The company's registered office and a director's address are separate pieces of information.
A director can have:
Residential address
and
Service address
Changing the company's registered office does not necessarily change either of these.
If a director's details also need updating, make the appropriate separate filing.
The same principle applies.
People with Significant Control have their own Companies House information.
Changing the registered office does not automatically update PSC details.
If PSC information has changed, update it separately within the applicable reporting requirements.
No.
This is an important distinction.
Do not wait for the annual confirmation statement to report a registered-office change.
Companies House currently requires the change to be notified within 14 days.
The confirmation statement is a separate filing obligation.
No.
Your company registration number stays the same.
For example:
Old registered office → London
↓
New registered office → Manchester
↓
Company number → unchanged
The company remains the same legal entity.
No.
Changing the registered office does not affect the company's legal name.
A company-name change requires a separate procedure.
No.
Your registered office and accounting reference date are separate.
Changing the registered office does not automatically change:
These should continue to be monitored separately.
This is one reason to plan the change carefully.
Some organisations may continue sending correspondence to the old address until their records are updated.
Consider arranging:
This is particularly important for HMRC and legal correspondence.
There is no universal practical period that suits every company.
However, if possible, maintain a transition arrangement until you are confident that important organisations have updated their records.
Review recent correspondence to identify who regularly sends mail to the company.
Act quickly.
Make sure the new registered office is registered and contact organisations that may still use the old address.
If you also need your Companies House authentication code and cannot access the old registered office, Companies House provides a process that can allow the code to be sent to an eligible home address.
Do not leave the company registered indefinitely at an address where nobody can receive its mail.
Companies House has increased powers relating to registered-office addresses.
If an address is considered inappropriate, Companies House can take action and may move the company to a default Companies House address.
This can create serious compliance consequences.
A company moved to the default address must take action to provide an appropriate registered office.
Failure to resolve the problem can ultimately put the company at risk of further enforcement, including potential strike-off action.
Problems can arise if:
Never use an address simply because you found it online.
Make sure you have a genuine right or arrangement to use it.
Companies House provides procedures for challenging the unauthorised use of an address.
If another company has registered your property without permission, you can contact Companies House and potentially apply to have the address rectified.
Evidence showing your connection to the property may be required.
The standard online process for changing a registered office should be checked on the current Companies House service because fees and filing processes can change.
Avoid relying on old blog articles for Companies House fees.
You may separately pay a fee to:
for providing or managing the address.
Yes, an accountant, company formation agent or authorised company administrator may be able to submit the filing.
However, company directors remain responsible for ensuring the company's statutory information is correct.
After the agent files the change, check the Companies House register yourself.
Find out why.
Possible issues could include:
Correct the problem and resubmit using the appropriate procedure.
Do not assume the address changed until the public Companies House record confirms it.
Before changing the address:
Choose new address
↓
Confirm you have permission to use it
↓
Confirm it is an appropriate address
↓
Confirm it is in the correct UK jurisdiction
↓
Ensure official mail can be received
Then:
File change with Companies House
↓
Confirm registration
↓
Check filing history
Afterwards update, where relevant:
HMRC records
Bank
Payment processors
Accountant
Insurance
Website
Invoices
Contracts
Suppliers
Customers
Licences
Finance providers
and any other organisation using the old address.
Company directors should avoid:
For most companies, you can change the registered office using the Companies House online filing service. You will generally need your company authentication code.
Companies House currently requires notification within 14 days of the registered office address changing.
Form AD01 is used to change a company's registered office address.
Yes. Most ordinary companies can make the change online.
Potentially, yes, if it satisfies the requirements. However, the registered office appears publicly on the Companies House register.
Potentially, provided you have permission and the address satisfies the registered-office requirements.
Potentially, provided it qualifies as an appropriate address and official correspondence can reliably reach the company.
Not through an ordinary registered-office address change. The registered office must remain within the company's incorporation jurisdiction.
Companies House states that it will notify HMRC when the registered office changes, although companies should still review their other HMRC records.
The change becomes official when Companies House registers it.
No. Your company registration number remains the same.
Not necessarily. Historical filings can continue to contain previous address information.
So, how do you change your company's registered office address?
For most UK limited companies, the process is straightforward:
Choose an appropriate address
↓
Make sure it is in the correct UK jurisdiction
↓
File the change with Companies House
↓
Wait for registration
↓
Check the public company record
↓
Update other organisations
Remember that your registered office is more than simply a mailing address.
It is your company's official legal address, and important correspondence must be able to reach the company there.
Companies House currently requires a registered-office change to be notified within 14 days, and the address does not officially change until Companies House registers it.
After the change, review your:
HMRC records + bank + payment providers + website + invoices + contracts + suppliers
to make sure the old address is not still being used.
This article provides general information only and does not constitute legal, accounting, tax or financial advice. Companies House rules and filing procedures can change. Always check current official guidance before changing your company's registered office.
