UK Company Address Services — What You Need and Why

They are separate legal requirements. A registered office is the company's official address — used for government correspondence addressed to the company. A director's service address is the individual director's correspondence address shown on the public register. Every limited company needs a registered office. Every director needs a service address. Many directors use the same address for both, which is perfectly legal.

A registered office is a specific legal address required under the Companies Act — used exclusively for statutory correspondence from Companies House and HMRC. A virtual office is a trading address you use publicly on your website, invoices, and marketing. They serve completely different purposes. If you want full coverage, you need both: the registered office for legal compliance and the virtual office for your public-facing address.

Yes. Companies999 uses a single physical address — Studio 9, 50-54 St Paul's Square, Birmingham B3 1QS — for all three services. Many of our customers use this same address for their company's registered office, their personal director address, and their business trading address. You take out each service separately, and all three can point to the same location.

At a minimum, you need a registered office — you cannot form a UK limited company without one. If you are a director and want to protect your personal address from public Companies House records, you should also take out a director service address. If you want a professional address to put on your website and invoices, you need a virtual office. Many new companies start with the registered office and director address together, then add the virtual office as they begin trading.

Your registered office must be in the UK — specifically in the same jurisdiction (England and Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland) where your company is incorporated. As a non-resident director, your personal service address can be outside the UK, but a UK service address generally looks more professional and is required for some Companies House correspondence to reach you promptly.

Since March 2024, every registered office must be an 'appropriate address' — meaning someone at that address must be aware of and able to acknowledge post delivered there on behalf of the company. An unstaffed mailbox or PO Box does not meet this standard. Companies999 operates from a real, staffed physical office, so our address fully satisfies the appropriate address requirement.

Yes. Persons with significant control are required to provide a service address for the public Companies House register, just like directors and company secretaries. Our director service address covers PSCs as well as directors.

When a company is dissolved or struck off, your registered office address is no longer required. Your director and PSC service addresses are also removed from the register as part of the dissolution process. If you are voluntarily closing your company, notify us and we will confirm when the service can be cancelled. We will not charge you beyond the end of your paid period.