What Is a Director Service Address and Do You Need One?

Becoming a director of a UK limited company comes with legal obligations most people expect — filing accounts, running the business responsibly, keeping Companies House informed. But one obligation catches many new directors off guard: the requirement to provide a personal address that goes directly onto the public register.

A director service address exists to solve this problem. It's a legitimate, widely-used, and straightforward way to keep your personal home address off the public record while fully complying with your legal obligations as a director.

This guide explains what a director service address is, why it matters, how it works in practice, and who needs one.

What Is a Director Service Address?

A director service address is a correspondence address that a company director provides to Companies House instead of their personal residential address. It's the address listed against your name on the public Companies House register — and it's distinct from the company's registered office address (which is the official address of the company itself).

When you're appointed as a director, your details are filed with Companies House. These include your full name, date of birth (the month and year are publicly visible; the day is not), nationality, occupation, and a service address. All of this appears on the public register at Companies House, which is searchable for free by anyone.

Until the implementation of the Companies Act 2006, directors had to file their residential address publicly. The 2006 Act introduced the ability to use a service address instead, specifically to give directors a privacy option. Since then, using a professional service address has become standard practice for directors who don't want their home address visible on the internet.

Why Does a Director's Personal Address Appear on Companies House?

Companies House maintains a public register of company information because transparency is considered to be in the public interest. People doing business with a company — suppliers, clients, investors, creditors — have a right to know who is running it and how to contact them. The registered address of the company and the addresses of its directors form part of that accountability framework.

This transparency is entirely reasonable as a principle. The problem, from a director's perspective, is that the register is fully accessible online, searchable by anyone, and indexed by search engines. A personal residential address that's been filed at Companies House can be found with a two-second search. This creates practical problems:

Privacy risk. Your home address being publicly visible is uncomfortable for most people, and a genuine security concern for some — particularly directors of businesses that operate in contentious areas, or who have had any conflict with a client or former employee.

Uninvited contact. Cold calling, direct mail, and door-to-door sales are all more likely if your address is easily found. Directors in certain industries report that their home address being public leads to a steady stream of unsolicited contact.

Professional image. A residential address as your director address can look unprofessional — particularly for clients and partners who look up your company. A professional business address in a recognised commercial area looks substantially more credible.

Future privacy. Once your home address is on the public register, removing it requires filing a new service address. Even after you change it, historic records may be accessible. Getting it right from the start is much simpler than trying to correct it later.

How Is a Director Service Address Different from a Registered Office?

This distinction confuses many new directors, so it's worth being clear.

The registered office address is the official address of the company — the legal entity. It's where official correspondence for the company (from Companies House, HMRC, and others) is directed, and it appears under the company name on the register.

The director service address is the address associated with you as an individual director. It's where correspondence directed to you in your capacity as a director would be sent, and it appears under your name on the register.

A company has one registered office. Each director has their own service address. These can be the same address (many directors use the same professional provider for both), but they're recorded separately and serve different purposes.

For complete privacy protection, you need both: a registered office that isn't your home, and a director service address that isn't your home. If you use a professional address for the registered office but then list your home address as your service address, your home address is still publicly visible.

What Happens to Correspondence Sent to a Director Service Address?

Official correspondence addressed to you as a director — letters from Companies House about your directorship, legal notices, and any other communications directed to you in your individual capacity — can be sent to your service address.

A professional director service address provider will receive this mail on your behalf and forward it to you. Good providers scan it and email it to you on the same day it arrives, ensuring you don't miss anything time-sensitive.

The key point is that a service address is not just for show — it's a functioning correspondence address. If you use a professional service, you should ensure the provider will actually handle your mail reliably, not just accept it without forwarding.

Who Needs a Director Service Address?

If you're a director of a UK limited company and you don't want your home address on the public register, you need a director service address. That's the simple answer.

