Director Service Address [Company Officials Address]

• A director service address or a correspondence address is a requirement for every company director.
• Company officers, including persons with significant control (PSCs), company secretaries, and subscribers (the shareholders who form the company), are required to provide a correspondence address, which will be available on the company's house register.
• The correspondence address is crucial for receiving statutory letters and official communication from government agencies relevant to the respective roles.
• Unlike a company-registered office address, which must be a physical location (not just a p.o. box) in the UK, a director service address can be anywhere in the world.

What is a director’s service address or a correspondence address?

It is the official address company directors must have when appointed to a limited company during or after incorporation, and it is available to the public record through the Companies House register.

Company directors only require the address, so company secretaries and shareholders do not need one.

Related: What is a director service address?

Does My Director's Service Address Have To Be In The UK?

Your service address doesn't have to be in the UK—you can choose to have it anywhere in the world, as long as it is a physical address. It may also be a residential or non-residential address, so if you live in one country but operate your business in another, you can have all your legal correspondence and paperwork sent to your most convenient address.

Directors often don't work from their service address, and their role in the company may not require them to visit the business operational site, so there would be no sense in registering a director's address at a place they may never visit. The primary purpose of a director's service address is to receive official mail.

Is There A Difference Between A Service Address And A Registered Office Address?

A registered office address is the official address of a limited company or LLP. It must be located in the same area of the country where the company or LLP has been incorporated. So, a UK company's registered office address cannot be used outside the UK.

As a company director, if you live and work in the same area as your company or even work out of an office within the business premises, you can use your company's registered office as your director's service address. It is perfectly acceptable to use the same address for both as long as your premises meet the legal requirements of a registered office.

A registered office cannot use a PO Box as an official address. It has to be a proper postal address to be acceptable to HMRC and Companies House. However, you can use a PO Box as a directors' service address if you provide a full postal address, including a postcode. A PO Box Number is not acceptable.

Related: Everything You Need to Know About a Registered Service Address

What is the difference between a service address and a residential address?

A service address serves as the primary location for official government correspondence (also known as statutory letters), while your residential address is where you live. While you can opt to use your residential address as your service address, keep in mind that the details provided for your service address are publicly accessible on the company register.

What is the difference between a business service, a director correspondence address, and a virtual office service?

A business service address primarily handles correspondence related to the day-to-day operations of the business itself. On the other hand, a director correspondence address is specifically designated for receiving statutory letters and official documents pertaining to the responsibilities of a company director. Meanwhile, a virtual office service offers a broader spectrum of services beyond just providing an address, often including mail forwarding, telephone answering, and meeting room facilities, serving as a comprehensive solution for businesses needing a professional presence without physical office space.

Is the director service address required during company formation?

Absolutely

As part of the company formation process, you're required to furnish a director service address. This address serves as the official point of contact for statutory communications and notices directed to company directors. It's crucial to note that the address provided for this purpose will be publicly accessible via the Companies House register, which is why it is crucial that you provide an appropriate and professional location.

A Managed Directors Service Address

Many company directors choose to use their residential addresses for convenience without fully realising that they will be made public and can be discovered by anyone.

In this case, it could pay you to protect your privacy using a managed system such as Your Company Formations. For as little as £28.00, you can get a central London EC1 address to use as your director's address, have all your legal posts sent to this address, and have this address displayed at Companies House. This service package will forward all of your correspondence from HMRC and Companies House free of charge to a worldwide address of your choosing.

Besides keeping your residential address private and not appearing on the public record, the obvious benefit of having a professionally managed service address is that it gives you a prestigious address to include on your company paperwork. This helps you to look more professional, respectable and well-established in the eyes of new and prospective clients.

If you started by registering your residential address with Companies House as your director's service address and then choose to take up a professionally managed directors' service address instead, you can amend the change of address with Companies House to have your private address removed from the public domain and replaced with your new managed one.

You can notify Companies House of your change of address using form CH01 (for a natural director) or form CH02 (for a corporate director). You can print off and manually complete the form and post it back to Companies House, or you can complete it to be filed online via WebFiling.