Change Registered Office Address at Companies House 2026

To change your registered office address at Companies House, file the change online (it is free) or on paper form AD01. The new address must be an appropriate address in the same part of the UK where your company is registered. It takes effect once Companies House registers it. Then move your directors’ and PSCs’ service addresses too if they used the old address, and update your letters, website and accounts.

GOV.UK splits this over several pages and forms. This guide puts the whole move in the order to do it, including the steps that are easy to miss. It is the guide we send to every company whose new registered office we set up.

Before You Start: What You Need

• The company’s authentication code. The 6-character code for filing online. If you have lost it, request a new one before you leave the old address: Companies House posts it to the registered office, and it can take up to 10 working days to arrive.
• A Companies House sign-in for its online filing service.
• The new address in full, with a building name or number and a postcode.
• The right to use the address. A lease, title deeds, or a written agreement with your registered office provider. You do not normally send it, but Companies House can ask for it.

Check the new address passes the rules first: same part of the UK, an appropriate address where post reaches someone acting for the company, and no PO Box. Our registered office address rules guide covers each test.

How to Change Your Registered Office Address Online

1. Go to Find and update company information and search for your company.
2. Choose to file for this company, sign in, and enter the company’s authentication code.
3. Choose the change of registered office address.
4. Enter the new address exactly as your provider or landlord gives it, including the building name or number and postcode.
5. Confirm the new address is an appropriate address. Since March 2024 every change must include this statement.
6. Submit. Companies House emails a confirmation, and the register shows the new address once the filing is accepted.

Companies House is moving its services to GOV.UK One Login, so the sign-in screen may look different from older guides. The steps after signing in are the same.

Changing It on Paper (Form AD01)

You can also post form AD01 to Companies House. Online is faster and is what GOV.UK recommends. Paper is required if the company has been moved to the Companies House default address, is in liquidation, is applying to be restored to the register, or is an unregistered company. GOV.UK has the form: change a registered office address (AD01). If your company is at the default address, follow our default address guide instead, because you also need to send evidence and there is a 28-day deadline.

When the Change Takes Effect: the 14-Day Overlap

GOV.UK asks you to tell Companies House within 14 days of the change taking place. Under section 87 of the Companies Act 2006, the new address takes effect when Companies House registers it. For the 14 days after that, a person can still validly serve documents on the company at the old address. So:

• file the change as soon as your new address is ready;
• if you can, keep collecting post at the old address for two weeks after the change is registered;
• do not let the old arrangement end before the new address is on the register. A registered office you no longer have the right to use can lead Companies House to move the company to its default address.

Move Your Service Addresses Too

Many directors use the registered office as their service address (the address shown publicly instead of their home). The service address does not change when the registered office does: it is a separate entry for each person.

• Directors: file a change of director’s details (CH01) online for each director whose service address is changing. GOV.UK asks for changes to directors’ details within 14 days.
• People with significant control (PSCs): file a change of PSC details (PSC04) and update the company’s own PSC register.

These filings are free. If you are moving to a registered office service because you do not want your home on the register, do both changes on the same day, then see how to remove your home address from older filings.

What Companies House Does Not Update for You

Companies House tells HMRC about the new registered office. Everything else is up to you:

• Letters, order forms and your website. These must show the company’s registered office address, along with its name, registered number and the part of the UK it is registered in.
• Invoices, email signatures and terms and conditions that quote the old address.
• Other HMRC records. If the address HMRC uses for VAT or PAYE is changing, update it in your HMRC online account.
• Your bank, insurers, accountant and key suppliers.
• Online listings such as your Google Business Profile and marketplace seller accounts.
• Signs showing the company name wherever the business operates (not needed if you work from home).

Common Mistakes

• Using a PO Box or a mail-forwarding address that cannot acknowledge delivery.
• Moving to the wrong part of the UK. An England and Wales company cannot have a registered office in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
• Using an address without permission, such as a friend’s home or an old office.
• Forgetting the service addresses, so a director’s old address stays on the public register.
• Losing the authentication code after leaving the old address, when the replacement is posted there.

Using a Registered Office Service

If you no longer have premises, or you want to keep your home off the register, a registered office service gives you an appropriate address you have written permission to use. CorpAssist provides a London registered office address for companies registered in England and Wales from £39.99 a year, with letters from Companies House and HMRC scanned and emailed to you. Add a director service address for £59.99 a year in total.

When your address is ready, we email you the exact address to enter and a link to this guide, so you can make the change the same day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related: registered office address rules, the Companies House default address, and all company address services.

CorpAssist is an independent commercial service and is not Companies House or GOV.UK. This guide is based on GOV.UK guidance and section 87 of the Companies Act 2006.