Virtual office guide
Can a limited company use a virtual office?
Yes. A limited company can use a virtual office as its registered office, as long as it's an appropriate address where post reaches someone acting for the company. It can also be your business address and your directors' service address. It won't usually count as your principal place of business for HMRC if you work somewhere else.
What Companies House needs from a registered office
Your company's registered office can be a virtual office, as long as it meets the same rules as any other registered office:
- It's an appropriate address. Post sent to the company would come to someone acting on its behalf, and it could be acknowledged.
- It isn't a PO box. It has to be a physical address.
- It's in the right part of the UK. A company registered in England and Wales needs a registered office in England or Wales.
- You have permission to use it. With a virtual office, that's your agreement with the provider.
A virtual office in Liverpool at a staffed building meets all four. At the Maggie O'Neill Centre, our team handles virtual office post in-house at reception, 433 Liverpool Road, Huyton, Liverpool, L36 8HT.
What a virtual office can be used for
| Use | Can it be a virtual office? |
|---|---|
| Registered office on Companies House | Yes, if it's an appropriate address |
| Director's service address | Yes |
| Business address on your website, invoices and letters | Yes |
| Google Business Profile | Only if you meet customers there during your listed hours. Google's own guidelines decide this. |
| Principal place of business for HMRC | Usually not, if you run the business from somewhere else |
What to check before you sign up
Your AML checks with the provider
Anyone providing a registered office service has to check who their clients are, under the anti-money laundering rules. Expect to confirm your identity before the address goes live. At the Maggie O'Neill Centre, we send a secure form for this after you sign up.
Identity verification with Companies House
Separately, Companies House now asks company directors and people with significant control to verify their identity. That's done with Companies House or an authorised agent, not with your virtual office provider.
What happens to your post
Official letters from Companies House, HMRC and the courts go to your registered office, so check how the provider handles post. Is it scanned? Can you collect it? Who tells you when it arrives? At the Maggie O'Neill Centre, every plan includes collecting your post from reception, and the Virtual Office plan at £40 a month adds post opened and scanned.
Whether you need premises
A few kinds of business need their own premises for a licence or registration, such as some food, health and regulated financial businesses. If that's you, check with the regulator before relying on a virtual office.
Keeping your home address private
If you set the company up from home, your home may be on the public register as the registered office and as your service address. A virtual office can replace it in both places. Every plan covers the registered office, and Director's Cover adds the director's service address for £10 a month.
More detail: how to keep your home address off Companies House and registered office vs business address. Or see registered office address plans in Liverpool.