In practice, most directors benefit from one. Here's who particularly should consider it:

Anyone who values privacy. If the idea of your home address being freely searchable online is uncomfortable, a service address is the straightforward fix.

People who work from home. If you run your business from a home office, you almost certainly don't want the same address appearing as both your residential address and your director's Companies House entry. A professional service address creates a clean separation.

Directors of client-facing businesses. If your company operates in a consumer-facing sector, having a professional commercial address associated with your name as director reinforces your company's credibility.

Anyone in a regulated profession. Directors in legal, financial, medical, or other regulated professions often have additional reputational reasons to maintain professional separation between personal and business details.

Newly incorporated directors. If you're forming a company for the first time, setting up a service address from the outset is far simpler than changing it later — and means your personal address never appears on the public record at all.

What Does a Director Service Address Cost?

Pricing varies between providers. Generally, you should expect to pay somewhere between £20 and £60 per year for a standalone director service address. Combined packages — covering both the registered office and the director service address — typically cost £60–£120 per year in total.

At Companies999, a Director Service Address at Studio 9, 50-54 St Paul's Square in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter costs £40 + VAT per year. This includes same-day scanning and emailing of any official correspondence received. The address can be set up on the same day you contact us.

Many clients pair the director service address with our Registered Office Service for complete coverage — keeping both the company's registered address and the director's personal address entirely off the public record.

How to Set Up a Director Service Address

The process is straightforward:

1. Choose a provider and confirm the address is a genuine physical address (not just a PO Box) in the correct jurisdiction.

2. Sign up and provide your details. You'll need to provide your full name and the company you're a director of so the provider knows what correspondence to expect.

3. File the address with Companies House. When incorporating a new company, you provide the service address on the formation documents. For existing companies, you update your details using the Companies House online service (or Form CH01 for paper filings). The change is straightforward and typically takes effect within a few days.

4. Update any other records. If you've previously filed your home address with Companies House as your director service address, you should update it. Your home address will remain in the historic filing record but your current entry will show the service address.

Can I Use Any Address as My Director Service Address?

Technically, you can use any address you have permission to use — it doesn't have to be a commercial address. Some directors use the address of their accountant or solicitor, or a friend's or family member's address.

However, there are practical limitations to this. The address should be one where correspondence will actually be handled reliably and forwarded to you. It should also be an address you can continue to use — if your accountant relationship ends, you'll need to update your address again.

Using a dedicated professional service address provider avoids all of these complications. You get a stable, professional address with no dependency on a personal relationship, and with clear processes for handling your mail.

What If I'm Also a Person of Significant Control (PSC)?

If you hold more than 25% of shares or voting rights in a company (or otherwise have significant control), you'll also be registered as a Person of Significant Control. PSCs have their own address requirement on the Companies House register.

Previously, PSC residential addresses were publicly visible by default, but from 2023 Companies House introduced protections that allow PSCs to suppress their residential address from public view in more circumstances. However, using a professional service address as your PSC address from the outset remains the cleanest approach and avoids the need to apply for suppression after the fact.

Director Service Address and the Companies House Identity Verification Rules

From November 2025, Companies House has been rolling out mandatory identity verification for all directors and PSCs. This requires new directors to verify their identity through Gov.uk One Login or via an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP) at the point of appointment. Existing directors have until November 2026 to complete verification.

Identity verification is separate from your service address — it's a process of confirming who you are, not where your address is. Your service address can remain as a professional correspondence address even once you've completed identity verification.

Getting Set Up

If you're forming a new company or you're an existing director who wants to move your personal address off the public record, a director service address is the simplest and most permanent solution.

At Companies999, our Director Service Address is based at Studio 9, 50-54 St Paul's Square in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter — a recognised commercial district that adds genuine credibility to your director profile. Setup is same-day, and all official correspondence is scanned and emailed to you immediately on arrival.

You can also pair this with our Registered Office Service for complete privacy across both your personal and company entries on the public register.