Moved to the Companies House Default Address? Act Now

If your company’s registered office now shows a Companies House PO Box, Companies House has moved it to its default address. That happens when it decides the registered office is not an appropriate address. You have 28 days to give a new, appropriate address and prove you are entitled to use it. If you do not, the company can be struck off the register.

Do This Today

Find the letter or email from Companies House. It explains why the address was changed, the date, and what evidence it needs.
Note your 28-day deadline from the date of the change.
Get an appropriate registered office. A physical address in the right part of the UK where post reaches the company and delivery can be acknowledged, which you are allowed to use.
Collect evidence of your right to use it. For example a lease, title deeds, or a written agreement with the address provider.
Tell Companies House the new address with that evidence, using Companies House’s change of registered office service and following the instructions in its letter.
Check the register once it is processed, and keep a copy of everything you sent.

What Is the Companies House Default Address?

The default address is a holding address that Companies House puts on the register when a company’s registered office is not appropriate. It is a PO Box at Companies House, shown with the company number. It is not an office the company can use or a place to run the business from.

The addresses set out in the Registrar’s Nomination of Default Addresses Rules 2024 are:

Where the company is registered	Default address
England and Wales	PO Box 4385, Companies House, Crown Way, Cardiff, CF14 3UZ
Scotland	PO Box 24238, Edinburgh, EH7 9HR
Northern Ireland	PO Box 2381, Belfast, BT1 9DY

Many websites show the England and Wales default address with the postcode CF14 8LH. What matters for your company is what appears on your register entry and in your letter from Companies House.

Why Companies House Changes a Registered Office

Since 4 March 2024, every company must keep its registered office at an “appropriate address” under the Companies Act 2006 as amended by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. An address is appropriate if post delivered there would be expected to come to the attention of someone acting for the company, and delivery can be acknowledged.

Companies House commonly acts when:

The address is a PO Box, or a similar service where post cannot be acknowledged.
The company has no right to use the address. For example someone’s home or business address used without their permission, or a registered office service the company has stopped paying for.
Post is returned or nobody at the address deals with the company’s letters.
The address is in the wrong part of the UK, such as an English address for a Scottish company.

The rules are on GOV.UK: Registrar of Companies: rules and powers.

The 28-Day Deadline and Strike-Off

Once your company is at the default address, it has 28 days to give an appropriate address along with evidence that it is entitled to use it. If it does not, Companies House can start the process to strike the company off. A struck-off company’s assets pass to the Crown, and restoring it later costs time and money.

Being at the default address also causes practical problems straight away. Official letters may not reach you, and banks and suppliers who check the register see the change.

What Evidence Should You Provide?

Companies House asks for evidence that the company is entitled to use the new address. Depending on the address, that can be:

a lease, tenancy agreement or title deeds for premises the company uses;
a written agreement with a registered office provider allowing the company to use its address;
written permission from the owner or occupier of the address.

Check the letter from Companies House for exactly what it needs in your case.

The Fastest Fix: a Registered Office Service

If you no longer have premises, or you do not want to use your home (which would put it on the public register), a registered office service is the quickest route. You get an appropriate address and a written confirmation of your right to use it, which is the evidence Companies House asks for.

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. Anti-money laundering checks on your documents are required before the address can be used, so order as early in the 28 days as you can.

Can a Service Address Be Moved to the Default Address?

Yes. The default address rules also cover directors’ and PSCs’ service addresses. If Companies House finds a service address is ineffective, it can act on it. Directors often use the registered office as their service address. If that is the reason it was ineffective, fix both at the same time. Our registered office and director service address package does that for £59.99 a year.

Make Sure It Does Not Happen Again

Keep the registered office service renewed. A lapsed agreement is a common reason an address stops being appropriate.
Use a registered email address you actually check, because Companies House sends warnings there.
Update Companies House as soon as you move or change provider.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does “default address” mean on Companies House?

It means Companies House has decided your registered office was not an appropriate address and has replaced it with a Companies House PO Box. It is a temporary holding address, not a usable office, and the company must give a new appropriate address quickly.

What is the Companies House default address in Cardiff?

For England and Wales companies, the Registrar’s Nomination of Default Addresses Rules 2024 give it as PO Box 4385, Companies House, Crown Way, Cardiff, CF14 3UZ, shown with your company number. Many websites show CF14 8LH. Use the address in your letter from Companies House.

How long do I have to fix it?

28 days from the change. In that time the company must give an appropriate registered office address and evidence that it is entitled to use it. If it does not, Companies House can start the process to strike the company off the register.

Will the default address disappear from my company’s record?

No. The change to the default address stays in the company’s filing history, even after you give a new address. That is why it is worth fixing quickly and making sure it does not happen again.

What address should I use for my limited company?

A physical address in the part of the UK where the company is registered, where post comes to someone acting for the company and delivery can be acknowledged. Not a PO Box, and only an address you have permission to use. A registered office service meets these rules.

Can a director’s service address be moved to the default address too?

Yes. If Companies House finds a director’s service address is ineffective, for example because post is returned, it can act on it. Use an address where post will reach you.

To avoid being moved again, check your new address against the registered office address rules.

Moved to the Default Address? Fix It Within Your 28 Days

CorpAssist gives your company an appropriate registered office and the paperwork to prove it:

London registered office for England and Wales companies from £39.99 a year
A written confirmation of your right to use the address, to send with your change of address
Letters from Companies House and HMRC scanned and emailed to you
Add a director service address for £59.99 a year in total, if your service address needs fixing too
Order online and upload your ID and proof of address; we send the address details once we have checked them

Office + service address — £59.99 Compare address options

CorpAssist is an independent commercial service and is not Companies House or GOV.UK. Default addresses and deadlines are based on GOV.UK guidance and the Registrar’s rules; follow the instructions in your letter from Companies House.