New rules for registered office addresses
All companies must have an 'appropriate address' - does yours?
Under new legislation, companies that do not have an appropriate registered office address could be struck off the register.
On 4 March 2024, the first measures under the government’s Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCT Act) came into force. Changes introduced include new rules for registered office addresses.
Do you have an ‘appropriate address’ as your registered office?
Under the new legislation, companies will no longer be able to use a PO Box as their registered office address. Instead, they will need to register their business using 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.
You can still use a third-party agent’s address if they meet the conditions for an appropriate address.
What is a third-party agent?
A third-party agent acts on your behalf by receiving your mail and forwarding it to you. For example, when you choose a business mailbox solution from a Mail Boxes Etc. centre, you can register your business at our address. We will provide you with a physical mailbox and a real street address where we will receive all your mail and parcels, including signed-for items. You can collect your mail when convenient, or we will arrange to forward it to you.
The third-party address must be:
- A physical address in the UK
- In the same country your company is registered in. For example, a company registered in Scotland must have a registered address in Scotland.
A business mailbox protects your privacy
Your company address will be publicly available on the online register. You cannot remove the address from the register. However, by choosing to register your business at a Mail Boxes Etc. centre, you can keep your business and personal lives separate by putting your registered company address on the public register rather than your home address.
How we can help
Whether you are setting up a new company or making sure your current company complies with the new legislation, we’re here to help.
To learn more about our business mailbox solutions, click here or call into your local MBE centre.
Find out more
You can find out more about the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act (4 March 2024) here.
Check the rules for company addresses here.
Tell Companies House about your new registered address here.