How to Change Your Registered Office Address in 2026: AD01, Rules and Costs

Every UK company has a registered office: the official address where Companies House, HMRC, courts and anyone else can send it legal documents. Companies move it when they change premises, when a director wants their home address off the public register, or when they switch accountant or registered office provider. Changing it is quick and free, but the rules got stricter under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act. This guide explains how to change your registered office address in 2026 with form AD01, what counts as an appropriate address, why PO boxes are out, when the change takes effect, what Companies House can do if your address doesn't work, how to protect a home address, and what else to update afterwards.

Quick answer

Change your registered office address online with Companies House (form AD01) using your company authentication code. There's no fee. The new address must be an appropriate address in the same part of the UK where the company is registered, and not a PO box. The change takes effect when Companies House registers it, and documents can still be served at the old address for 14 days after that.

• Companies House passes the new registered office to HMRC

• A home address used as the registered office is published and can't be removed while in use

• If your address isn't appropriate, Companies House can move you to its default address

• Update letters, invoices, website and the sign at the office

What a registered office is for

The registered office is the company's official address on the public register. Companies House and HMRC send statutory letters there, including penalty notices, strike-off warnings and tax correspondence, and anyone can serve legal documents, such as a claim form, by delivering them there. It's also where the company can keep its statutory records, such as the register of members, for inspection, unless it has told Companies House it uses a single alternative inspection location (SAIL) instead.

It doesn't have to be where you trade. Plenty of companies trade from a shop, a workshop or a home office and use their accountant's office or a registered office service as the registered office. What matters is that post sent there actually reaches the company.

The appropriate address rule and the PO box ban

Since 4 March 2024, section 86 of the Companies Act 2006, as amended by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, requires a company to keep its registered office at an appropriate address at all times. The AD01 form sets out the test. An address is appropriate if, in the ordinary course of events:

1. a document addressed to the company and delivered there by hand or by post would be expected to come to the attention of a person acting on behalf of the company; and
2. delivery of documents there can be recorded by getting an acknowledgement of delivery.

The second limb is why PO boxes can't be used. Companies House said that from 4 March 2024 companies can't use a PO box as their registered office. A mail-forwarding address where nobody can sign for a recorded letter has the same problem. A third-party address, such as an accountant's office, a solicitor's office or a registered office service, is fine if it meets both limbs: someone is there to accept documents and pass them on.

When you change the address, you confirm on the AD01 that the new address is appropriate under section 86(2). It's a statement, not a box-ticking exercise. Companies House guidance says that not having an appropriate registered office is an offence, and it may take action against the company and its officers.

Where the new address can be

The registered office must stay in the part of the UK where the company was incorporated. Companies House guidance says you can change the address, but you can't change which part of the UK it's in. The AD01 notes spell it out:

So a company registered in England and Wales can move from Bristol to Cardiff, but a company registered in Scotland can't move its registered office to Carlisle, and an English company can't move to Belfast. There's no procedure for re-domiciling a company between UK jurisdictions. If the business genuinely relocates, it can trade from anywhere in the UK, keep a registered office in its home jurisdiction (often with an agent), or form a new company in the new jurisdiction.

A company registered in England and Wales can choose to become a Welsh company, which means its registered office must be in Wales. That's done with a separate form, AD05, not the AD01.

How to change your registered office address

Most companies file online. You'll need the company number and the company authentication code. If you can't get post at the current registered office, you can ask Companies House to send a new code to a director's home address.

Changing the registered office online

1. 1

   Secure the new address

   Get the owner's or provider's agreement in writing if it isn't your property. If Companies House ever queries the address, you'll need evidence that you own it or have permission to use it.

2. 2

   Check it's appropriate

   Someone must be there to receive documents by hand or post and acknowledge delivery. No PO boxes, and it must be in the same part of the UK as the company's registration.

3. 3

   File the change with Companies House

   Use the online service with your authentication code. Enter the full address including postcode and confirm it's an appropriate address. There's no fee.

   Change your registered office (AD01)
4. 4

   Wait for it to be registered

   The change takes effect only when Companies House registers it. Check the company's page on the register.

5. 5

   Keep the old address covered

   For 14 days after registration, documents can still be validly served at the old address. Keep collecting post there, or arrange forwarding, for at least that long.

The paper form AD01 is still available and also has no fee. Authentication is now by printed name; the AD01 (version 7.0) says no signature is needed. It can be authenticated by a director, the company secretary, or a person authorised by the company. The GOV.UK AD01 page says you must use a paper form 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 asks you to tell Companies House within 14 days of the change taking place. In practice, file before or on the day you move, so the register and your post are never out of step.

