Virtual office guide
Registered office vs business address
Three addresses, one simple answer.
A registered office is your company's official address on the Companies House register, where legal post must be able to reach you. A business address is any address you trade from or put on your website and invoices. A director's service address is where you, as a director, can be written to. One address can do all three jobs.
What is a registered office?
Every limited company and LLP in the UK has to have a registered office. It's the company's official address on the Companies House register, and anyone can see it.
- Companies House, HMRC and the courts send official letters there.
- It has to be an appropriate address: post sent to the company would come to someone acting on its behalf, and it could be acknowledged. A PO box doesn't count.
- It has to be in the same part of the UK the company is registered in. A company registered in England and Wales needs a registered office in England or Wales.
- It goes on your company's website, business letters and order forms, alongside your company number.
What is a business address?
A business address is the address you use with customers and suppliers: on your website, invoices, letterheads, Google Business Profile and online listings. It doesn't have to be registered with anyone.
It can be your registered office, your shop or office, or a virtual office in Liverpool. Sole traders don't have a registered office, so for them a business address is the main way to keep a home address private.
What is a director's service address?
A director's service address is where Companies House and others can write to you as a director. It appears on the public register, so if you used your home, your home is on the register.
Companies House also holds your usual residential address, but that isn't shown publicly as long as you give a separate service address. People with significant control (PSCs) give a service address in the same way.
Registered office, business address and service address compared
| Question | Registered office | Business address | Director's service address |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who has one | Every limited company and LLP | Any business, including sole traders | Every company director |
| On the public register | Yes | No | Yes |
| Used for | Official and legal post | Customers, suppliers, your website and invoices | Post for you as a director |
| At Maggie's | Every plan, from £20 | Every plan, from £20 | Director's Cover, +£10 |
Can one address do all three jobs?
Yes. Most small companies use one address as their registered office, their business address and their directors' service address. It keeps things simple, and if that address isn't your home, your home stays off the public register.
At the Maggie O'Neill Centre, every plan gives you a registered office and business address at 433 Liverpool Road, Huyton, Liverpool, L36 8HT. Director's Cover adds the director's service address for £10 a month: £20 becomes £30, and the Virtual Office plan at £40 becomes £50.
Want to take your home address off Companies House as well? Our guide on how to keep your home address off Companies House explains the two changes to make, or see registered office address plans in Liverpool.