What is a registered address?
A registered address is the address your company is legally registered at (for limited companies and LLPs). It’s your official contact address for delivering official mail from the government, i.e. Companies House and HMRC.
A service address is required for all directors, shareholders, and PSCs (Person of Significant Control) as an official contact address for the individual.
Both of these addresses are on public record (i.e., on the Companies House website) and can be found by anyone who looks up your company. You are also required to state your registered address on your website, your invoices, your letterhead, and order forms.
What address should I use?
For businesses that have physical premises, it is usually the case that they use their premises as their registered and service address. Those who work from home and do not have a physical location may not like the idea of their home address being publicly available, so they will typically use their accountant’s address for this purpose.
However, at PPF, we don’t have physical premises either, so that is not an option. When we went fully remote, we were faced with this very dilemma, and we researched the options available. We are proud to worth alongside The London Office and as a registered office service to our clients (we use it ourselves and are very happy with the service!).
How does it work?
There are a few addresses in London available to choose from, as well as those in Edinburgh and Ipswich. They scan and email all mail received, usually on the same day, to you. If it is mail that needs to be physically posted, then they can also post it on request.
How much does it cost?
There are two options, depending on the type of mail you will receive.
If you only receive (or expect to receive!) official mail from HMRC and Companies House, you only need their Registered Office service with the Directors Service Address add-on for £49.99 plus VAT per year.
However, if you expect to receive more than just official mail (ignoring junk mail, which will be discarded, saving you a job! ), for example, bank statements, letters from clients, cheques, etc., then you’ll need the Virtual Business Office Plus for £199.99 plus VAT a year, and when you first sign up you will need to add £20.00 credit for any mail they need to physically send you. If you don’t need your mail physically posted, they will refund any credit when you terminate their services.
What if I get mail outside of my chosen service?
If you choose the service that only receives official government mail and then receive mail that isn’t covered by your service, the London Office will notify you and provide you with three options.
Option 1: You can continue to use the current services, and all business mail will be returned to the sender. Please keep in mind that any packages received will be securely destroyed.
Option 2: You can upgrade to Virtual Business Plus for the remainder of your service year. The amount will be worked out pro-rata and an invoice sent accordingly. Once the invoice has been paid, the mail will be forwarded on.
Option 3: Your account can be marked for receiving official mail only, and all current and future business mail will be automatically returned to sender and parcels securely destroyed without notification.
*Please note that they will only hold onto the mail for 7 days, so if they haven’t had a response within that time, they will either return the mail to sender or it will be securely destroyed.
How do I set it up?
For the majority of our clients we recommend setting this up directly with The London Office. So pop over to their website, select the service you require and complete the order. The London Office will then process your account and get you all set up and running. You can then change over your address with Companies House (and let us/your accountant know accordingly).
In some instances, like if you’re registering your company with Companies House, we do set this up on your behalf as part of our service, and we will confirm this as part of our proposal.
This is a really great service for clients who, like us, work from home or remotely and would rather not have their home address in the public domain! If this is something that would benefit you, please get in touch.
