Earlier this year, Companies House introduced new rules under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act which covered requirements for registered office addresses. The new rules stated that, at all times, all companies must have an “appropriate address” as their registered office.

What is classed as an appropriate address?

For an address to be classed as an “appropriate address”, it must meet the following criteria in the ordinary course of events:

  • A document that is addressed to the company, and is delivered there by hand or by post, would be expected to come to the attention of a person acting on behalf of the company, and

  • The delivery of documents there is capable of being recorded by the obtaining of an acknowledgement of delivery.

Companies are not allowed to use a Royal Mail PO Box (or similar service offered by other parties) as their registered address. They may use an agent’s address or another third-party provider’s address as their registered address but it is the company’s responsibility to ensure that the address service provided meets the requirements for an appropriate registered address.

A warning from Companies House

Companies House has since issued a warning to companies using registered office address services or packages that their providers may not be fulfilling a service which meets the requirement for an appropriate address.

Instances which have fallen foul of the rules include:

  • Only forwarding court documents and post from certain UK government departments to the company.

  • Not forwarding general business correspondence addressed to the company.

What are the punishments for not meeting the requirements of an appropriate registered address?

Not complying with the registered office address rules can have serious consequences for your company. If a company’s registered office address is not an appropriate address, the company and its officers may be found to be committing an offence.

Companies House may change the registered office address of all companies registered to that address to the Companies House default address. This may lead to the beginning of the process to strike those companies off the register.

Agents who have marketed and sold registered office services to their customers that don’t meet the appropriate address requirements may also suffer reputational damage.

What do I need to do?

If your registered address is provided by an office address service and you’re concerned about the risks of non-compliance with Companies House rules, the first thing you should do is speak to your supplier to ensure that they are following the correct criteria.

If you are looking for legal advice with regards to Companies House rules, please get in touch with our experienced corporate lawyers on 0845 287 0939 or contact us through our online contact form.