Changes to UK company law: New rules for registered office addresses

Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, there are new rules for registered office addresses.

Companies must now have an ‘appropriate address’ as their registered office at all times.

What is an appropriate address

An appropriate address is one where:

• any documents sent to the registered office should be expected to come to the attention of a person acting on behalf of the company
• any documents sent to that address can be recorded by an acknowledgement of delivery

This means you're not able to use a PO Box as your registered office address. You can still use a third-party agent’s address if they meet the conditions for an appropriate address.

Consequences of not having an appropriate registered office address

Companies that do not have an appropriate registered office address could be struck off the register.

When Companies House identify an inappropriate registered office address, they’ll change it to a default address held at Companies House.

You must then provide an appropriate address, with evidence of a link to that address, within 28 days. If Companies House do not receive this evidence, they’ll start the process to strike your company off the register.

See changes to UK company law to take effect on 4 March 2024.

First published 1 May 2024