When the change takes effect

This is the detail most people miss. Under section 87 of the Companies Act 2006, the change takes effect when Companies House registers your notice, not on the date you moved or the date you filed. The AD01 adds that, for 14 days from the date the change is registered, a person can still validly serve any document on the company at its previous registered office. If someone serves a claim form at the old address during that window, it's validly served, even if you no longer read the post there.

There's also a little flexibility for duties tied to the address. For keeping records available for inspection and showing the address on documents, the Act lets a company act on the change from a date it chooses, up to 14 days after it gives notice. That gives you time to move the register of members and reprint stationery.

Using a home address, and protecting it later

Many small companies are set up with a director's home as the registered office. It's allowed if it meets the appropriate address test and is in the right part of the UK. The cost is privacy: the registered office is published on the Companies House register, and the AD01 form warns that if you use your home address, you won't be able to remove it.

Companies House's guidance on personal information explains the options:

• While it's the current registered office, a home address can't be removed or hidden. You have to change the registered office first.
• Once you've moved, you can apply to suppress a home address that was used as a former registered office on earlier filings. This has been possible since 27 January 2025. Companies House charges £34 per document for each document it suppresses.
• Some addresses can't be suppressed, such as an address that's the subject of a registered charge (mortgage), or one that forms part of the company's name, as with some flat management companies.

If someone has used your home address as a company's registered office without your permission, contact Companies House straight away. Its rules and powers guidance says you'll need to provide evidence that you own the property or are entitled to use it, such as a written agreement.

When Companies House changes your address for you: the default address

Companies House can now act against companies with an inappropriate registered office. Anyone can apply (using form RP07) if they believe a company's registered office isn't appropriate, for example a homeowner whose address is being used by a company they've never heard of. Companies House can also act on its own information.

What happens if your registered office isn't appropriate

Step 1

Application or Companies House check

Step 2

Possible 14 days to object

with evidence

Step 3

Moved to the Companies House default address

Step 4

28 days to give a new address

with evidence of a right to use it

Step 5

Gazette notice

if no new address

Step 6

Struck off after 2 months

According to Companies House's rules and powers guidance, the registrar can either change the registered office to its default address straight away, or give the company 14 days to object and show the address is appropriate. Once a company is on the default address, certain legal duties are suspended for 28 days, and the company has 28 days to deliver a new registered office address together with evidence that it owns the property or has permission to use it. An appeal to the court must be made within 28 days. If no valid new address arrives, Companies House can publish a notice in The Gazette that it intends to strike the company off, and at the end of two months from that notice the company can be struck off and dissolved.

A company on the default address has to change its address on paper, not online. Its strike-off risk is real, so treat any letter from Companies House about your registered office as urgent.

Worked example: moving off a home address

Brightline Design Ltd is registered in England and Wales. Since it was set up in 2023, its registered office has been the director's flat in Leeds. In October 2026, the director, Jo, decides to get her home address off the register. Her accountant offers its office in Leeds city centre as the registered office for £120 a year plus VAT, with a signed agreement and scanning of post.

Brightline Design Ltd — changing the registered office

20 Oct 2026

Signs the accountant's registered office agreement (her evidence of permission to use the address)

21 Oct 2026

Files AD01 online with the authentication code. Fee: none

22 Oct 2026

Companies House registers the change: new address takes effect; Companies House tells HMRC

22 Oct – 4 Nov 2026

14 days window: documents can still be validly served at the flat

Late Oct 2026

Updates invoice template, email footer and website; tells HMRC about any trading address or VAT and PAYE contact details

Nov 2026

Applies to suppress her home address on two earlier filings: 2 × £34 per document

The £120 a year is the accountant's price in this example, not an official figure; registered office services set their own fees. The Companies House part costs nothing. The 14-day service window runs from the date the change was registered, 22 October, so Jo keeps an eye on post at the flat until early November.

Because the registered office has moved, Brightline's invoices, website and email signature must now show the new registered office address alongside the company number, place of registration (England and Wales) and full company name. The register of members moves to the accountant's office too, unless the company notifies a SAIL. The confirmation statement in 2027 will simply confirm the new address; the change itself was filed when it happened.

Finally, Jo applies to suppress her home address from the two older documents that show it, at £34 per document each. She can do this now only because the flat is no longer the current registered office.

What else to update after you move

Companies House passes a registered office change to HMRC once it's approved. But that only covers the registered office. GOV.UK says you must tell HMRC yourself when your business contact details change, such as a trading address, so update VAT, PAYE and any other tax accounts if the trading address or correspondence address has changed too.

