Registered Office Address Vs Correspondence Address

[rizbit]

I used a third party service to register a new ltd company in the UK.

When filling out the setup form it asked me for two addresses.

1 - Registered office address
I entered a virtual office address which I paid for.

2 - Trading / personal address
I entered my home address.

For my address my I entered my home address (not the virtual office address which I paid for). Ive even received some letters from companies houses addressed to me at home.

The problem im facing now is that on companies houses for this company, it is showing two addresses (the same addresss):

The first is the Registered office address. The second address is shown under the directors name in the People tab as the 'Correspondence address'.

The problem is some virtual office providers are asking for extra payment to use the registered office address as the directors address (Correspondence address) . But isnt the 'Correspondence address' the address that companies houses uses to send letters like the UTR letter, to the company and so its not the actual directors address?

Now I did not specifically specify the directors address while creating the company, so it looks like they have used the registered office address for this automatically.

I dont need to pay extra to use the virtual address as the directors address for privacy (if anyone really wanted to find my home address they could use the internet sites to find it for under £5 or maybe free) so what would be the best option to resolve this

 

[fisicx]

It maybe because the law is changing and CH requires the address to be one where a representative of the company can receive documents. Virtual offices don’t usually meet this criteria so HMRC/CH don’t use them.

 

[rizbit]

When people set up a new ltd company directly with companies houses do they have to specifically give a 'Directors Address'?

Or does CH automatically derive this from the Registered Office Address?

(Lot of virtual office addresses have mail forwarding, so you can receive physical mail which is posted to you home or actual address)

 

[Baines Watson]

I used a third party service to register a new ltd company in the UK.

When filling out the setup form it asked me for two addresses.

1 - Registered office address
I entered a virtual office address which I paid for.

2 - Trading / personal address
I entered my home address.

For my address my I entered my home address (not the virtual office address which I paid for). Ive even received some letters from companies houses addressed to me at home.

The problem im facing now is that on companies houses for this company, it is showing two addresses (the same addresss):

The first is the Registered office address. The second address is shown under the directors name in the People tab as the 'Correspondence address'.

The problem is some virtual office providers are asking for extra payment to use the registered office address as the directors address (Correspondence address) . But isnt the 'Correspondence address' the address that companies houses uses to send letters like the UTR letter, to the company and so its not the actual directors address?

Now I did not specifically specify the directors address while creating the company, so it looks like they have used the registered office address for this automatically.

I dont need to pay extra to use the virtual address as the directors address for privacy (if anyone really wanted to find my home address they could use the internet sites to find it for under £5 or maybe free) so what would be the best option to resolve this

There are usually three services offered by virtual office providers, registered office address, officers service address and business address.

Registered office address is where the official correspondence for the company is received & processed, officer service address is where official letters addressed to directors are received & processed and business address is where business post (marketing material, invoices etc) is received & processed.

Sounds like you have only purchased the registered office address service and not the officer service address hence you maybe getting all the official letters addressed to the Directors sent to your home address.

If you want all official letters for Directors to be sent to the virtual office address instead of your home address then you will need to pay for that extra service I'm afraid.

 

[fisicx]

(Lot of virtual office addresses have mail forwarding, so you can receive physical mail which is posted to you home or actual address

This is all changing. These sort of services may no longer be permitted. There has to be a company representative present to receive the mail.

 

[fisicx]

Read this:

Legal Changes to Registered Address providers, and impact on overseas owners.

People have come to these forums a few times looking for advice on having a registered address service for their Limited company, and the advice has generally been it shouldn't matter that much to use your own personal address (with a few rare edge cases). In March the law changed around...

www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk

 

[rizbit]

There are usually three services offered by virtual office providers, registered office address, officers service address and business address.

Registered office address is where the official correspondence for the company is received & processed, officer service address is where official letters addressed to directors are received & processed and business address is where business post (marketing material, invoices etc) is received & processed.

Sounds like you have only purchased the registered office address service and not the officer service address hence you maybe getting all the official letters addressed to the Directors sent to your home address.

If you want all official letters for Directors to be sent to the virtual office address instead of your home address then you will need to pay for that extra service I'm afraid.

I have only purchased registered office address service and not their seperate officer service address but this isnt the question, as I dont mind if the directors letters are sent to my home address. The concern is when i gave my personal address as the trading and personal address in the setup form, why did they not use that as the directors correspondence address?

The company letters are seperate from the directors letters, i get that now, it could be useful. But they should allow directors to set their correspondence address, right?

 

[WaveJumper]

I think what other members are trying to point out is the fact CH and the GOV for that matter are looking for greater transparency all round ........ hence a change in the law

 

[rizbit]

I think what other members are trying to point out is the fact CH and the GOV for that matter are looking for greater transparency all round ........ hence a change in the law

Fine they can do that.

But I wanted to ask if a director is able to set a specific address for the directors correspondence address when creating a company directly with CH, and maybe this step is missed out when using a third party formation service, and thus then they assume the directors address is the same as the registered office address?

 

[Daybooks]

The registered address is the contact address for the company whilst the correspondence address is for the “persons”. Thus the address should depend upon who is being written to.

If your definition of a “virtual address” is one that does not physically exist then it cannot be used. You have to have a physical bricks and mortar address that correspondence can be properly served to.

If you use a third party for either registered or correspondence address then the directors need to be sure they will receive all correspondence. It is their responsibility.

