Registered office addresses for UK companies
What the law now requires, whether a serviced or virtual office qualifies, what it costs in each city, and how to change your address without triggering a compliance problem.
The rule
What counts as an appropriate address
Every UK company must maintain a registered office address, and since the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act it must be an "appropriate address". In plain English: a document delivered there would come to the attention of a person acting for the company, and delivery can be acknowledged — somebody signs for it. It must be a full physical address in the part of the UK where the company is registered.
A staffed serviced office satisfies that comfortably. So does a virtual office with genuine mail handling, which is why virtual offices are the most common answer for small companies. A PO Box on its own does not, and neither does an address you have no permission to use — Companies House has been actively removing both.
Get it wrong and Companies House can move your registered office to a default address of its own and begin strike-off action. Practically, you also start missing statutory post, which is how most people find out.
Options
Where to put your registered office, and what it costs
| Area | Indicative per month | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Virtual office | £20–£90 | Cheapest compliant option. Address, mail handling, often a trading address and call answering. |
| Coworking membership | £120–£550 | Desk plus address. Sensible if you also need somewhere to actually work. |
| Serviced office | £160–£1100 | Private room with a staffed reception signing for statutory post. |
| Home address | £0–£0 | Free, but published on the public register indefinitely and searchable by anyone. |
Prices shown are indicative market estimates for guidance only, based on typical flexible workspace rates for this area. They are not quotes. Live availability and actual pricing are confirmed on enquiry — call us and we will benchmark real options for your team size and move-in date.
Virtual vs registered
Virtual office or registered address — which do you need?
These are not competing products; one contains the other. "Registered office address" is the statutory entry on the Companies House register. "Virtual office" is the commercial package that provides an address you are permitted to use, handles the post that arrives at it, and usually throws in a trading address for your website and invoices.
If all you need is compliance, buy the cheapest compliant registered office service in the correct UK jurisdiction. If you also want a credible business address on your website, a phone number answered in your company name and post scanned to you the same day, that is the fuller virtual office product and typically costs £40–£90 a month in London and £20–£45 outside it.
One nuance worth knowing: your registered office must be in the same UK jurisdiction the company was incorporated in. An England and Wales company cannot use a Scottish registered office. Trading addresses carry no such restriction.
Checklist
Before you file the change
- Written confirmation from the provider that registered office use is permitted
- The address is in the correct UK jurisdiction for your company
- Mail handling agreed — scanned, forwarded or held for collection
- Identity verification completed with the provider
- File the change with Companies House (form AD01 or online)
- Update HMRC for corporation tax, PAYE and VAT
- Update your bank, insurers, lenders and payment providers
- Update your website, invoices, email footers and Google Business Profile
By city
Registered office and virtual addresses across the UK
Frequently asked questions
Get live a compliant registered office address options in the UK
Tell us your team size, budget and move-in date. We will send a shortlist with real, current pricing — free, independent and with no obligation.
Important: where this page uses the words “rent”, “rental”, “lease” or “let” to describe workspace, those terms are used for descriptive and search purposes only. The agreement offered by flexible workspace operators is a licence to occupy, not a lease or tenancy, and it does not confer security of tenure under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. Prices shown are indicative estimates, not quotes or offers.