The rest is practical housekeeping:

• Stationery and website. Business letters, order forms and websites must show the registered office address, company number, place of registration and the company's full name. Update invoice templates, email signatures, quotes and the website footer. Our free invoice generator lets you save the new details.
• The sign at the office. A company must display its name at its registered office address, visible at all times. This doesn't apply if the registered office is a home. If you use a registered office provider, agree who is responsible for it.
• Records. Move the register of members and other company records you keep at the registered office, or notify a SAIL on form AD02 (and changes to it on AD03).
• Banks, insurers and contracts. Check notice clauses in key contracts and leases, which often name the registered office for formal notices.
• Registered email address. If the move came with a change of accountant or agent, check that the registered email address still reaches you.

After the change is registered

0/7

• New address showing on the Companies House register
• Post at the old address covered for 14 days
• Invoices, letters, order forms, email footer and website updated
• Company name sign at the new registered office (unless it's a home)
• Register of members moved, or SAIL notified on AD02
• HMRC told about any trading or correspondence address change
• Key contracts, bank and insurers updated

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Common mistakes

• Using a virtual mailbox or PO box. If nobody can sign for a recorded letter there, it isn't an appropriate address.
• Moving and forgetting to file. Until the AD01 is registered, the old address is still your registered office, and post sent there is validly delivered.
• Letting a provider agreement lapse. If a registered office service stops accepting your post, your address may no longer be appropriate, and Companies House can move you to the default address.
• Assuming HMRC knows about every address change. Companies House only passes on the registered office. Trading and correspondence addresses are your job.
• Trying to move between jurisdictions. A Scottish company's registered office must stay in Scotland, and so on.
• Ignoring post at the old address. Documents served there in the 14 days after the change is registered still count.

Official links

• Change a registered office address (AD01)Online service and paper form; no fee
• File changes to a companyCompanies House online filing
• Company authentication codesRequest a code to a director's home address
• Registrar of Companies: rules and powersDefault address, RP07 and strike-off
• Your personal information on the public recordSuppressing a former home address
• Signs, stationery and promotional materialWhat to show on letters, invoices and websites

What to do next

Check your company's current registered office on the register and ask yourself the two questions in the appropriate address test: would a letter delivered there reach someone acting for the company, and could someone sign for it? If not, or if it's your home and you'd rather it wasn't public, file the AD01 now. Then work through the update list above. For the rest of your yearly filings, see our confirmation statement guide and Companies House filing guide. Setting up a new company? The limited company set-up guide covers choosing a registered office from day one.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to change a registered office address?

Nothing at Companies House: there's no fee for form AD01, online or on paper. Your costs are practical ones, such as a registered office service if you use one, new stationery and updating your website. If you later want a former home address hidden on old filings, Companies House charges £34 per document to suppress it.

When does a change of registered office take effect?

When Companies House registers your AD01, not when you move. For 14 days after it's registered, people can still validly serve documents on the company at the old address, so keep collecting post there for at least that long. GOV.UK asks you to tell Companies House within 14 days of the change taking place.

Can I use a PO box as my registered office?

No. Since 4 March 2024, a PO box can't be a company's registered office. The address must be an 'appropriate address': post delivered there by hand or by post should reach someone acting for the company, and delivery can be acknowledged. A third-party address, such as an accountant's or a registered office service, is fine if it meets that test.

Can I use my home address as the registered office?

Yes, if it's in the same part of the UK the company is registered in and meets the appropriate address test. But it will be published on the public register and you can't remove it while it's the registered office. Once you've moved to another address, you can apply to suppress a former home address on old filings for £34 per document.

Can I move my registered office from England to Scotland?

No. A company's registered office must stay in the part of the UK where it was incorporated: England and Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland. A company registered in England and Wales can move anywhere in England or Wales, but a company registered in Wales must stay in Wales. To move jurisdiction, you'd need a new company.

What happens if Companies House decides my address isn't appropriate?

It can move your registered office to its own default address. The company then has 28 days to give a new appropriate address with evidence that it can use it. If it doesn't, Companies House can publish a notice in The Gazette, and the company can be struck off two months later.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 12 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Change a company's registered office address (AD01) — Companies House · accessed 12 October 2026
2. 2.AD01 Change of registered office address, version 7.0 (08/26) — Companies House · accessed 12 October 2026
3. 3.Running a limited company: company information you must report — GOV.UK · accessed 12 October 2026
4. 4.Registrar of Companies: rules and powers — Companies House · accessed 12 October 2026
5. 5.Get ready for changes to UK company law — Companies House blog · accessed 12 October 2026
6. 6.Incorporation and names — Companies House · accessed 12 October 2026
7. 7.Your personal information on the public record at Companies House — Companies House · accessed 12 October 2026
8. 8.Companies House fees — Companies House · accessed 12 October 2026
9. 9.Running a limited company: signs, stationery and promotional material — GOV.UK · accessed 12 October 2026
10. 10.Life of a company: event-driven filings (section 4) — Companies House · accessed 12 October 2026