Companies House have introduced new rules regarding the registered office address of a company which are relevant on the incorporation of a new company and also to established companies. 

The new rules state that companies must have an ‘appropriate address’ as their registered office at all times. An appropriate address is one where:

• any documents sent to the registered office would be expected to reach a person acting on behalf of the company; and
• any documents sent to that address can be recorded by an acknowledgement of delivery.

These changes mean that:

• companies will no longer be able to use a Royal Mail PO Box as their registered office address and for any company currently using one, this will need to be changed.
• companies can still use a third-party agent’s address, provided such address meets the conditions for an ‘appropriate address’.
  
  

Companies House have advised that they will stop the use of Royal Mail PO Boxes and equivalent services as registered offices and take action by the end of March 2025.   Where they identify an inappropriate registered office address, they will change it to a default address held at Companies House. The company must then provide an appropriate address to Companies House, with evidence of a link to that address, within 28 days. Companies that fail to comply risk being struck off the register by Companies House.

Our Company Secretarial Service can assist with all aspects of Companies House compliance, including updating a registered office address on Companies House. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you wish to discuss.