During the company formation process you are required to fill in a number of details regarding the information about your limited company. Companies House are required to collect personal details about shareholders and directors, as well as the address of the company’s registered office. All limited companies are legally required to declare a UK registered office address in order to be incorporated, highlighting the importance of utilising this service if offered.

The registered office is a required piece of information when applying to form a limited company, which appears on the public records. This is the official address of the company. A number of companies and firms of accountants offer a service that allows limited companies to use their registered address for their company. There are two major benefits that can influence the decision to use a registered office address service. These relate to fulfilling statutory requirements required for company formation, and ensuring individual peace of mind.

The use of a registered office service is particularly important for non-UK residents that are looking to set up a company in the UK. As previously stated, it is a legal requirement for the company to be registered to an address in the UK. If a foreign director does not have access to a UK address, they may wish to take advantage of the registered office service to meet this statutory requirement. In this circumstance, the service is vital in allowing directors to fulfil a minimum requirement in the company registration procedure.

In addition to helping a limited company achieve the minimum requirements demanded for incorporation, the service can help avoid some of the dangers of using a personal address to register your company. Although it is possible to use your home, whichever address you register a company to is publically available information, which you are legally required to display in certain places and on certain forms of correspondence. As the information is publically available, this means your home address would be available to anybody who attempted to get in contact with you, for example your customers. The registered office service removes all risk of people trying to contact you directly at home with regards to company matters.

A further benefit of using an external address as your registered office concerns regular correspondence from government bodies, customers and suppliers. You may find that your company receives a large amount of mail, depending on your level of business. A registered office service can involve a post-forwarding service, by which the company that receives your mail can send it to a specified address. Often they will provide you with a choice of receiving mail forwarded electronically or physically. This service is useful in ensuring that important statutory mail receives a secure address and can be forwarded to you personally.

As a key piece of information required in the company registration process, it is important that you have a registered office address available when setting up a business. Finding a registered office provider can help remove the potential hassle involved with registering a company to your residential address.