It is not unreasonable for a third party to charge for using the corrrespondence address. You need permission to use a correspondence address so if you want to use one that is not under your control then a charge should not be unexpected.

You can change the correspondence address at Companies House. You will need the authorisation code to access it. If you don’t have the authorisation code it can be requested from Companies House who will send it to the registered address. Now you know why you want total confidence in your registered address provider.

You may find the provider charges for a full year.

 

[rizbit]

Ah man we live in 21st century this should all be paperless by now.

 

[fisicx]

Ah man we live in 21st century this should all be paperless by now.

Maybe we should. But HMRC and CH and other government organisations will send you letters that you are required to action. You can get all pear shaped and rant at the inadequacies of whatever but the fact remains you need to comply which whatever is sent to you in whatever form.

And those letters will be sent to the address deemed appropriate.

 

[rizbit]

Can i just check one example:

Say you were an IT freelancer or influencer and worked online, and travelled around, so although you had a home address you have no office address. And you dont want to share your home address with the world, isnt the best option here to use a virtual office address? CH actually has a list of valid providers on their website which people can use. What i read on the blog was that as long as any letters sent to that virtual address arrive at a physical property and is reachable to you then its ok.

 

[fisicx]

That’s how it used to be. It’s now changing so it has to be an address where a representative of the company can receive the mail. Which is why many chose to use their accountant or solicitor.

 

[rizbit]

That’s how it used to be. It’s now changing so it has to be an address where a representative of the company can receive the mail. Which is why many chose to use their accountant or solicitor.

Im sure this does not mean that you or your company rep have to be physically present at the registered office address, that would defeat a major point of virtual office. As long as eventually the mail can reach you or your company rep, within good time, it is ok. For example the virtual office provider has someone present who can sign for stuff and then forward the mail physically to you

 

[fisicx]

Which is why virtual offices are no longer acceptable. The law is changing.

 

[WaveJumper]

All my correspondence from HMRC & CH come via email

Going forward I wonder what the term “representative’ of a company is going to be defined as by our powers to be (I probably need to read through the legal changes again) and wonder if there is going to be some work around found by the companies, bit like when you have offshore entities and appoint nominal directors to be the face of the business

 

[WaveJumper]

Ok done a bit more reading from the CH blog:

New rules for registered office addresses​

From 4 March 2024, there’ll be new rules for registered office addresses which mean companies must have an ‘appropriate address’ as their registered office at all times. An appropriate address is one where:

• any documents sent to the registered office should be expected to come to the attention of a person acting on behalf of the company. (As I mentioned I wonder how they define this)

• any documents sent to that address can be recorded by an acknowledgement of delivery

These changes mean you will not be able to use a PO Box as your registered office address from 4 March 2024. You can still use a third-party agent’s address if they meet the conditions for an appropriate address.

If you’re currently using a PO Box as your registered office address, you’ll need to change it by 4 March 2024. You can change your company’s registered office address online, using your company’s authentication code.

Companies that do not have an appropriate registered office address (how do they define appropriate do those offering these services have to be registered somewhere)
could be struck off the register. When we identify an inappropriate registered office address, we’ll change it to a default address held at Companies House. The company must then provide an appropriate address, with evidence of a link to that address, within 28 days. If we do not receive this evidence, we’ll start the process to strike the company off the register.

Get ready for changes to UK company law – Companies House

We’re aiming to introduce the first set of changes brought in by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act on 4 March 2024. Here’s what you need to know.

companieshouse.blog.gov.uk

 

[rizbit]

Ok done a bit more reading from the CH blog:

New rules for registered office addresses​

From 4 March 2024, there’ll be new rules for registered office addresses which mean companies must have an ‘appropriate address’ as their registered office at all times. An appropriate address is one where:

• any documents sent to the registered office should be expected to come to the attention of a person acting on behalf of the company. (As I mentioned I wonder how they define this)

• any documents sent to that address can be recorded by an acknowledgement of delivery

These changes mean you will not be able to use a PO Box as your registered office address from 4 March 2024. You can still use a third-party agent’s address if they meet the conditions for an appropriate address.

If you’re currently using a PO Box as your registered office address, you’ll need to change it by 4 March 2024. You can change your company’s registered office address online, using your company’s authentication code.

Companies that do not have an appropriate registered office address (how do they define appropriate do those offering these services have to be registered somewhere)
could be struck off the register. When we identify an inappropriate registered office address, we’ll change it to a default address held at Companies House. The company must then provide an appropriate address, with evidence of a link to that address, within 28 days. If we do not receive this evidence, we’ll start the process to strike the company off the register.

Get ready for changes to UK company law – Companies House

We’re aiming to introduce the first set of changes brought in by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act on 4 March 2024. Here’s what you need to know.

companieshouse.blog.gov.uk

"acting on behalf of the company"

I would say this is anyone authorized to receive your letters, who is present at the address youve given as the registered office address. If youve paid for a physical office address from an agency, the agency will have your permission to receive, hold and transfer letter and parcels to you.

 

[Baines Watson]

It's really banning PO box addresses, all virtual office suppliers have physical addresses and staff to handle post which is then forwarded by email or post to the company officers. This is not any different to using your accountant's address or solicitors address who are essentially offering the same service for a fee.

You can still use virtual address services under the new rules as long as they have a physical address with post handling and forwarding service.