Company law · When something changes

Moving your registered office

Companies Act 2006 (c. 46) · 14 days to file

A company changes its registered office by filing form AD01 with Companies House within fourteen days. The registered office is the official address for the company, the place where legal documents are served. The change takes effect when Companies House registers it, not on the date you decide to move, so the old address remains the registered office until registration.

Since 4 March 2024 the registered office must be an appropriate address, and it cannot be a PO box. An appropriate address is one where a document delivered there would be expected to reach a person acting for the company, and where delivery can be recorded. Moving to an address that does not meet this test puts the company at risk of action by Companies House.

The appropriate-address rule is part of the separate ECCTA 2023 system. See the ECCTA 2023 tool →

The Registered Office working file in the ComplianceSME Companies Act 2006 system records the old and new address, the date you filed the change and the date it took effect on registration. It asks you where the company is moving to and whether the new address meets the appropriate-address test, one question at a time, then produces the evidence that the move was notified within the deadline.

Everything beyond the Companies Act 2006 has its own system in the full register.